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White Hat Tour of Melbourne General Cemetery[please note; this article contains several minor inaccuracies - ask your guide for details if you are interested] There's much more life in the Cemetery than you would think. Melbourne General Cemetery is one of the most important cemeteries in Australia. Join your entertaining White Hat Guide for a tour that is Intelligent, Informed, Independent and (just occasionally) irreverent. | This cemetery is full of fiery preachers, con men, courageous women, scandals, disasters and joyous occasions. Musicians actors, scientists and ordinary people have all helped make Melbourne what it is today.You can wander through the cemetery yourself and miss nearly all of this, as practically none of this information is on the tombstones. On the other hand you can have it come to life with the assistance of our entertaining guide. This tour is the ideal introduction to Melbourne's history.| | Selected Wednesdays and Sundays 1.00 to 3.00 pm
(Group bookings of 15 or more can be organised at other times)
Price: $15 per head |
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 | Commencing from the gatehouse at the main gates (see picture on left) in College Crescent near Princes Park Drive. (Melway 2B D3). If you are going by public transport, take the No 19 tram in Elizabeth Street and alight at stop 13. Follow College Crescent for about 150 m until you reach the main gate of the cemetery. Please note that on 1st September 2007 the City of Melbourne truncated the route of the Free Tourist Shuttle Bus and it no longer passes the Melbourne Cemetery.
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The details and prices are correct at the time of loading to our web site on
28th March 2006 .
We reserve the right to alter the contents of the tour according to prevailing conditions, and will promptly load any changes in pricing to this site.- The Prime Ministers' Wall lists every Australian prime minister living or dead. Some have the title Hon. while others have the title Rt. Hon. What is the difference between Honourable and Right Honourable?
- Several people who have been household names in Melbourne in recent decades are buried in Melbourne General Cemetery without a headstone or a plaque. Name one.
- A number of tombstones in the Melbourne Cemetery contain embedded fossils that are millions of years old. Where would you find one and what species is fossilised?
- A number of tombstones in the Melbourne Cemetery contain hidden messages. An inscription may seem innocuous enough until you interpret the unambiguous coded message which, given the background of the person buried there, could not be expressed overtly. Can you give an example?
| To find the answers to questions like these ask a White Hat
Accredited Guide or subscribe to our free
newsletter where similar questions and answers are provided each
week. For a sample of previous questions see
The White Hat Quiz. |
Some examples of our feedback | "Having been a local historian, family historian, genealogist , and general cemetery buff I came along expecting to only pick up the odd bits and pieces which I did not already know. What a surprise! I have been on many cemetery tours throughout the world, but I enjoyed this more than any other. Theatrical where appropriate but with quiet asides demonstrating knowledge across a breadth of disciplines which is unusual in this field. Thank you again.. ."
Maureen, January 2007 | "I was a little diffident about taking our group on this tour as we had been on a not very inspiring tour several years ago where the guide simply read from written notes. . . . Your tour was nicely constructed with your guide using numbers of audio-visual aids to enhance the experience as well as drawing on his acting and story telling skills. On top of that he was able to answer all questions that our knowledgeable group (including scientists, historians, musicians and other professionals) threw at him. First rate stuff!"
Dr John S___, 7 October 2004 | "My wife and I would like to Thank whitehat for taking us on the tour of the Melbourne Cemetery and the Murder and Mystery tour. We have not stopped talking about them and have made it a point of telling all and sundry about them. A big thank you goes out to (the man in the white hat) who with out a doubt makes the tours the success that they are. Our Hats (white) off to you and keep up the good work."
Steve & Karen, 15 September 2003 | "My partner and I had a ... tour ... around Melbourne Cemetery 2 years ago and STILL tell our friends! An overdue belated THANKYOU for a great day!"
Elise. 26 August 2003 | From the melbourne.citysearch.com.au review January 2003" . . (The White Hat guide's) social-commentary tour combines humour, respect, philosophical inquiry and amazing historical detail. He creates and solves mysteries, yet allows participants to draw their own conclusions as to the scandals and romance of lives lived and lost. . ."
| "The feedback forms indicate that for many participants your cemetery tour was the highlight of the Conference"
Peter, March 1993 | "What a wonderful tour. We were inspired by your after dinner address and decided to come along on your cemetery tour. We never realised what wonderful stories lay just across the road from where we live. We have already borrowed two of the books you recommended from our local library."
Peter & Judy, June 1991 |
The National Trust also operate night tours of Melbourne Cemetery several times a year. Please note these night tours are operated by the National Trust and not by White Hat Tours. Therefore White Hat vouchers and rewards cannot be used, they cannot be used as part of corporate training packages and our usual guarantees regarding the quality of guides and other tour benefits do not apply.Enquiries and bookings for the National Trust night tours: 9656 9800 or 9656 9824 |
| Page last updated: | 29 November, 2007 | | URL:
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TOURISM NEWS
Qantas In Flight Magazine chooses
White Hat
Cemetery Tour as its featured Australian tour for May
There are many fine historical tours
throughout Australia including cemetery tours. From these, the
prestigious Qantas In Flight Magazine has chosen the White Hat Tour
of Melbourne Cemetery as its featured Australian tour for the May
2007 edition. This tour was also featured by ABC radio on 24 May and
will feature in a documentary series on Burke and Wills to be shown
on European television in 2008. The tour has been operating for many years and has won
praise from a wide range of sources. This is not a dry and stuffy
tour but in keeping with all White Hat offerings it is Informed,
Intelligent, Independent (and occasionally) Irreverent. You can find
details of the tour at White
Hat Tour of Melbourne Cemetery and view the article at
Qantas In Flight Magazine. |
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