Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery Tours

Formed in May 2007, the Friends of Cheltenham and Regional Cemeteries Inc. is a not-for-profit community group which aims to raise the profile of the Cheltenham cemeteries as places of local, state and national importance. 

Our motto is "research, restore, remember". We do this by:

• Researching the lives of those interred and sharing this information for the benefit of future generations;
• Restoring gravesites by raising funds through close links with interested parties and other stakeholders;
• Remembering the contribution of those from our past by running regular walking tours.

Originally named the "Mordialloc and South Moorabbin General Cemetery", eight acres of land fronting Charman Road was reserved and the first interment took place on 27 March 1865 with the burial of John Fullerton Hunter. A portion of the Cemetery was later excised in the 1880s for the railway line to Mordialloc. In 1882, an additional two acres was added.

The Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery is the final resting place of many local pioneers and identities as well as two indigenous Australians. Our popular tours are the result of many hours of painstaking research to bring to life long forgotten stories of everyday Melburnians.  All participants are provided with a professionally produced tour guide and refreshments.