Rookwood Necropolis is Crown Land which means that it is owned by the State government. The responsibility of managing all of the land and all structures thereon, is vested in four separate administrations. Each cemetery Trust is managed by a Board of Trustees, who is nominated by the Minister of Lands.

Due to an increasing demand for lawn burials, the Anglican and General Cemetery Trust has recently made three new burial sections available to the public.

In 1792 the main burial ground for the colony was established on a site which is now occupied by the Sydney Town Hall and St Andrew’s Cathedral, until it became full and a new cemetery was established near the brick-fields, known as the Sandhills or Devonshire Street cemetery. However, by the 1840’s, this too began to run out of space and so the search began for another, much larger site for a cemetery