The huge extension was officially opened on 9 February by Matshidiso Mfikoe, at the time a mayoral committee member for environment and corporate services.

During Women’s Month in August 2010, the graves of Ngoyi, Joseph and Maxeke were declared National Heritage Sites.

[2] The standard for large funerals in black South African culture was set in the 1970s and 1980s, during the height of the anti-apartheid struggle.

More than 10,000 people, some dressed in military fatigues and armed with wooden rifles, would flock to a cemetery to demonstrate their solidarity in the struggle.

Avalon Cemetery is noted for a number of famous people interred on its grounds.Notables include: Hector Pieterson, Hastings Ndlovu, Joe Slovo, Laloo Chiba, Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Zephania Mothopeng, Abu Baker Asvat, and Tsietsi Mashinini.