New Zealand’s Biggest Cemetery Plans Space-Saving Hillside Mausoleum

Waikumete Cemetery, the biggest cemetery in Auckland, spans 1.08 square kilometers but is running out of space. A popular place for burials, the cemetery has filled up the majority of its burial plots and mausoleums and is planning to expand to keep up with demand.

Waikumete was established in 1886 and serves as one of the city’s cultural landmarks. The cemetery currently has 59 private mausoleums, the first of which dates back to 1914. Waikumete’s two public mausoleums hold 24 and 96 people, respectively, and patrons are quickly snapping up available spaces.

The cemetery is considering building a newer, larger mausoleum on a hillside to keep up with the pace of cremations. Waikumete saw a 43 percent decrease in burials and 57 percent increase in cremations in 2010, and the cemetery is expecting even more cremations in the future.

With an average in-ground burial rate of 400 to 500 individuals per year, the cemetery is exploring alternative burial options including new mausoleums as well as “living burials” that use biodegradable coffins and use cremated remains to grow a tree. The cemetery’s new mausoleum has yet to be constructed, but some popular styles for hillside mausoleum include:

• Classical mausoleums
• Modern mausoleums
• Open air mausoleums
• Tumulus (i.e. landscaped mausoleum integrated with natural environment)

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10320165/Cemetery-seeks-answers-to-issue-of-space