The Heritage Council is taking steps to put the East Perth cemeteries on the permanent register of heritage places, 17 years after their interim listing.

It comes as the National Trust, which manages the site, said it was looking at adding it to a national list of heritage places, which would provide access to more funding for maintenance.

One of the few remaining original burial grounds in a State capital, the cemeteries are the final resting place of WA pioneers such as the first colonial secretary, Peter Broun, and surveyor-general John Septimus Roe, whose tombstones are still visible.

More than 10,000 people are believed to have been buried there between 1829 and 1924, although only 800 graves have been identified.

Heritage Council acting director Stephen Carrick said yesterday the cemeteries were some of the places being considered for permanent entry to the register. He said some minor changes were being considered, such as the inclusion of St Bartholomew’s church and the Jewish cemetery.

Mr Carrick said the site was very significant to WA.

“The place has survived the growth of the metropolitan area around it, and is now rare as an intact colonial cemetery in the central business district of an Australian capital city,” he said.