150 Memorial Plaques Stolen From Historic Melbourne Cemetery

A detail of the Victoria police badge on a police officer in Melbourne, Australia, on March 24, 2016. Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Victoria Police are investigating the theft of 150 memorial plaques from historic graves at Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery in Melbourne’s southeast.

The cemetery opened in 1864, before reaching capacity in the late 1920s.

According to Friends of Cheltenham Regional Cemeteries, the burial ground holds the remains of almost all of the early settlers from the district that once encompassed the Parish of Moorabbin.

“These pioneers and their families were the main drivers in pioneering the establishment of many of the suburbs such as Cheltenham, Beaumaris, Dingley, Brighton, Mentone, Mordialloc, Moorabbin, Keysborough and Mentone,” the group said in a statement online.

Police are now investigating the theft of the plaques, estimated to be worth between $600 and $2,500 each, and were taken sometime between Sept. 8 and Oct. 8.

The Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust issued a statement confirming that plaques had been found removed or damaged.

“When this was discovered, our teams contacted Victoria Police and we are supporting their investigations,” the trust said.

“We are currently going through the cemetery to understand which memorials have been affected. Because this is a historic cemetery, this may take some time.”

In a statement issued on Oct. 15, Victoria Police urged anyone who may have witnessed the thefts, or who has information to come forward.

On the same day, Victoria Police issued a separate statement after arresting a man over thefts from a cemetery in Buninyong, about an hour inland from Melbourne.

“An investigation was launched after items including flowers, vases, urns, and toys were stolen from the Midland Highway cemetery between May and October 2026,” the police said.

Investigators executed two search warrants at addresses in the Mount Clear area and seized a number of stolen items. A 62-year-old man was charged with five counts of theft and will appear in Ballarat Magistrates Court on Jan. 28, 2027.

According to Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency (CSA), the number of criminal incidents in the state decreased by 2.9 percent in the 12 months to June, 2026. However, overall theft-related alleged offender incidents rose by 4.3 percent to 44,544 incidents.

Alleged shoplifting incidents in Victoria also increased by 9.3 percent to 21,306, with CSA Chief Statistician Fiona Dowsley noting that grocery items recorded the largest increase among goods.

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