The City of Melville is contemplating a way to cash in on the famous and infamous buried locally, such as former AC/DC frontman Bon Scott, serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke and the last woman hanged in WA, Martha Rendell.
Tourist trails through the Fremantle Cemetery, where the trio are all laid to rest, is one aspect of a $70,000 plan to boost local tourism unanimously endorsed by councillors last week.
Cr Terry Lee raised the idea for a tourism plan last week, calling for funds to be included in the 2024-25 draft budget to ramp up tourism and investment throughout the district.
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READ NOW“We’ve already been blessed with so many natural attractions along the river,” he said.
“Nobody will object when the community gets the benefit.”
His motion recommended the plan accommodate touring agencies and buses and promote local heritage precincts and natural reserves such as Heathcote and Wireless Hill.
But Cr Karen Wheatland suggested the plan go further and investigate tourism trails at the local cemetery, referencing the recent launch of the WA women’s walk of fame at Karrakatta Cemetery.
“We do have Bon Scott there, we also have Martha Rendell who was the (last) woman in WA to hang for her crimes,” she said.
“We have Eric Edgar Cooke who was a serial killer, who was the last person to be hanged in WA.”
She said dedicated tours through the cemetery could be a source of revenue for the city.
“We have a whole range of reprobates and ratbags in that cemetery that could attract people (or) historians that have a particular interest in that,” she said.
“I think there’s a lot of ways to attract tourism through cemeteries.”
Despite its Fremantle name, the regional cemetery is in the Melville suburb of Palmyra.
Cr Tomas Fitzgerald said the broader plan would better co-ordinate tourism opportunities for local residents and businesses.
“We all know that we are extraordinarily lucky to live in this part of the world and this is a great opportunity to share that with the rest of the State, rest of the country and the rest of the world,” he said.
“What I really like about this policy is it’s asking us to adopt a plan that already plays to a lot of our existing strengths.
“We know we have incredible cultural facilities, we know we have spectacular businesses.”