Boroondara General Cemetery
Kew, Melbourne
One of the oldest cemeteries in Victoria, Boroondara cemetery was originally laid out as a traditional Victorian garden cemetery, with curving paths following the contours of the site and creating views in a park-like setting. In the latter half of the twentieth century many pathways and grassed verges were used to provide new burial sites, with many of the older Victorian monuments falling into disrepair. Since 2010 the grounds and monuments have been through a period of restoration. Seasonal and perennial plantings create a beautiful environment for family and walkers and native plantings provide precious habitat for wildlife. Listed on the Victorian Heritage Register this cemetery has many historic and protected trees of significance.
From 2017 - late 2018 Rachel Stephenson worked with Michael Tanner, Helen Page, Su Laird, and many volunteers to return the grounds to the original Botanical Cemetery vision, adding heat-tolerant, flowering trees to ensure succession as well as mass plantings of drought-tolerant perennials, grasses and Succulents. Mulch and groundcovers were introduced to reduce maintenance and soil evaporation, and reliance on chemical management. Returning to work with the new team in 2025 Rachel is continuing with planting areas of perennials and native/endemic species.
