Western Australia

Perth War Cemetery & the Western Australian Cremation Memorial, Nedlands

The Perth War Cemetery is in Karrakatta, on Smyth Road, Nedlands, adjacent to the Western Australian Garden of Remembrance. It was established by the Army in 1942 for those who died on service during WW2 of wounds in the Hollywood Military Hospital after returning from operational areas. The remains of many casualties were also brought in from civil cemeteries and temporary military cemeteries so that they might lie among their comrades. Among them is 'Bluey' Truscott (Sqdn Ldr Keith W Truscott DFC and BAR, MID) the football star and famous air ace, who was a member, from its beginning, of the first Australian fighter squadron to be formed in the UK. During the battle of Milne Bay his squadron - No 76 - together with No 75 Squadron played a vital part in halting the Japanese advance.

The Perth War Cemetery contains 497 war graves, including 16 from WW1 and four from the Vietnam War. In addition to the 20 graves from these two wars, a further 477 burials from WW2 are located there, consisting of: 14 sailors, one soldier and one airman of the UK Forces; one British Merchant Navy seaman; one man of the Royal Canadian Navy; 23 sailors; 348 soldiers and 78 airmen of the Australian Forces; one sailor and six soldiers of the NZ Forces; one man of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps and two men of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Special permission was obtained to allow the four Vietnam war graves to be intered within the Perth War Cemetery.

The headstones in the war cemetery are a distinctive grey granite, mined locally in Perth. The cemetery was taken over by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 1949.

Address:

Perth War Cemetery
Smyth Road
NEDLANDS WA 6900

Perth War Cemetery Dutch Annexe

Adjoining the war cemetery is an enclosure known as the Perth War Cemetery Dutch Annexe where four sailors of the Netherlands Navy and 21 Dutch civilians are buried. They were evacuated from Java in February 1942 but the seaplanes carrying them were sunk by Japanese aircraft in Broome Harbour.

Geraldton War Cemetery

During WW2, the No 4 Service Flying Training School of the RAAF was based in Geraldton. Most of the RAAF casualties died in air training accidents.

The war cemetery adjoins the Geraldton Civil Cemetery, adjacent to the airport on the main road to Mullewa. The main entrance, in the form of a pergola of stone piers and overhead concrete beams, is situated in Eastward Road. A Cross of Sacrifice stands at the southern end, facing the entrance. There are 83 burials, comprising 41 soldiers and 42 airmen, all of the Australian Forces.

Geraldton War Cemetery.

Perth War Cemetery.

See

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

See further: