Standing more than 10 metres tall, the Frazer Mausoleum has been a defining landmark within Rookwood General Cemetery’s historic landscape for over 130 years. Designed by British architect Maurice B. Adams and completed in 1894, the mausoleum is a rare example of High Victorian Byzantine Gothic architecture—featuring a domed roof, bronze entry doors, intricate stained-glass windows, Pyrmont sandstone and extraordinary alabaster sarcophagi.
Originally commissioned by Irish-born merchant John Frazer, the structure served as the final resting place for seven members of the Frazer family. However, after being vacated in 1974, the mausoleum suffered decades of weather damage and neglect.
Metropolitan Memorial Parks (MMP), in close partnership with the Friends of Rookwood, and supported by the NSW Government, undertook a significant heritage conservation project to restore the mausoleum to its former grandeur.
This project was guided by a Conservation Management Plan and implemented using professional heritage methodology—ensuring authenticity, historical integrity and long-term preservation. A 15-month period of work on the mausoleum spanned from July 2023 through October 2024.