Helensburgh NSW 2508
Waterfall General (Garrawarra) Cemetery Site
Last updated 7 July 2026
Waterfall General Cemetery — also called Garrawarra Cemetery — lies in isolated bushland north-west of Helensburgh, near the Garrawarra Centre for Aged Care at Waterfall. Between 1909 and 1949 it was the burial ground for more than 2,000 tuberculosis patients who died at the nearby Waterfall Sanatorium. Today the site is overgrown, largely closed to the public, and managed by Wollongong City Council.
This page summarises the cemetery’s history, how to research burials, and the long-running effort to protect a site that many locals never knew existed.
Quick facts
Waterfall Sanatorium and the cemetery
The Waterfall Sanatorium opened on 14 April 1909 as NSW’s purpose-built hospital for advanced tuberculosis (TB). The site at about 1,000 feet above sea level was chosen for the belief that fresh, high-country air aided recovery. Patients — including children — were often sent there under public-health laws and could remain for years until cured or until they died.
Those who died were buried in the sanatorium cemetery on the grounds. The hospital was not a general community cemetery: burials were almost entirely TB patients from across NSW and overseas who had been treated at Waterfall. When antibiotics and modern TB treatment made long-term isolation unnecessary, the sanatorium closed in 1958. The site became Garrawarra Hospital and later the Garrawarra Centre for Aged Care, which still operates on the Princes Highway at Waterfall.
After the last burial in 1949 the cemetery was abandoned. Bushland, fire, and neglect swallowed most headstones. Researchers estimate more than 2,000 people lie in the grounds, but only a few dozen markers survive.
For the broader story of TB institutionalisation in NSW, see Find & Connect — Waterfall Sanatorium. Local historian Carol Herben OAM (1946–2020) spent years researching the site; her work Forgotten Souls is available from Wollongong Memorial Gardens.
Not Forgotten — documentary
In 2013 Wollongong City Council prepared a documentary about the cemetery as part of a public consultation on its future management. Not Forgotten: The Story of Waterfall General Cemetery remains the best visual introduction to the site.
Not Forgotten: The Story of Waterfall General Cemetery — Wollongong City Council
Researching burials
Relatives searching for family members can use the scanned burial register and alphabetical indexes published by Wollongong City Council:
- Waterfall General Cemetery — Wollongong Memorial Gardens (register, indexes, and photographic survey of identifiable graves)
- Alphabetical index A–L (PDF)
- Alphabetical index M–Z (PDF)
- Photographic index of identifiable graves (PDF)
The Helensburgh & District Historical Society also receives regular enquiries about the cemetery and can help relatives locate burial records — though the society cannot arrange site access while the cemetery remains closed.
Heritage and management
Wollongong City Council became responsible for the cemetery in 1967, when the NSW Government transferred care of general cemeteries to local councils. For decades the site was left largely untouched. Local historians drew Council’s attention to the cemetery around 2011, leading to a conservation management plan, community consultation, and the decision to preserve the site as a bush cemetery rather than clear it for conventional maintenance.
Key challenges remain:
- Land-locked access — Council does not hold a legal path of access through surrounding government land
- NSW Health permission — required for any visit because the cemetery lies within the Garrawarra hospital precinct
- Vegetation and fire — trees and undergrowth continue to damage surviving headstones
- Funding — restoration and interpretation need ongoing resourcing
The cemetery is listed as a local heritage item under the Wollongong Local Environmental Plan 2009. Council has also pursued State Heritage Register listing, which could strengthen protection and help secure conservation funding. Progress has been slow, but the site is no longer entirely forgotten.
2013 community submissions
When Council exhibited its management plans in 2013, local groups made formal submissions. Both supported heritage protection and opposed a “no maintenance” approach that would let the bush consume remaining headstones.
Helensburgh & District Historical Society (5 November 2013) urged State or local heritage classification, eventual public access for relatives (at least to a memorial), and nomination to the State Heritage Register alongside the former sanatorium buildings. Read the full submission (PDF)
Helensburgh and District Landcare Group (13 November 2013) supported heritage listing, argued the State Government should resume management of a cemetery it originally created, and proposed the surrounding bushland be managed as an environment and heritage reserve. Landcare favoured guided open days rather than unrestricted access. Read the full submission (PDF)
The original Council consultation page is no longer active; current information is maintained through Wollongong Memorial Gardens.
Related pages
Sources: Wollongong Memorial Gardens, Find & Connect, Sydney Morning Herald (2012), Helensburgh & District Historical Society and Landcare submissions (2013).