Karori Cemetery - Walks
There are two heritage trails in Karori Cemetery:
- the Penguin Walk
- the Warrior's Walk.
Penguin Walk
The Penguin leaving Wellington
The Penguin Walk is a self-guided tour of grave sites of people who died in the 1909 Penguin shipwreck. The inter-island Penguin ferry sank off Wellington's South Coast - a few kilometres from where the Wahine sank 60 years later. It was the worst New Zealand shipwreck that century. Forty of the 72 victims were buried at Karori Cemetery.
Duration
The walk takes between one and two hours to walk, depending on fitness.
Directions
The walk starts at the Hale Memorial. From the Main Chapel in Rosehaugh Avenue, cross the road, then the grassy area, then the road again to the Hale Memorial.
Markers guide the walk, and the graves of Penguin victims are identified with a Penguin wreck marker. Follow the map in the brochure below.
- Penguin Walk brochure (557Kb PDF)
- Penguin Shipwreck history (117Kb PDF)
Warriors Walk
Members of the Alexandra Mounted Rifles, South African War
The walk is a self-guided tour. It covers the lives of men and women who fought in the Boer War, both World Wars, the Korean, Malayan and Vietnam wars, as well as in United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Most of the walk is within the Servicemen's cemetery which was established in 1916 by the Wellington City Council, and a short part of the walk includes older graves in the general part of the cemetery.
Duration
The walk is in two parts, which should each take about 45 minutes.
Directions
Start at the centre path facing the Memorial marble steps in the circular section of the Servicemen's cemetery. Follow the directional markers and the map in the brochure below.
Warriors Walk brochure (726Kb PDF)
Related Links
Department Details:
Cemeteries (Parks & Gardens)
