Situated on the Adelong Road, the land was consecrated in 1861, taking over from the town’s original burial ground at Mill Angle (now the racecourse and showground area). Some graves were moved as verified by dates on the headstones. The cemetery is divided into denominational sections but the graves are arranged in a rather haphazard manner.

The very earliest death recorded in the cemetery is that of M O’Mara in 1841 or 4. The earliest recorded birth dates are those of Isabella Rankin and Thomas Quilty in 1786. Burials ceased at the Pioneer Cemetery at the beginning of the twentieth century although the use of family plots continued for long after, right up until 1980.

The cemetery became overgrown with only the top of the taller monuments visible until a Restoration Committee cleared the weeds, restored and cleaned headstones and built a two railed timber fence around the boundary between 1969 and 1971.

One grave of note is that of Thomas Boyd, a member of the Hume and Hovell expedition. Boyd an Irishman settled in the Gilmore Valley and raised a large family before his death in 1885.

Tumut also retained a Chinese community after the gold rushes were over and a Chinese Burning Tower in the cemetery was used during funeral rites. A large number of Chinese residents were buried in the cemetery but it is unknown how many were subsequently exhumed for reburial in China.

For more information go to: www.visittumut.com.au