At the height of its gold rush in the 1870s, Tambaroora had a population of many thousands of miners and their families. This cemetery was commenced around the same time as the general cemetery, closer to Hill End, to provide for Catholic burials. Headstones from 1859 are still standing but there are many unmarked graves. The most recent headstone was dated 1991. The cemetery grounds are small and, when we visited, mostly overgrown making access to some of the stones difficult. However there is no obvious evidence of vandalism.
Since then, the control and management of the cemetery has passed to the Bathurst Regional Council which, in 2007, commissioned Conservation Management Plans for all cemeteries under its control. Details of several unmarked graves have been sourced from the BRC Cemetery Study 2007-8 B J Hickson. It is hoped that further burial records may be available in due course.
Jean and I made digital images and notes of every visible inscription in June 2002. In compiling this list, we also referred to the NSW indices of births, deaths and marriages and received helpful information from the Hill End Visitors Centre.
Look for the remains of a domestic fireplace and its chimney alongside the Mudgee Road, 3km north of Hill End. Although it is not signposted, this marks the point from which access to the Catholic Cemetery is gained. Turn down the track just west of the chimney and follow the left fork for about 0.5km (taking care crossing the narrow culvert over the creek).