What’s happening to graves at Karrakatta Cemetery?
A redevelopment program — also known as “Cemetery Renewal” — is ongoing at Karrakatta, Western Australia’s largest cemetery.
The Metropolitan Cemeteries Board (MCB) is the State Government agency responsible. To date, more than 45 sections have been cleared, with dozens on the waiting list (see the “Affected Areas” page for a full list of sections currently impacted).
“Renewal” is NOT beautification. It is the mass removal of headstones, grave surrounds and plot numbers to make way for new graves, gardens and mausoleums. The headstones are either moved elsewhere in the cemetery and made into garden ornaments, drilled into walls or (in some cases) are entirely destroyed. Grave surrounds are “repurposed” as garden kerbing.
Since the early 2000s, nearly all new graves at Karrakatta have been dug between occupied graves in redeveloped areas — a process best described as “infill”. These new burials will have headstones, but no meaningful memorial is left behind to mark the previous graves.
All mausoleums, and most cremation memorials, are built on top of previous graves — belonging to people who have built Western Australia to be what we all enjoy today.
The MCB claims “no remains are disturbed” during the infill process, but mounting evidence — including testimony from cemetery staff and industry experts — proves otherwise.
An area at Karrakatta before and during redevelopment.
Why is Karrakatta being redeveloped?
Karrakatta is said to be at full capacity. However, there is money to be made in reusing the “premium” cemetery land.
Long-term plans include the reclamation of most original graves.
Karrakatta is centrally located and has become well-regarded for its exclusivity, making it a financially successful location for the funeral industry. As a result, Karrakatta receives the lion’s share of total burials.
Western Australia’s largest funeral company, Bowra and O’Dea, arguably profits the most from the sale of graves at Karrakatta. Not-so-coincidentally, the company’s executive chairman, Joe O’Dea, is also chairman of the MCB — the government agency licensing his own family’s company. Mr O’Dea has been a member of the MCB since it was created in 1988 and was also a member of its predecessor, the Karrakatta Cemetery Board, as well as the former Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park Board.
Besides Karrakatta, the MCB runs five other public cemeteries across Perth: Fremantle, Pinnaroo, Guildford, Midland and Rockingham. All have sufficient burial space for many years to come.
In 2012, a 38-hectare cemetery site in Whitby was reserved for the MCB. Over a decade later, this site is still undeveloped — along with several other proposed sites across the metropolitan area.
Contrary to what has been suggested, the cemetery would not need to close, or be sold off for housing, should redevelopment stop. Instead, families can reserve new graves at other cemeteries, while still using the Karrakatta crematorium and chapels. Families would also be able to keep using their existing graves at Karrakatta, as they have been doing for over a century.
There are also many graves with expired leases that have no burials, which can be used immediately WITHOUT disturbing any occupied graves or headstones (keep scrolling for more information about grave leases).
Examples of how new graves are “filled in” between existing graves. The image on the right is based upon a real photo, enhanced using Google Gemini (not to scale).
Is redevelopment at Karrakatta erasing our heritage?
We believe so. All graves, together with headstones, collectively serve as an intergenerational link between our past and present and provide a last tangible connection to our forebears. Removing headstones from graves breaks this link, shows immense disrespect to families and disrupts the association of the people of Western Australia with their social and family history.
When headstones are removed, the graves can be difficult — and sometimes impossible — to find.
Not only are thousands of “ordinary” people’s graves affected, but so too are the graves of our ANZACs and war heroes, along with important historical, cultural and social figures.
Soldiers’ headstones deliberately smashed by the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board.
Is cemetery redevelopment legal?
The Cemeteries Act 1986 (WA) (Cemeteries Act) governs ALL cemeteries across Western Australia.
Part V, Division 4 of the Cemeteries Act allows authorities to implement “redevelopment schemes” within existing burial areas of a cemetery. The Cemeteries Act broadly defines a redevelopment scheme as:
“[T]he redevelopment of a portion of the land within a cemetery which has been used for burials so that the land may be further used for one or more of the purposes of a cemetery provided for by [the Cemeteries Act].”
No grave in Western Australia is forever — nor can you “own” one. All are sold with a 25-year lease known as a grant of right of burial (grant). This includes pre-paid plots, mausoleum crypts and cremation memorials.
You have the right to purchase one grant extension, if applied for in time. After that, extensions are at the cemetery board’s discretion. Full control of the grave reverts to the cemetery board upon expiry.
On 2 July 2012, ALL active grave grants longer than 25 years were TERMINATED across ALL Western Australian cemeteries — not just Karrakatta.
Cemeteries Act 1986 (WA) — Schedule 2, Division 1, clause 6
Although redevelopment only affects Karrakatta at the moment, it could happen in any cemetery across the state — particularly at Fremantle, Guildford and Midland cemeteries, where the MCB has previously indicated it has redevelopment plans.
Historic headstones are shifted to walls and gardens, sometimes hundreds of metres away from the graves. Many plaques are damaged or destroyed during the process.
Why doesn’t the public know about this?
The MCB’s own research shows that only 28% of the community is aware of redevelopment. Of those who are aware, most are against it.
Just as “renewal” is used instead of the correct legal term “redevelopment”, many other details of the process are not transparent.
The MCB claims to conduct “extensive consultation” with families, but this does not occur. There is a lack of advertising and free discussion in the media. As a result, many families are unaware that their loved ones’ headstones are being removed and are given little opportunity to contest it.
Families leasing new graves are rarely told that they are burying their loved ones between existing graves. This can be especially shocking news for families who have, for example, buried mum and dad next to each other in adjoining graves, not knowing there are other people buried in between them.
The MCB says that it will stop cemetery redevelopment if the public doesn’t want it. Clearly, the public does not want redevelopment — so why is it still happening?
Headstones and plot markers are mass removed from graves.
How can I help save Karrakatta and my loved ones’ graves?
If you would like to assist our campaign or get in touch with us, please join our Facebook group and visit the “Join & Contact” page.
It is crucial that you lodge your contact details and request specific information for all family graves. The MCB is responsible for all public cemeteries in Perth, including Karrakatta, Fremantle, Pinnaroo, Guildford, Midland, Rockingham and Gnangara Aboriginal Cemetery. The MCB can be contacted by:
- Email: mcb@mcb.wa.gov.au
- Online: www.wa.gov.au/media/46910
- Post: PO Box 53, CLAREMONT WA 6910
- Phone: (+61) 1300 793 109.
It is strongly recommended that you get all communications in writing.
If you have loved ones buried in cemeteries outside of Perth, please get in contact with their management, which is usually the local council.
The larger our team, the greater chance we have of causing transparency and accountability — preserving the social, cultural and historical heritage of the people of Western Australia.
Saving Family Headstones at Karrakatta members standing by the grave of Private James Hill Stobo, which was later redeveloped in August 2020.
“Graveyards and cemeteries aren’t mere plots of land; they are sacred spaces that bear witness to the lives of those that have passed. They shouldn’t be reutilised out of convenience. We need to respect the final resting place of those departed … We must not let the remains of our loved ones be disrespected. Their resting place is exactly that — their final place of rest. It must remain undisturbed.”
Christine Leeman — Trustee, New Friends of Dewsbury Cemetery (UK) (2025)
“Each element [of a grave] is regarded as significant, contributing to the meaning of the grave as a whole, and should not be removed with the aim of ‘tidying-up’ a cemetery or simplifying maintenance.”
National Trust of Australia (NSW) — “Guidelines for Cemetery Conservation” (2nd ed, 2009)