TypeAgencyDate Range1854-DescriptionThe boundaries of the Wellington Public Cemetery were constituted in 1854. The lower portion (Portion 1) of the cemetery, nearest the town, was used first. Entered from Sydney Street, it was often referred to as the 'Sydney Street' cemetery, a name that became meaningless when Bowen Street was extended in 1939. In the early days of Wellington's settlement it had been envisaged that all burials would take place in what was known as the 'Public Cemetery', however a separate area was set aside for Jewish burials and, after much argument, a separate Church of England cemetery was set aside, although some early non-conformist burials had already taken place in the part of the cemetery reserve. (Roman Catholic burials in early Wellington took place in the Mount Street Cemetery.) The separate Chruch of England cemetery, alongside Bolton Street, was consecrated in 1855. It was first surveyed in 1862, with the existing graves plotted on a map. The Church of England cemetery was vested in the Wellington City Corporation in 1892 and Church of England burials (except for burials in family plots) then took place in Karori Cemetery. A further portion, cemetery reserve No. 5, which later became Anderson Park, was used from 1890 until the cemetery was closed in 1891. The 55 burials in this area were later dug up and 53 re-interred in the Sydney Street section of the Cemetery, while two were re-interred at Karori. The Jewish cemetery was consecrated in 1843, closed in 1892 and vested in the Wellington City Corporation after the opening of the Jewish part of the Karori Cemetery.
