[3] Established as a cemetery in 1840 on the outskirts of the new town of Wellington, separate burial areas were designated for Anglicans, Jews and Roman Catholics.

The historic cemetery, bisected by the Wellington Urban Motorway, caused extensive controversy at the time.

[5][6] Though the Friends of Bolton Street protested against the shifting of the graves, they did not stop construction of the road but ensured that the cemetery got a heritage status and the park got a reserve nomenclature.

In spite of protests, about 3,700 graves were exhumed and relocated,[5] most of whom were re-interred in a large vault beneath the park's lawn.

The current park, about 1.85 hectares (4.6 acres) in size, includes a land gift from Morva Williams.

The Mortuary Chapel, built of timber in 1866, was left to deteriorate without any repairs and was finally demolished in 1969 to make way for the motorway.

[9] The park also serves as an extension of Wellington Botanic Garden with areas of open lawns, undulating topography covered by a mix of regenerating native scrub and plantings of exotic trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs.

[5] When land was allotted on the hillside in 1840 for the public cemetery (non-sectarian), the original settlers planted roses.