Oh where do I begin? Rookwood is my home away from home. When I am there, it is like I walk with the comforting force that is Death. It is like he holds my hand as he walks through the Garden of stones with me. The old graves there are beautiful in that they tell a Story, they are so full of Death and yet so full of life. They tell a Story about the people who died. I have felt nothing but Comfort at the sight of these graves. read more

This is a review of two parts. I mainly went to Rookwood for the Hidden Sculpture Walk. I love to see public sculpture in interesting locations, and a cemetery is definitely the most unusual I've been to. It was great how many of the works fit in with the surrounding landscape or sentiments, and it was far easier to park than in Bondi for Sculpture by the Sea! The exhibit is on until 18th October (plus every year), so I recommend you get there! 4 stars for the sculptures. However, while we were there, we also tried to visit some graves. If you have family who have passed away in Sydney, it's likely that you'll know someone buried or cremated here - there's over a million burials or memorials here! It wasn't too hard finding my husband's grandparents, whose graves he last visited 5 years ago. But I made the mistake of trying to find my great-grandparents for the first time. I had the full details written down, but they are in the huge Anglican section and unfortunately there was no map of the individual Anglican sections at the cemetery, and the office is closed on weekends. (The map is online, but linked from the footer of the web page, which isn't displayed on a mobile phone.) I eventually found Anglican Section 2 and their supposed plot (with no headstones), but unfortunately Anglican Section 2 is not the same as Anglican Lawn Section 2 (annoyingly enough, back up next to the start of the sculpture walk!) Also be warned that many of the roads are currently closed and being rebuilt, including the one along most of the old Anglican sections. 2 stars for usability... read more

Rookwood Cemetery - Public Services & Government Near Me

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Opened in 1868, Rookwood Cemetery (officially named Rookwood Necropolis) is located near Lidcombe train station, about 17 km west of the Sydney central business district. Originally named Haslam's Creek Cemetery. If you take the western train line, you'll see it. Being just a couple of miles from my high school, we knew it as a huge, ugly eyesore of a place. But my research for this review reveals it as the largest burial place in the Southern Hemisphere, with about one million people buried here. 300 hectares or 740 acres. My friend and I walked through it one time just to do it, and it felt kinda weird. It was rundown and overgrown with plants. I also walked through here by myself one time and that felt really weird. Never again. My elderly grandmother from England came to visit us and she said: "If I die, don't bury me in Rookwood". Enough said. Rookwood Cemetery is divided into five denominational trusts, independently operated (Anglican, Catholic, Independent, Jewish, and Muslim). There's also a crematorium if that's your thing. There are memorial shrines dedicated to the Holocaust and also merchant marines killed in wartime. There is also The Circle of Love shrine dedicated to children who died in infancy. There is a "Friends of Rookwood Inc" voluntary organization who are working on preserving this place which is the largest Victorian era cemetery still in operation in the world. Deadicated, one might say (LOL). The Friends of Rookwood give public tours. The Serpentine Canal within the Anglican section was recently restored with new ornamentation and landscaping. How nice. I second my grandmother: "If I die, don't bury me in Rookwood". The cemetery gates are open daily for visitors from sunrise to sunset. But beware, some visitors never leave. read more