Economy Class Burials

April 28th, 2005 · No Comments

Gravestone

It seems that some people in Australia have been inspired by Easyjet and are about to start an el Cheapo cemetery. Excerpt:

After more than 15 years, Victorian company Palacom has won the right to establish what is believed to be Australia’s first vertical cemetery, in which bodies will be buried on their feet.

The cemetery and a crematorium will be established on land at Derrinallum, in Victoria’s Western District, about 180km west of Melbourne.

Victorian Planning Minister Rob Hulls approved a proposal from the Corangamite Shire to rezone the land from rural to public use, allowing the cemetery to be established.
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Palacom director Tony Dupleix said the cemetery offered a cheaper, environmentally friendlier burial.

Bodies would be held at a morgue in Melbourne and would be transported to the site for burial in batches of 12 to 15, to minimise costs.

The bodies would be encased in bodybags and buried in individual pre-drilled 3m-deep holes, Mr Dupleix said.

The land would be returned to pasture and would be grazed by animals once it was stable, he said.

Burials would cost about $1000 and would begin once access and fencing was completed by the Darlington Cemetery Trust, which will manage the site.

“When you die, you are returned to the earth with a minimum of fuss and with no paraphernalia that would affect the environment,” he said.

“You’re not burning 90kg of gas in a crematorium and there’s no ongoing maintenance costs.”

Darlington Cemetery Trust secretary Anna Jamieson said vertical burials would not replace traditional burials at its existing cemetery, but would provide an attractive new option for some.

“If you are interested in the environment, it’s beautiful land on the Western District plains facing Mount Elephant,” she said.

“Some people will think it’s great but other people might prefer a traditional burial.”

Euhm….right. I wonder if this will catch on.