- How can I find a grave site?
Rookwood is an enormous and extremely old cemetery which has hundreds of thousands of memorials spread throughout it. The first burials took place in 1867 and since then older monuments were moved to Rookwood from earlier burial grounds resumed elsewhere in Sydney. There are now 640,000 burial and 230,000 cremations recorded at Rookwood. Cremations date from 1925 but did not become a significant proportion of the services held at Rookwood until around 1945.
With this many memorials, it can sometimes be confusing or overwhelming to find a specific memorial. If you are looking for a memorial and you don’t know where to start, here are some helpful steps to take.
It is useful to know:
- year of death
- whether the deceased was cremated or buried.
If you think the deceased was buried, it is useful if you know what denominational cemetery the deceased is most likely to have been interred.
Records of all burials and cremations are held in the respective offices. The offices located at Rookwood are:
- Anglican & General
- Roman Catholic
- Independent
(Independent includes Uniting, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Wesleyan and Greek Orthodox)
- Rookwood Memorial Gardens
- Muslim and Jewish cemetery records are held off-site.
If you think the deceased may have been cremated, start enquiries at Rookwood Memorial Gardens if the death occurred after 1925, otherwise start your enquiry in the most likely denominational office.
Once you have found the correct office, the staff will be able to help you find the grave in the cemetery.
...Alternatively, if you know which denominational area the memorial is in, you could grab a
map from the website or a denominational office and go on an exploratory journey through the grounds of Rookwood...
- What are the opening hours
Rookwood Necropolis is open from sunrise to sunset every day of the year. Specific times will vary with the seasons.
- How can I buy a plot?
If you are interested in buying a plot, please apply to a denominational trust of your choice. Contact details for each trust can be found here (link).
- Who oversees grave maintenance?
Each denominational trust has defined areas to maintain. Essentially, denominational trusts look after cemeteries and graves.
The Rookwood Necropolis Trust maintains all roads, canals, fences, major landscape, and common services and infrastructure throughout the Necropolis.
- Who controls burial right?
Rights of burial are determined in the first instance by the relevant cemetery trust
- Do I need permission to repair a grave?
Yes, from Trust which manages the area where the grave is located.
- Are there tours of Rookwood?
Yes. Tours of the Necropolis are conducted by the Friends of Rookwood on the first Sunday of each month from March to November commencing at 10am and 1.30pm. Tours for special interest groups can also be organised for a minimum of 20 people.
For more information including costs, and departure point, visit the Friends of Rookwood website (link).
- Where do I go for more information regarding with history of the site?
Auburn, Strathfield, State and National libraries all hold additional information regarding Rookwood Necropolis’ history.
Historical archives are also kept by each denominational trust.
- Can the public access the historical archives?
There are future plans for a central historical archive. While there is no central depository at the moment, inquiries should be made to individual trusts.
- Does Rookwood have an interpreter service?
Some trusts have an interpreter service. Please contact them with enquiries.
