St Kilda General Cemetery Trust

Full description

In March 1853, a government grant was allocated for the opening of a cemetery in St Kilda. The seven hectares (18 acres) were purchased for the cemetery grounds bound by Dandenong Road, Alma Road, Hotham Street and Alexandra Street. The original grid plan, drawn up by Robert Hoddle, divided the cemetery into compartments for the four major religious denominations of the time. Later the plan was overlaid by a less formal system of winding paths.

In early 1855, the first St Kilda Cemetery Trustees were appointed and the cemetery officially opened in June.

In 1900, the grave sites were declared exhausted and the cemetery was closed. The cemetery was reopened in 1928. In 1966, the cemetery sold its last five grave sites. The Trustees of the Necropolis Springvale (VA 1648) assumed management responsibilities of the St Kilda General Cemetery in February 1968.