It's been labelled by locals as Western Australia's spookiest town, with stories of ghosts floating the hallways of its historic pubs and hotels.
York, 100 kilometres east of Perth, was settled in 1835, making it one of the state's oldest towns.
Some of its earliest deceased have been forgotten in the passage of time, and now technology that's often used in the mining industry is helping to uncover their hidden resting places.
Hundreds of headstones mark the burial sites of former residents, split into religious beliefs by concrete pathways.
But in one section, all that can be seen is red dirt and sand.
This is the site of some of its oldest burials that date back to 1854, according to York Shire chief executive Chris Linnell.
"The original graves that may have been here were marked up with wooden crosses and older material, which has deteriorated over the years," he said.
"With the time that's gone past, we're trying to understand what's under the ground."
Coffin-spotting
Archaeologists were on-site earlier this week, testing the soil to look for evidence of human remains.
Then it was over to the geophysicists, tasked with mapping the land to look for disturbed sediment and underground trenches that signal the presence of graves.
It didn't take long for geophysicist Andrew Spyrou to find what he was looking for and he gestured to the screen on his utility locating machine.
"So you can actually see the ground being disturbed from above," he said.
"Can you see that dark-blue area? That's the coffin about 1.8 metres down.
"Sometimes you'll get these linear layers. So where they've dug, you're breaking through the stratigraphy ... then you get a strong signal from the actual coffin itself."
In much the same motion as pushing a lawnmower, the geophysicists will crisscross the cemetery and send radar waves underground, to generate a reflection profile of what's below.
Mr Spyrou and his colleague will spend five days here before the data is processed and analysed ready for a report to be delivered in several weeks' time.
Mr Spyrou normally works on mine sites in the state's north, and is enjoying the change of pace.
"[It's] nice and peaceful, lots of trees, lots of birds," he said.
Searching for more space
The shire is funding the work to help decide how best to utilise the existing land.
Mr Linnell said the cemetery was nearing capacity and may soon be in need of expansion.
"If we find opportunities where we have, I suppose, 'clear' land, it gives us an opportunity to expand the cemetery in the space for future burials," he said.
There are also plans to potentially build a drainage system underground, as well as pay tribute to the lives of the unidentified bodies buried at the site.
"It's the historic nature as well as identifying and honouring the people that are here and no longer have a memorial," Mr Linnell said.
"There's a mix of potential people here ... people buried here through disease, and I understand there might have been a history of typhoid patients buried here, as well as some of the early Catholic burials."
When asked if he believes the ghost stories shared around town, Mr Linnell said he chose to instead focus on the human side of its past.
"York is a wonderful place with terrific history ... and it's important we honour that," he said.
