Cooktown Cemetery, Heritage-listed cemetery in Cooktown, Australia

Cooktown Cemetery is a heritage-listed burial ground at Charlotte Street, Cooktown, in the Shire of Cook, Queensland. It occupies a 15-acre reserve south of town near Two-Mile Creek, formally surveyed by James Reid in November 1874 and later extended east by just over 9 acres to front Palmer Road. The grounds were laid out in subdivisions by surveyor Berwick in 1876, with roads made through the cemetery.

The cemetery was founded in 1874 during the Palmer River gold rush and became an important burial ground for the growing population of the region. It documents over 3,000 burials and preserves the history of early European settlement alongside other communities.

The cemetery reflects the nationalities drawn to the Palmer River goldfields: French, Chinese, English, Swedish, German and South Sea Islander graves lie here. About 300 of the roughly 1,830 burials recorded between 1877 and 1920 are Chinese, mostly gardeners, miners, labourers and storekeepers. Most of those Chinese burials were later exhumed and returned to China.

The grounds are open for visitors who wish to explore the historical monuments and conduct genealogical research using documented records. Comfortable footwear is recommended since the terrain is uneven and paths wind through native vegetation.

About one-sixth of the burials between 1877 and 1920, roughly 300, are Chinese, mostly gardeners, miners, labourers and storekeepers. Most of those initially interred here were later exhumed and returned to China, so many of their plots now stand empty.