The Bullaparinga Public Cemetery was laid out in November 1858. The earliest recorded burials begin in 1859. John Price (2 1/2 yrs) of Sappers Flat was buried 14 August 1859. The first eight burials were of children aged 2 months to 10 years.

The oldest headstone is that of James Chirgwin (with just the initials J.C. on the stone), born 14 January and died 18 March 1861. He was the first child of John and Eliza Chirgwin, neé Comley, who had a total of eleven children. John Chirgwin, a miner, arrived at Port Adelaide in 1848 and settled at Bullaparinga.

Other families buried in this cemetery include Christie, Cole, Leak, Newbold, Solomon, and Williss.

A notable grave is that of the world-renowned artist Henri Benedictus Salman van Raalte, a former curator of the South Australian Art Gallery. In 1925 van Raalte and his family came to live at Second Valley, where he set up his studio. He committed suicide in 1929.