History of the Corrigin Dog Cemetery

In 1974 a local Corrigin farmer and ex-serviceman, Paddy Wright, mourned the loss of his beloved dog Strike. Wanting a befitting place for Strike to rest he contacted the Shire of Corrigin for a location to bury him. They suggested and area about 5kms out of town where the sand was nice and soft.

It wasn’t long before locals caught on and began burying their dogs there too. In the 1980s headstones began appearing, thanks to a local man named Alan Henderson. For a free bag of cement he would make and erect a headstone for each passing pooch.

Unexpected Tourist Attraction

Fast forward to the 1990s when in 1992 a dog statue was erected. Curiosity not only killed the cat..people began pulling over to see what was going on. The Dog Cemetery soon became a tourist attraction. It’s easy to spend a good hour wandering through the graves (many adorned with plastic flowers) reading the numerous personalised plaques on the headstones.

In 2002 Corrigin continued its accidental dog success by hosting the now-iconic Dog in a Ute event.

Today over 200 dogs lie in peace at the cemetery. Plans are currently underway to expand the Corrigin Dog Cemetery as plots are nearly full. A new section has been gifted by a local farmer.

References: ABC News, Corrigin Dog Cemetery Grows as Tourists From Around The World Visit Graves, Aaron Fernandes, 2018