Do you have ancestors buried at East Perth? Tell us your family name when you book — our historian, Michelle Standen, researches them before the walk, and you hear their story standing at the graveside. A reverent tour of colonial WA’s oldest cemeteries.
★ 4.81,374 TripAdvisor reviews·★ 4.9on Google·Perth’s original walking tour company, since 2007·In partnership with the National Trust (WA)
Multiple dates available
Small groups · expert local guides
What's included
“Highly recommend a Scavenger Hunt with Two Feet and Heartbeat! So much fun for the whole family and Jack is such a pleasure to work with from my first call to the session today. Get to learn about Perth, get some exercise and have a ridiculous amount of fun.”
— Jenny Bennett·
Google
As the walk winds through the grounds you meet members of the Swan River Colony alongside lesser-known people who lived extraordinary lives in difficult times — tales of murder, migration, adversity and transportation to one of the most remote places on Earth.
A tranquil group of colonial cemeteries dating to the 1830s, telling the story of our city and state across their first seventy years.
The executed, children, and Aboriginal people in unmarked graves are part of the full history — shared with the reverence it deserves, never sensationalised.
The people buried here have living descendants — some will be walking beside you. Every story is researched history, told with respect. A guide’s lantern and a single fresh flower, nothing more theatrical than that.
One optional question when you book: do you have ancestors buried at East Perth? A name is all we need to begin.
In the days before your Saturday she works the burial records, the State Library of WA archives, Trove and the National Trust heritage files, following the thread as far as the records allow.
The walk pauses at your ancestor's grave and their story is told with you standing there — a witnessed act of remembrance, not theatre.
Each Saturday features one researched family of the week, and your route card doubles as a research trail — names, dates, State Library references and Trove links to follow your own thread home.
Michelle Standen390+ tours led“Our guide Michelle was very knowledgeable and she gave us some great information about each building and street. It was at a great pace, we really enjoyed it.”
Michelle built this tour with the National Trust of Australia (WA) and leads all four October walks. Years in the burial records, the State Library archives and the National Trust files sit behind the colonial history she tells, delivered with the reverence the site asks for. The same care has earned her hundreds of five-star reviews across Perth and Fremantle.
Good to know
Four Saturdays is the whole season. Each walk runs with a minimum of four guests and caps at 25; the first walk on 10 October is a $49 launch price, then $59. If online booking for a date isn’t open yet, register your interest and we’ll email you the moment it is.
From 1,374 traveller reviews
From 202 reviews
Guiding Perth and Fremantle since 2007
$5 from every ticket supports conservation of the site
10 October launch, $49. Add this code at checkout for $10 off (weeks two to four stay $59).
Max 25 guests per walk · guided by Michelle Standen · ages 16+. Private groups up to 25 can walk the cemeteries year-round on request.
The 2 hour East Perth Cemeteries Tour which I did Saturday 17th September 2022 was most interesting, with Anne as our friendly guide... Some of many highlights included visiting the graves of early WA pioneers such as Jo…
I have a strong interest in the East Perth Cemetery having taken my Year 10 students there each year over the course of the 1990s. Michele was able to 'read' the tombstones and link the lives of those buried there to his…
This two hour tour was very interesting. The guide was very informative and had an incredible memory. We walked around the cemetery listening to fascinating stories about the people who were buried there. We heard abo…
Crimes Month follows straight after — Crimes of Perth and Crimes of Fremantle across the four November Saturdays, written and guided by Vaughan Sadler.
When you book, we ask one question: do you have ancestors buried at East Perth Cemeteries? Share your family name and, where the records allow, your guide researches your family before the tour — and tells their story with you standing at the grave. Book a few days ahead to give the research time. On Saturdays with no descendants booked, the tour features one researched family of the week instead.
The cemeteries are a heritage site: paths are unpaved and uneven, and there is no artificial lighting. Flat, closed shoes are essential, and the route isn't suitable for prams or wheelchairs. The October tours run 4:00–6:00pm and finish at sunset, so the whole walk is in daylight.
Flat closed shoes, water, and a hat and sunscreen for the 4pm start — October afternoons in Perth are warm. Please note there are no toilets available at the site, and the tour is not suitable for children under 16.
No. Stories of the Past is a reverent heritage walk through colonial WA's oldest cemeteries, run in partnership with the National Trust of Australia (WA). The people buried here have living descendants — some of whom join the tour — so the stories are researched history, told with respect. No theatrics, no seances.
Private groups of up to 25 can also walk the cemeteries year-round — see the East Perth Cemeteries tour or ask us anything.