The Mount Street Cemetery

The Mount Street Cemetery was the first cemetery in Wellington for Roman Catholic burials. It was opened in 1841 and closed in 1891 (with further burials in family plots continuing until 1954). The cemetery contains graves of the first nuns and priests in Wellington, as well as many prominent Wellingtonians of the era. Pioneers from many cultural and ethnic backgrounds are buried at Mount Street, including Irish, English, French, Italian, Māori, Scots, Welsh, Austrian, German, and Polish. There are over 1150 burials in the 0.46 hectare site although only about 200 headstones survive. Many of the early markers were simple wooden crosses, which have long since vanished. The cemetery is protected as a heritage site under the Wellington City District Plan.

Friends of Mount Street Cemetery – Archdiocese of Wellington

The Friends of Mount Street Cemetery group was established under the Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington in 2010 to lead activities to restore the burial sites in cemetery. Membership is open to all. Click here to find out about membership.

The committee includes: Vaughan Stagpoole (President), Theo Lynch (Secretary), Joanne Gomez (Archdiocese), Caryn Vautier (Victoria University), Karen Adair, Neil Coup, John Dalgety and Peter Lynch.