It is located 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the southeast of the city centre, on a rocky outcrop which forms the inland part of Lawyers Head, a promontory which juts into the Pacific Ocean.

The cemetery is bounded on the western and southern sides by Chisholm Park Golf Links, and to the east by steep slopes which descend to the Tomahawk Lagoon.

[3] The cemetery originally went by the imposing name of the Eastern Necropolis, but this quickly fell out of favour to be replaced with its current, more prosaic, name.

Andersons Bay Cemetery is noted for its large military memorial section, with many ex-servicemen having been buried here.

Notable among them are Victoria Cross recipients Duncan Gordon Boyes and Horace Robert Martineau.