Engaging with cemeteries, crematoria and the remembrance services industry - now and into the future

The Office of One Crown Cemeteries operate eight cemeteries in Sydney and Newcastle -

The Woronora Memorial Park at Sutherland

The Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park at Matraville

Rookwood General Cemetery in Lidcombe

Macquarie Park Cemetery in North Ryde

Frenchs Forest Cemetery in Davidson

Field of Mars in Ryde

Gore Hill in St Leonards

Sandgate in Newcastle

 The purpose of this research is to understand different cultural perspectives into:

·         the  memorialisation of the deceased,

·         how people feel about forward planning their own burial or cremation and funeral,

·         cemeteries as communal spaces, and

·         the sustainability of  cemeteries and crematoria into the future.

 It is crucial for our organisation to understand different perspective on these issues, as our cemeteries and crematoria develop strategies to address the challenges presented by an ageing and multicultural  population,  land shortages, and environmental concerns.

 

After-Life Planning in the context of this survey means communicating your preferences for the following:

·         a burial or cremation,

·         the type of funeral you or a person close to you would like to have. This could include detail such as eulogy and music,

·         the location of the  burial or placement of ashes, e.g  which cemetery? If  you would prefer for your ashes to be scattered outside of a cemetery, would you still like a memorial plaque within a cemetery?,

·         the products you would like as a part of your burial or cremation e.g headstone, urn, kandilli (candles), the type of coffin or shroud,

·         Remembrance Services such as funeral directors, stonemasons, death doulas, options for paying for the cost of a funeral,

·         Legal requirements such as wills and  interment rights,  

·         Cultural and / or spiritual rituals to honour the deceased, at the time of death, for the funeral and beyond.