Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington

> Mount Street Cemetery

Mount Street Cemetery, the first Roman Catholic cemetery in Wellington, was consecrated by Bishop Pompallier on 6 January 1841.

The Mount Street Cemetery was the first cemetery in Wellington for Catholic burials and contains the graves of the first nuns and priests in Wellington. It remained open until 1891 although burials continued in existing family plots until 1954. The earliest surviving grave marker dates from 1851, and the latest from 1954. Although only around 200 headstones survive, it is estimated that there could have been as many as 1150 burials. Many of the early markers were simple wooden crosses, which have long since vanished.

Pioneers from many cultural and ethnic backgrounds are buried at Mount Street, including Irish, English, French, Italian, MÄori, Scots, Welsh, Austrian, German, and Polish.

Burial List
An initial burial list, containing around 700 names, was completed in August 2010. With further research by the Friends, and information provided by descendants, the list was updated in November 2011 to contain more than 1100 names.

The most complete version to date was compiled in May 2013. It also includes names of some now confirmed as being at other Wellington cemeteries. Download a PDF of this latest version HERE.

The burial list remains a work in progress, and we welcome any information that will assist us to confirm the names and details of all those interred at Mount Street.

The 2010 and 2011 versions are archived [2010 - HERE., 2011 - HERE.]

Extensive research has been very kindly undertaken for the Friends on those buried at the Mount Street Cemetery. Please click here to be taken to the research.

Maps
Over the years various maps and plans of the cemetery have been drawn up. One was by Charles O'Neill in 1878 and another in 1959 by JE Earp. To view or download a PDF version of these maps click HERE

Friends of Mount Street Cemetery – Archdiocese of Wellington

The Friends of Mount Street Cemetery group was established under the Archdiocese in 2010, to lead activities to restore the burial sites in this sacred ground; to establish full records; and to conserve the landscape of the Cemetery as an amenity for all. Membership is open to all. Click here to find out about membership

The committee includes: Karen Adair (President), Vaughan Stagpoole (Secretary; descendant), Micaela Buckley (Convenor, records and research committee), Stephen Harrison (Archdiocese), Andrew Wilks (Victoria University), Michael Desmond (descendant) and Priscilla Williams.

The Committee of the Friends of Mount Street Cemetery notes with great sadness the passing in October 2016 of Ken Scadden, maritime historian, archivist and author, and founding member of the Committee. He contributed so much.

Click here to contact the committee

Before and After - The work of the friends:

Funding support

The Friends of Mount Street Cemetery would like to acknowledge the very generous support of our sponsors since our inception in 2010. We first received a grant of $6,000 from the Lion Foundation for an initial set of headstone repairs. The Wellington City Council gave a grant of $2,160 to undertake a gradiometer survey on the main path of the Cemetery to identify any graves that were on that path, which is currently part of the City to Sea Walkway. We then received $10,000 from the Community Trust of Wellington for additional headstone repairs.

A further grant of $5,000 from the Wellington City Council will be used to repair timber grave surrounds, which have been assessed as having a high heritage value. Late in 2010 we received a grant of $8,890 from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board for a gradiometer survey of the entire Cemetery. A combination of this very generous financial assistance combined with what we have all been able to do as volunteers has contributed to the much improved appearance of the Cemetery.