What?s the plot?
By Jamie Melbourne-Hayward
Decisions around choosing a final resting place in the ground affects 30 percent of New Zealanders. Makara Cemetery is Wellington?s largest and hosts the country's first natural burial area; an idea that involves planting trees atop of plots with the intention of growing a forest. A year on from Makara?s first eco burial there has been little change from the norm, and finding space for burials is not an issue. Sexton for Wellington City?s cemeteries Jeff Paris says it?s a myth that people are buried vertically to save space. ?No one, not even at the eco burial sites, is buried feet down. That?s an old myth, and doesn?t happen in Wellington. ?Some cemeteries?, such as Tawa Flat Lawn, can have multiple burials on the same family plot,? says Mr Paris. Tawa and Karori are ?closed? cemeteries, and only occasionally someone is buried there in a family plot. For a natural burial the body is not embalmed, the casket is made of plain material that can be easily broken down, and the plots are shallow. ?A year on from the first eco burial and we have had 15 people in the natural cemetery; there is not much demand for the natural burials right now,? says Mr Paris. Porirua City has two closed cemeteries, Whenua Tapu and Porirua, and a larger Pauatahanui Burial Ground. Porirua City Saxton Marty Climo says, ?Eco burials are an expensive option that requires a lot of land?. There is no natural burial site at Pauatahanui, but Mr Climo says they see different versions of caskets being put in the ground. ?I?ve been at this for 16 years, and everything has more or less remained the same. ?There has been the shift that allows Catholics to be cremated, and the average rate in the country is 30 per cent buried and 70 per cent cremated,? he says. He says there doesn?t seem to be much interest in eco burials at the moment.
