Cemeteries

To locate a person buried in one of Council's cemeteries, use our online cemeteries search:

• easy to use, easy to navigate modern interface
• mobile friendly
• search all Cairns Regional Council cemeteries in one place
• clear aerial imagery shows locations and plot numbers

Search tips

• use the simple search bar in the upper left of the map screen to search by first name/s, surname, cemetery or plot information
• use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard to search for part of a known name eg Smit*
• search by all, or part of, the surname
• minimum of three characters required. For 2-letter surnames, type a known Christian name as well
• try different spellings eg "Petersen" instead of "Peterson", or "O Sullivan" instead of "O'Sullivan"

The information contained in this search tool has been generated from Cairns Regional Council records. Some of these were paper-based and transcribed from old burial books where the handwriting can be illegible or hard to read. Transcription errors may exist. For any corrections, please email us.

Browser compatibility note: This new search is not compatible with Internet Explorer. To get the best experience, we recommend you use one of the latest versions of the following web browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge or Safari.

Cemetery search

Our cemeteries are open to the public 7 days a week, 365 days a year from dawn to dusk (6am – 6pm).

Normal cemetery office operating hours are between 7am and 3.30pm Monday to Friday (excluding weekends and public holidays).

There are five operating cemeteries that provide various burial and ash placement options.

Babinda Cemetery

• Location Bruce Highway/Nelson Rd Babinda
• Located a few minutes drive north of the township of Babinda, and alongside the sloping hills of the Wooroonooran National Park.
• Available options
  • Monumental Section
  • Columbarium Wall

Designated areas within the cemetery - view Babinda Cemetery layout ( PDF, 1.45 MB )

Nelson Rd, Babinda Cemetery

• Location Bruce Highway/Nelson Rd Babinda
• Located a few minutes' drive north of the township of Babinda, and alongside the sloping hills of the Wooroonooran National Park.
• Available options
  • Lawn Plaque on Beam
  • Lawn Monument on Beam
  • Columbarium Wall
  • Mausoleum Wall

Designated areas within the cemetery - view Babinda Cemetery layout ( PDF, 1.45 MB )

Cairns Cemetery (Martyn St)

• Corner Martyn St and Anderson St Manunda
• The Cairns Cemetery was the original cemetery for the Cairns Region and it remains in operation today.
• Available options
  • Lawn Plaque on Beam
  • Lawn Monument on Beam
  • Monumental Section
  • Columbarium Wall

Designated areas within the cemetery - view Martyn Street Cemetery layout ( PDF, 0.98 MB )

Forest View Cemetery

• Corner Hardy Rd and Foster Rd, Mount Sheridan
• The Forest View Cemetery is located at the rear of the Forest Gardens estate, at the base of White Rock peak.
• Available options
  • Lawn Plaque
  • Lawn Plaque on Beam
  • Mausoleum Section

Designated areas within the cemetery - view Forest View Cemetery layout ( PDF, 1.76 MB )

Gordonvale Cemetery

• Corner Highleigh Road and Mahar Road
• Located adjacent to O'Leary's Creek, the Gordonvale Cemetery is set among palm trees and surrounding cane fields.
• Available options
  • Lawn Plaque on Beam
  • Lawn Monument on Beam
  • Monumental Section
  • Columbarium Wall
  • Mausoleum Vault

Designated areas within the cemetery - view Gordonvale Cemetery layout ( PDF, 1.84 MB )

We provide a range of burial and placement options to accommodate community needs. Council cemeteries are operated on a non-denominational basis.

Lawn sections

Lawn sections are where a plaque is placed flush with the surrounding lawn.

Lawn plaque on beam sections

Lawn plaque on beam sections are where a plaque is placed on a concrete beam. Council does not supply the plaque for the burial, and it is the responsibility of the estate to have the plaque prepared. All plaques are to be approved and installed by Council.

Lawn monument on beam sections

Lawn monument on beam sections is where a monument or memorial is placed on a concrete beam. Council does not supply the monument. Council must approve the monument prior to installation. The monument must be installed by a qualified stonemason.

Monumental section

A monumental section or full grave site is a burial option featuring granite, marble or concrete headstones and/or bases. This option requires Council approval and you need to engage a monumental mason.

Mausoleums

Mausoleums are external, above-ground, free-standing buildings with spaces or burial chambers for coffins. Council approval is required prior to any construction of a mausoleum and depending on the specific dimensions of the design planning approval may also be required.

