Karori Cemetery

Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery.

In 1909, it received New Zealand's first crematorium, which is still in use and is Australasia's oldest.

Karori Cemetery reached capacity during the 1950s, and Makara Cemetery became Wellington's main burial ground. Burials at Karori happen only in pre-purchased family plots, in children's plots, and in pre-purchased ash plots.[1]

The Karori Crematorium and Chapel are listed (Class I) with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

The cemetery covers almost 40 hectares (0.40 km²) and has seen more than 83,000 burials.[2]

The cemetery contains separate World War I and World War II services sections. Buried here are 268 Commonwealth service personnel of World War I[3] – including most deaths from the first New Zealand Expeditionary Force Reinforcement Camp and others at Trentham, and the Upper Hutt Remount Depot[4] – and 123 of the World War II, besides a Norwegian and a French war casualty.[3]

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) also erected a plaque commemorating 15 New Zealand service personnel of World War II who were cremated at Karori Crematorium and their ashes scattered. It is set into the Services Columbarium Wall in the Services section.[5]

In addition, the CWGC erected the Wellington Provincial Memorial, in the form of a marble arch connecting the two Services sections, inscribed with the names of service personnel from Wellington Province who died serving in the World Wars but have no known grave.[3]

• Lily May Kirk Atkinson (1866–1921), popular orator, suffragist and temperance worker – president of New Zealand Women's Christian Union 1901–1906; president of New Zealand Society for the Protection of Women and Children 1903–1911
• Suzanne Aubert the saint founder of the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion (later translated to the motherhouse of the religious institute
• Albert Henry Baskerville (1883–1908), Organiser of the famous All Golds tour to Great Britain and Australia[6]
• William Thomas Beck (1865–1947), New Zealand Army officer and one of the first New Zealanders to land on Gallipoli on 25 April 1915
• John Duthie (1841–1915), businessman and politician, including Mayor of Wellington (1889–1890)
• Peter Fraser (1884–1950), Prime Minister (with memorial)
• John Hosking (1854–1928), judge of the Supreme Court[7]
• Joseph Kinsey (1852–1936), businessman, collector, and philanthropist from Christchurch[8]
• Cybele Ethel Kirk (1870–1957), educator, suffragist and temperance worker
• Charles Morison (1861–1920), New Zealand barrister[9]
• Mary Player (c. 1857 – 1924), servant, midwife, welfare worker, feminist and social reformer[10]

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