NDC Australia and New Zealand Funeral Resources
South Australian Inquiry in Bushland Burials
19th October 2006
The South Australian Government's Environment, Resources and Development Committee have recently received final submissions for their inquiry into establishing Australia's first true bushland burial. Their report is due by early 2007. Australia still does not have a real green cemetery. There are a couple of cemeteries with a "bushland" setting but they still support the traditional burial practices of wooden (particle board) coffins, headstones etc. The inquiry, headed by Bob Such will look into a suitable location for the cemetery where biodegradable coffins and caskets will be used and only native shrubs or trees will be placed over the location of the burial site. According to Bob Such –
"The great thing about natural burial grounds is that they provide a positive contribution to the environment. They are easy to maintain. They are inexpensive to implement, because the person is buried in a cardboard or a wicker coffin, and a tree is planted above or alongside the cremated remains. There is a little plaque next to the tree or at the entrance of the natural burial ground, saying that a particular tree represents the place where a particular person was buried or their cremated remains have been placed."
South Australia was an innovator in funeral practices by being the first State in Australia to introduce cremation facilities in 1909. They will now be the first State to introduce natural burial grounds. This is innovation that is long over due.
To read the whole speech by Bob Such, please click on the link below:-
http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/catalog/hansard/2006/ha/wh210906.ha.htm
Cardboard Casket Manufacture Shakes-up Funeral Industry
OnEarth is the first manufacturer in Australia to launch a low-cost, environmentally friendly cardboard funeral casket that also meets the OH&S standards for the Australian funeral industry. OnEarth Australia will now make these caskets available directly to the public and to funeral directors throughout Australia. This is the first time a 100% recycled cardboard funeral casket has been tested and approved by internationally recognised testing authority – TestSafe Australia. The caskets have been tested for structural integrity (up to 120kg) even after being in cold storage (30C) for up to seven (7) days.
Ivor Hay, OnEarth Australia's Managing Director, said, "With the rising costs of funerals, the Australian public is demanding low-cost and environmentally friendly options when planing a funeral." Consumers can now buy direct or instruct their funeral director to order the casket. He also added "there is no legal reason why independently tested and approved cardboard caskets cannot be used in any Australian State. We have made every effort to ensure that our innovative and attractive funeral caskets meet the strict occupational health and safety requirements of the funeral industry and the various State Government legislative requirements. Our caskets now allow consumers to take more control when planning a funeral either for themselves or for their loved ones."
Caskets are available in plain white or the more traditional decorative wood-grain and lacquered finish.
Further information can be found at:-
www.onearth.com.au http://www.onearth.com.au/
Natural Burial in Australia
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South Australia: Dr Bob Such MP, an independent member of the House of Assembly in the Parliament of South Australia, recently chaired a Select Committee which was appointed to consider various issues surrounding the operation of cemeteries in South Australia. The final report of the Committee included a recommendation regarding the further use of alternative cemetery models such as natural burial grounds.
Resources for Funeral Arrangements
Private groups - Australia
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Email Zenith Virago:
"Death is a natural part of life, a part of the cycle of all living things. The mystery! As you may know, the Far North Coast of Australia, is the place where birth was reclaimed, by the alternative, or more natural communities in the 1970s and '80s, and for the past ten years or so, we have really been reclaiming death.
"I have been a celebrant for the past ten years, and a consultant on death matters for most of that time, I have also been a liaison point for people all over Australia. It is my hope, that soon with a group of friends we will establish a Natural Death Centre in Australia, here in Byron Bay. We see this as a resource and information centre and a distribution point for different death-related products that have a more natural flavour.
"Over the years, I have been running sessions and educating on death, funerals, and celebrancy. Contributing to the training of volunteers for palliative care and hospice services in this area, and sharing with the community the legal and social knowledge around death and dying. I run two courses a year for people who want to become more informed about the legal and social details around death. I have also been conducting ceremonies that are more a Celebration of Life, and consulting with people who are dying, or who just want to be prepared for what will come. Giving away information about what is possible, dispelling myths and misnomers, encouraging people to create a meaningful and appropriate rite of passage, in a location and a way that is of comfort to those left behind." Check out: www.abc.net.au/backyard/features/northcoasttales.htm
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Cardboard Coffins: My Way Funerals, Mitchell Park, Adelaide, are offering $30 cardboard coffins for people with small budgets or environmental concerns. "Why do we have to cut down big, beautiful trees ... just for something that is going to be burnt?" Ms Williams said. "I would quite comfortably put my parents in a cardboard coffin."
Cardboard or 'eco coffins' have been legal in South Australia since the 1980s but many funeral directors do not offer them. State Government regulations about the use of eco-coffins state they can hold a maximum weight of 100kg, must be lined with plastic and not refrigerated, and are for cremation and not burial.Summarised from an article in the theadvertiser.com.au, 19 February 2004.