The placement of a body into a mausoleum or above ground vault requires that the body is embalmed and enclosed in a coffin with a hermetically sealed liner. Council requires an Embalming Certificate to be provided prior to burial.

Columbarium Wall

A columbarium wall is a wall for ash placement.

Adornments

Council's Cemetery Policy ( PDF, 0.17 MB ) sets out what adornments are acceptable at each site.

In addition, Council has prepared the following fact sheets on guidelines for adornments and memorials for each section of our cemeteries:

• Fact sheet - Columbariums
• Fact sheet - Monumental and vaults
• Fact sheet - Mausoleums
• Fact sheet - Headstone on lawn beam
• Fact sheet - Temporary memorials
• Fact sheet - Plaque on lawn beam and lawn plaque

Adornments must be housed in a Council approved receptacle and any placements presenting a safety hazard will immediately be removed by Council.

Where permitted, a receptacle must be in accordance with Council’s guidelines including but not limited to size, number, and anchor.  The receptacle must not encroach on adjoining graves or grassed areas, must be of sufficient weight to remain secure and be non-water holding.

Flowers, (including but not limited to) floral arrangements and floral wreaths (fresh cut) may be placed against a memorial or at the head of the grave. Visitors are requested to remove wrapping and rubber bands from floral arrangements before they are left as a tribute.

Limited artificial flowers are permitted within headstone and monumental sections, columbarium and mausoleums, within approved receptacles.

Council reserves the right to specify the types of adornments that may be placed at cemeteries and will remove and dispose of any adornment that is deemed unsightly, offensive, breakable or that poses a risk to public safety (this includes artificial flowers). In this circumstance reasonable effort will be made to contact the person/s responsible for the adornment.

The following items are not permitted at Council cemeteries:

• glass or breakable items, vases or receptacles
• water holding items, vases or receptacles
• anything deemed offensive
• draped or flying flags as adornments
• lights (including solar or battery powered)
• alcohol or alcohol containers (full or empty)
• clothing
• balloons, photo frames, candles or naked flames, windchimes, toys, furniture, statues or other ornaments, or anything with sharp edges, spikes or hooks
• rocks, pebbles, bark chips, shells or the like, unless incorporated within an approved permanent memorial border
• permanent planting of bushes, flowers or trees, or installation of any garden edging or fencing within a cemetery.

No adornments are to be placed on any grassed areas. All adornments must be placed against the headstone or head of the grave and must not encroach onto neighbouring graves, or memorials. Council are not responsible for items placed at the grave site

Memorial (vault, headstone or plaque)

Council has adopted specifications for all memorials to be installed at Council cemeteries.

All memorials must be approved by Council and installed in accordance with these specifications and Australian Standard AS 4204 Headstones and Cemetery Monuments, AS 4425 Above Ground Burial Structures and the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

Council is not responsible for the maintenance of, or repairing damage caused to, memorials through acts of vandalism, ageing or deterioration.

Pre-cyclone season clean up

Annually or as required, cemetery staff will undertake a clean-up of cemetery grounds and graves. Items that have the potential to become dangerous objects during storms, or that do not conform to the provisions within the Cemetery Policy ( PDF, 0.17 MB ) will be removed.

Public Notices will be placed at the cemetery prior to the clean-up to inform the general public.

We encourage families to collect any items of significance or value before the notified clean-up.

Pioneer Cemetery

Established in 1887, the McLeod Street Pioneer Cemetery is the oldest surviving cemetery in Cairns. The Cemetery is listed on both the Queensland National Register as well as the Queensland Heritage Register. The Cemetery is now closed to burials and is a registered Pioneer Cemetery managed by Council subject to the conditions set out by the Environmental Protection Agency. You can download a copy of the McLeod Street Pioneer Cemetery Conservation Plan ( PDF, 2.1 MB ).

Schools and individuals wishing to learn more about this historic cemetery can download student worksheets ( PDF, 0.8 MB ) and teacher's notes ( PDF, 0.71 MB ).

Old Smithfield Cemetery

The Old Smithfield Cemetery is of historic importance at the local level. It was set aside as an early cemetery reserve to serve the proposed township of Smithfield but came to have only one burial (person unknown) as the township failed and the population moved into Cairns proper where there was more supporting infrastructure. The Cemetery reserve has not been revoked; it remains an open landscape with mature trees and contains just the one grave.