St Patrick's Cemetery - Conservation Management Plan

St Patrick’s Cemetery, situated on Pennant Hills Road in North Parramatta, is the oldest formally established Catholic cemetery in Australia. The earliest headstones date to 1824, with records suggesting this location was in use as a cemetery from as early as 1822, when Father John Joseph Therry sought assistance for the construction of a Catholic Church in Parramatta. A gothic sandstone mortuary chapel was erected in the centre of the cemetery in c.1844, and is recognised as the oldest in Australia. It is estimated that more than 2,000 individuals were buried within the grounds of St Patrick’s Cemetery throughout its 150 years of operation, although only approximately 400 burial monuments remain today. The cemetery was officially closed in 1972 and was transferred to Parramatta City Council in 1975. The cemetery was listed on the NSW State Heritage Register in March 2012, as a site with heritage values of State and National significance.

Figure 1. Location of cemetery

Council has received NSW Heritage funding to update the existing Conservation Management Plan (CMP), which was adopted in 1995 prior to the cemetery being listed on the State Heritage Register. The updated CMP will provide a comprehensive framework to guide the ongoing management, conservation and interpretation of the cemetery, in line with current best practice.

Consultation Closed

Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback on the St Patrick's Cemetery Conservation Management Plan.

Community consultation closed at 5pm on Wednesday 29 July 2026. Council is now reviewing all submissions received during the consultation period.

The feedback collected will help inform the updated Conservation Management Plan, which will guide the future management, conservation and interpretation of this important heritage site.

To stay informed about the project and future opportunities to participate, please follow this page for updates.

Next steps

Council is currently reviewing all feedback received during the consultation period.

Community feedback, along with technical heritage investigations and background research, will help inform the preparation of the updated Conservation Management Plan.