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Sea burials: Sea Burials Australia, working with with Sapphire Coast Funerals (Munje Street 2549, Pambula, tel: 02 6495 7077, fax: 02 6495 7184), is offering burial at sea from Mitchies Jetty at Fishpen, Merimbula. The body is weighted, wrapped in a heavy shroud, and placed in a solid red cedar coffin. It is then taken 40km out to sea, to a water depth of 2,000m. Up to 12 people can accompany the body. You need to express your wish for a sea burial in your will or in a letter with the will.
Private groups - New Zealand
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Living Legacies: An environmental funeral consultancy with an "innovative, sustainable and celebratory approach to life, death and funerals". For EverGreen Funerals, which promote the use of biodegradable coffins, etc; Educational services; An advisory service for councils and other organisations; and Counselling - contact Living Legacies, PO Box 140, Motueka, New Zealand (tel/fax 03 528 5220; e: info@livinglegacies.co.nz; w: www.livinglegacies.co.nz). The book, Living Legacies: A family funeral handbook for an evergreen world costs NZ$35 incl. p&p.
Lynda Hannah of Living Legacies comments: "I have made submissions to two councils about establishing Natural Burial Parks in the South Island. They both received the idea with interest."I will (as soon as possible) be changing New Zealand law to allow for the burial of bodies in places other than existing cemeteries, so that folk can set up Parks or Living Legacies around the country. Watch this space."
Press Release July 2008: New Zealand Natural Burial Ground
Wellington Natural Cemetery - Information Guide
This cemetery is the result of a partnership between Wellington City Council and the not-for-profit organisation Natural Burials.
THE CONCEPT
In our view, and we hope yours, the Wellington Natural Cemetery is a beautiful place. The bush and all its inhabitants, including the people buried here, make it a very special environment indeed.
The unique sense of place has been achieved through a clear guiding concept: the central idea is that everything about the cemetery is as 'natural' as possible.
In essence, we will not introduce anything to the cemetery which would interfere with, or pollute, environmental processes.
For example, to help natural processes, plots are dug only into the active soil layer, the deceased are not embalmed and are buried in shrouds or coffins of untreated sustainable wood.
Plots are filled with aerobic, organically active soil, over-planted with a tree native to the area, and the whole cemetery is gradually restored to native bush.
All of the body nutrients and matter will be gradually absorbed by the surrounding soil and plants.
It is intended that the cemetery will become a permanent bush park - a living memorial to those buried there, a home for native flora and fauna, and a beautiful place for family and friends to visit.
THE ESSENTIALS
This is a natural cemetery. Being buried at this site entails acceptance of the central concept and its consequences, and the following essential components.
1. No embalming: Bodies buried on this site must not be embalmed. This is to speed up the natural processes of returning the body and its nutrients to the soil, and to reduce the amount of artificial and toxic chemicals and materials we introduce to the soil.
2. Burial in the upper soil layers: Bodies will be buried as close to or within the active soil layer as possible. Depth will vary according to the soil conditions. Plots will be part refilled with compost to help enrich the soil.
3. Trees: A native tree will be planted at the head or base of the plot. You can choose from a dozen nursery plants. These trees are the basic building blocks of a native habitat restoration programme. Over time, other trees will be planted over and around the plot. To improve survival, trees for plots will NOT be planted by the Council in summer.
4. Caskets: You must use a casket provided by, or approved by, Natural Burials. These caskets will be made from sustainably grown and harvested woods, with no chemicals or artificial compounds used in treatment of the wood or manufacture of the casket or its accessories.
5. Plot markers: A non-treated wooden post is sunk into the ground at the head or foot of the plot. You or your family can include on the post cap and sides a poker-burnt engraved inscription of your choice. The marker is designed not to be permanent but the plot and details of the person buried there is marked and drawn on a map held by the Council.
INFORMATION
www.naturalburials.co.nz: the website of the New Zealand Natural Burials organisation.
www.naturaldeath.org: the website of the organisation which started the movement from the UK.
Living Wills. Natural Burials offers a Living Will Pack, with copies of a Living Will, an Alert card for purse or wallet, a guide to writing a living will, and a book on natural death. $30 inc gst.
A Natural Death. A book to guide you on everything you need to know about natural burial options, what happens to a body after death, and organising your burial and funeral. $17 inc gst.
It is linked to the UK-based Natural Death Centre, and adheres to the Code of Practice of the Association of Natural Burial Grounds.
PO Box 41132, Eastbourne, Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
Email: mark@naturalburials.co.nz
Web: www.naturalburials.co.nz
E-mail us with updates and any other information you think might be useful: contact@naturaldeath.org.uk
