Our cemeteries and memorial parks are peaceful spaces where families come together to remember loved ones. They are also some of Melbourne’s largest green spaces, providing important value and wildlife habitats throughout the city.
Whether you’re visiting for the first time or are a regular visitor, understanding what to expect can help make your visit more meaningful.
Places of care and respect
When you visit one of our 21 cemeteries and memorial parks, you’ll find spaces that are carefully maintained by our dedicated teams. Our staff bring a lot of knowledge, specialised skills, and genuine care to their work every day, ensuring these meaningful places remain beautiful and peaceful for generations to come.
Watch the video below to see how our horticulture teams approach their daily work, from seasonal planting to general maintenance.
Active operational spaces
Many of our cemeteries are active, working environments with grounds maintenance and cemetery operations happening every day.
During your visit, you may encounter:
Our teams preparing graves for burial or memorial services
Construction and development for the expansion of new memorial areas
General maintenance and improvement work
Machinery and equipment including excavators, ride-on mowers, and other specialised equipment used for maintenance and operations
Temporary fencing or barriers for areas undergoing works or for safety reasons.
These ongoing operations are essential to maintaining our cemeteries and serving families. We work carefully to minimise disruption while ensuring these spaces continue to meet community needs.
Watch the video below to see how our burial operations team demonstrate the expertise and care that goes into preparing graves, even in challenging conditions at our historic sites.
Understanding the natural environment
Our cemeteries are living, natural environments that change with the seasons and weather.
Regular visitors might notice:
Longer grass in winter and spring - during wet seasons, grass grows faster and may sometimes appear longer between maintenance visits. Depending on rainfall, if the ground is too waterlogged, we may postpone mowing to protect the grass and avoid creating mud patches.
Drier conditions in summer and autumn - dry seasons can be challenging to manage but our teams do their best to keep our gardens healthy and thriving, while also managing our water use sustainably.
More weeds after high rainfall - we often hand-weed to prevent the use of harsh chemicals entering the natural environment and harming other native plants and habitat. During periods of higher rainfall, we sometimes experience an increase in weeds, and we simply can’t get to all of them.
Watch the video below to learn more about how our horticulture teams approach seasonal maintenance.
Natural soil settling
After a burial, it’s completely natural for the soil that was dug to settle over time. As the soil naturally compacts, air escapes from the earth causing a drop in the ground level within the area that was dug (the grave). Weather conditions, especially high rainfall, can sometimes accelerate the settling process.
Our teams proactively address soil settling by performing soil top ups on graves in the weeks following a burial, or when they notice a drop. If you notice the soil has settled on your loved one’s grave, please contact us and we’ll arrange a soil top up.
Watch the video below to see how our team approaches soil top ups with care and expertise, explaining the natural processes that affect graves over time.
General Safety
The safety of our visitors, staff and contractors is our priority. When visiting our cemeteries, please remember to:
Keep to designated roads and pathways – ground levels and conditions across our cemeteries can vary, especially in some older sections.
Respect safety barriers and follow onsite signage – some roads or areas may be sectioned off due to works or safety concerns.
Be aware of machinery – our teams will always have the required safety barriers in place when operating machinery. However, if you come across machinery, please maintain a safe distance.
Learn more about headstone and monument safety.
Contact us
If you notice any maintenance needs, safety concerns, or have questions about your visit, please don’t hesitate to contact our team.
Phone: 1300 022 298
Email: enquiries@gmct.com.au