Wellington's first burial ground, dating from 1840 and said to be the first town cemetery in New Zealand, now with a museum and self-guided walks. Bolton Street Cemetery is at 26 Bolton Street in central Wellington. The website says the last burial took place in 1968. A reviewer says it is now known as Bolton Street Memorial Park. The Bolton Street Cemetery Museum is open from 10am to 3pm daily, and has a burial list of more than 9,300 people. Tours include Tiptoe Through the Tombstones and a newer tour, Hickety Pips and Others, on military matters in colonial Wellington. Tours are booked through Eventfinda. The website says a self-guided tour can be taken at any time, and that memorial trail pamphlets are available at each entrance. Winter tours for small groups can be arranged on request.
The cemetery has over 1,300 monuments on sloping hillsides, including iron memorials, wooden headboards, picket fences and heritage roses. A walkway runs between the city centre and the Rose Garden of the Botanic Gardens. Reviewers describe it as atmospheric, beautiful and well kept, and one international visitor found it moving to learn about the people who lived in Wellington. Another notes separate areas for Anglicans, Jews and Roman Catholics, and that State Highway 1 divides the grounds. The website says the iron memorials and wooden headboards are rare in New Zealand. Friends of the cemetery hold working bees on Sunday mornings.