Shortland Cemetery is of great historic importance to Thames and the surrounding district.

By 1870 already 117 people had been buried there, among them 41 children under the age of one. The cemetery is high on a hill overlooking Thames and gives fine views of the township and the Firth from between its imposing headstones.

Enter the cemetery and head up past the water tank to the upper cemetery to the early settler block. Here, you can view the graves of John William Hall, Alfred & George Price (of Prices Foundry) and a soldier who fought at the Battle of Waterloo.

The land of Shortland Cemetery (approximately 6 acres) and the hospital (plus other church and school sites, including Saint Georges Church) was generously gifted by Ngāti Maru chief Hotoreni Taipari.

The first 80 internments weren’t recorded, but records were kept from 1870.

A study of the Shortland cemetery records for 1870, by staff at The Treasury, indicates that of the 117 recorded deaths, 20 men and 14 women died between the ages of 18 and 40 years; but no population figures could be found for the number of ‘diggers’ who passed through Thames.

Mine workers’ deaths, however, were prevalent – from silicosis, the result of lung exposure to quartz dust, and deaths from mine accidents, including gas explosions. An example of this is Hugh Hill, whose wife, Emma chose a marble cross, (which also records the deaths of their five children), with the symbol Jesus, Saviour of Man. Others who died of mine injuries and accidents were Charles McKeown, Thomas Casley and James Williams.

Shortland Cemetery is owned by the Thames-Coromandel District Council. It’s one of 13 cemeteries operated by the District, and one of 6 currently closed for new burials. So if you were hoping to book a burial spot here, you’re out of luck.

Shortland Cemetery Location
From Parawai Road, head up Hauraki Terrace to Shortland Cemetery. Alternatively from SH25 head up Sealy Street, turning right at The Terrace before turning into Vernon St which turns into Danby St.