Welcome to


The historic cemetery on the hill


Situated in beautiful historic Old Noarlunga perched on top of a hill overlooking the Onkaparinga River, the Cemetery on the Hill was established in 1850 shortly after the early European settlement in the area around 1840.

On July 25th 1850, the land was conveyed in trust for erection and maintenance of a Church of England Church; the trustees being Richard Bosworth, James Clark, and Philip Hollins. The church eventually being named St Philip & St James for Mssrs Clark and Hollins. Mr Bosworth himself is buried in the cemetery.

The Foundation Stone for the church was laid in 1850 by Bishop Augustus Short, the first Church of England Bishop in the colony. The first burial was in August of 1850, but the oldest grave still in existence within our heritage listed cemetery, is that of Mary Davey.. Not long after Mary arrived in the colony, Mary and her husband John settled in the area in 1848. Tragically, Mary died from complications due to childbirth on the 18th of July 1851, and she was buried here on the 21st of July, 1851. It was not until 1851 that the Church was ready for services. The Church has had improvements over the years with the later additions of a Sanctuary and a Vestry.

The cemetery was granted a State Heritage listing in 1985. There are a number of people located in the cemetery that have been awarded the Order of Australia Medal, as well as a number of people that served during World Wars. We have founding fathers and Pioneer families interred here. Some of the headstones that are still standing, are testament to the craftsmanship of the time and the intricate details can still be seen.

The Bacchus Family are honoured to have your loved one placed in their care and are pleased to offer both burial and ashes interments in The Cemetery on the Hill.

The Cemetery Record


Last Name Given Names Year of Birth Year of Death Interment Type Plot Number Lease Expiration

Expired Sites


All plots located at The Cemetery On the Hill are used in accordance with a held lease, each lease has a set amount of time associated with it. For Grave plots this is 50 years, and for Ashes plots this is 25 years. As a lease approaches expiry, The Cemetery on The Hill will make every effort to contact the lease holder using the contact details we have on record.

If a lease expires and no arrangements have been made for renewal or relinquishment, an expiration notice will be placed on the plot advising to get in contact with The Cemetery on The Hill and an expiry notice will be posted in the Advertiser.

If a period of 2 years has passed since these efforts were made to notify the lease holder, the plot will be reclaimed by The Cemetery on The Hill. In accordance with the Burial and Cremation Act 2013 and Regulations 2014, the site may then be made available for a new lease holder and the site reused.

On the occasion a site is reused, The Cemetery on The Hill will adhere strictly to the South Australian Legislation. If a Grave site is reused, any interred remains will not be relocated, rather, The Cemetery on the Hill will perform what is known as a lift and deepen procedure to relocate any remains further down in the same plot. This procedure is performed with utmost respect for the remains. Any skeletal remains are carefully collected and placed into an ossuary box, the depth of the grave is then increased and the ossuary box is placed at the new depth.

In the case of reusing an expired ashes interment plot, the existing cremated remains will be respectfully removed and relocated to an unmarked location within The Cemetery on The Hill. In the case of an ashes plot being relinquished, upon removal of the cremated remains, The Cemetery on The Hill are more than happy to return the created remains instead of relocating them to an unmarked location within the cemetery, this is at the discretion of the family.

If you wish to renew or release your lease


Please Fill in the Contact form below and we will get in touch with you and take you through the appropriate steps. Alternatively you are welcome to give us a call on (08) 8317 6044

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