The story of this place
When Camperdown Cemetery opened in 1848, it was Sydney's main burial ground, holding everyone from paupers to prominent citizens. By the 1940s, it had fallen into disrepair, and in 1942, the government resumed the land for a public park. They moved the headstones but left the bodies. Today, thousands of corpses remain buried beneath the grass of Camperdown Memorial Rest Park, their graves unmarked. A small section of headstones survives near St Stephen's Church, including the grave of explorer William Hovell. Locals picnic on graves without knowing, and ghost sightings are regularly reported.