West Terrace Cemetery, Historic cemetery in Adelaide, Australia
West Terrace Cemetery is a historic burial ground in Adelaide, South Australia, laid out in the southwest corner of the city's parklands in the 19th century. Curved pathways wind through sections of old headstones, trees, and green lawns, including the area known as The Promenade and the Wakefield Garden on the northern edge.
The cemetery was included in Colonel William Light's plan for Adelaide in 1837, and the first official burial took place around 1840. Over the following decades, a chapel, a crematorium opened in 1903, and separate religious sections were added, until management passed to the Adelaide Cemeteries Authority in 2002.
West Terrace Cemetery is divided into sections by religion, and the boundaries between them are still visible as you walk through the grounds. This layout shows how early Adelaide society organized itself, with separate areas for Jewish, Catholic, Anglican, and Quaker communities among others.
The cemetery is open every day and can be explored on your own or with a guided tour, which covers stories about notable figures and the site's history. Comfortable shoes are a good idea, as the paths are long and some sections have uneven ground.
South Australia's first crematorium was built on the grounds in 1903 and operated until 1959, during which time nearly 5,000 people were cremated there. The cemetery also holds a grave connected to the famous unsolved death case of 1948 known as the Somerton Man.
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