Category: Resources

Chinese graves at Melbourne General Cemetery

Headstones of Chinese graves can hold a wealth of undocumented information, such as:

  • Name in Chinese characters
  • Location of ancestral village, county, and province in China (in Chinese characters)
  • Birth and death dates

The Chinese Graves at Melbourne General Cemetery external website documents the graves of Chinese interred at the Melbourne General Cemetery and is continuously being updated by CAFHOV.

Use it to search for ancestors who died in Melbourne.

Chinese graves in Melbourne General cemetery website
Sample record of a Chinese grave

You will find details about each grave including

  • Photographs of the grave that may include the headstone, a view of the plot and other possible photos such as facial portrait.
  • Location of the grave plot within the cemetery
  • A transcription of the headstone inscription – Details may include Names(English and Chinese), Dates, Locations of origin in China

The Melbourne General Cemetery was opened in 1853 and designed as a public park with curved pathways and rest pavilions. There are about 300,000 burials in the cemetery which include notable people such as prime ministers and premiers.

Many of the graves are already documented and discoverable via dedicated English based websites. The Chinese are documented but important detail written in Chinese is unavailable to the public to read or discover.

Hence this website endeavours to make this important information available for researchers and genealogists to discover about the Chinese buried here. Chinese names and village names in Chinese characters are critically important for family researchers.

Discover

  • Other people with the same family name using Chinese characters
  • Other people from the same county, township or village using Chinese characters

Visit the Chinese Graves at Melbourne General Cemetery external website

Learn how to search the website

Other useful resources:

Chinese market gardens of Melbourne

Chinese man carrying baskets in a field
Photo courtesy of Heidelberg Historical Society Reg. No. P0989

Many people are aware of the Chinese who came to Victoria in search of gold from 1851 to the late 1860s. What happened to this large migrant community when the quantity of gold diminished? Many Chinese stayed to take on other occupations that contributed to the local economy and wider society. These jobs included laundrymen, merchants, herbalists, and cabinetmakers; and a large proportion took on a role in market gardening. This new occupation was attractive as it afforded a low investment and quick return on effort. It often involved working communally in a clan or village collective. Vegetable produce from these gardens was well received in Melbourne markets, was of a high standard, and included diversity of choice. Many of these market gardens were established near the waterways of Melbourne’s creeks and rivers. For example, they could be found along the Merri Creek watercourse stretching from Coburg to Clifton Hill.

Visit the Chinese Market Gardens website.

image – Photo courtesy of Heidelberg Historical Society Reg. No. P0989