A redevelopment process termed 'Cemetery Renewal' is being undertaken at Karrakatta, Western Australia's largest cemetery. To date, more than 45 sections have been cleared, with dozens more on the waiting list. The Metropolitan Cemeteries Board (MCB) is the government agency responsible.

'Renewal' is not beautification. Rather, it is the mass removal of headstones, grave surrounds and plot numbers, so that no identification markers are left behind. The headstones are either moved elsewhere in the cemetery, drilled into walls or entirely destroyed. Grave surrounds are 'repurposed' as garden kerbing.

For many years, nearly all new graves at Karrakatta have been dug between occupied graves in redeveloped areas. These new burials will have headstones, but nothing remains to memorialise the previous graves. All mausoleums, and most cremation memorials, are built on top of previous graves — belonging to people who have built Western Australia to be what we all enjoy today.

Karrakatta is said to have been at full capacity since 1924, simply because it is of a finite size. However, as Karrakatta is considered to be 'premium land', burial sites leased by the MCB can be priced at a premium rate. The long-term plans include redevelopment of most original graves.

Karrakatta is centrally located and has become well-regarded for its exclusivity, making it a financially successful location for the funeral industry. As a result, Karrakatta receives the lion's share of total burials.

The MCB claims that redevelopment is 'essential' to ensure grave supply in Perth. Yet, the demand for burials is at an historically-low rate, sitting at just 17% of all funerals. Besides Karrakatta, the MCB runs five other public cemeteries — Fremantle, Pinnaroo, Guildford, Midland and Rockingham. All have sufficient burial space for many years to come.

In 2012, a 38-hectare cemetery site in Whitby was reserved for the MCB. Over a decade later, this site is still undeveloped — along with several other allocated proposed sites across the metropolitan area.

Unlike suggested, the cemetery would not need to close, or be sold off for housing, should redevelopment stop. Instead, families can lease new graves at other cemeteries, whilst still using the Karrakatta crematorium and chapels. Families would also be able to keep using their existing graves at Karrakatta, as they have been doing for over a century.

All graves, together with headstones, collectively serve as an intergenerational link between our past and present, and provide a last tangible connection to our forebears. Removing headstones from graves breaks this link, shows immense disrespect to families, and disrupts the association of the people of Western Australia with their social and family history. When headstones are removed, the graves can be difficult — and sometimes impossible — to find.

Not only are thousands of 'ordinary' peoples' graves affected, but so too are the graves of our ANZACs and war heroes, along with important historical, cultural and social figures.

Part V Division 4 of the Cemeteries Act 1986 allows cemetery boards to implement 'redevelopment schemes'. (The Act also empowers boards to preserve graves of 'historical significance', but this happens rarely and with no transparency about how the graves are determined.)

No grave in Western Australia is forever — nor can you 'own' one. All are sold with a 25-year lease known as a Grant of Right of Burial. This includes mausoleum crypts and cremation memorials. You have the right to purchase one grant extension, if applied for in time. After 50 years, extensions are at the cemetery board's discretion. Full control of the grave reverts to the cemetery board upon expiry.

On 2 July 2012, all 50-year, 99-year and perpetual grants were extinguished. If your family purchased a grant before July 1987, it has likely expired.

It is a common misconception that you can just pay to save headstones. Requests to repurchase grants in areas planned for redevelopment are usually refused.

Although redevelopment only affects Karrakatta at the moment, it could happen in any cemetery across the state. There have been talks of it happening in Fremantle and Guildford.

The MCB's own research shows that only 28% of the community is aware of redevelopment. Just as 'renewal' is used instead of the correct term 'redevelopment', many other details of the process are not transparent.

The MCB claims to conduct 'extensive consultation' with families, but this does not occur. There is a lack of advertising and free discussion in the media. As such, many families are unaware that their loved ones' headstones are being removed, and are given little opportunity to contest the decisions.

Families leasing new graves are rarely told that they are burying their loved ones between existing graves. This can be especially shocking news for families who have, for example, buried mum and dad next to each other in adjoining graves, not knowing there are other people buried in between them.

The MCB says it will stop redevelopment if the public doesn't want it. But how can people speak up if they don't even know it's happening?

© 2017–2024 Saving Family Headstones at Karrakatta

A redevelopment process termed 'Cemetery Renewal' is being undertaken at Karrakatta, Western Australia's largest cemetery. To date, more than 45 sections have been cleared, with dozens more on the waiting list. The Metropolitan Cemeteries Board (MCB) is the government agency responsible.

'Renewal' is not beautification. Rather, it is the mass removal of headstones, grave surrounds and plot numbers, so that no identification markers are left behind. The headstones are either moved elsewhere in the cemetery, drilled into walls or entirely destroyed. Grave surrounds are 'repurposed' as garden kerbing.

For many years, nearly all new graves at Karrakatta have been dug between occupied graves in redeveloped areas. These new burials will have headstones, but nothing remains to memorialise the previous graves. All mausoleums, and most cremation memorials, are built on top of previous graves — belonging to people who have built Western Australia to be what we all enjoy today.

Karrakatta is said to have been at full capacity since 1924, simply because it is of a finite size. However, as Karrakatta is considered to be 'premium land', burial sites leased by the MCB can be priced at a premium rate. The long-term plans include redevelopment of most original graves.

Karrakatta is centrally located and has become well-regarded for its exclusivity, making it a financially successful location for the funeral industry. As a result, Karrakatta receives the lion's share of total burials.

The MCB claims that redevelopment is 'essential' to ensure grave supply in Perth. Yet, the demand for burials is at an historically-low rate, sitting at just 17% of all funerals. Besides Karrakatta, the MCB runs five other public cemeteries — Fremantle, Pinnaroo, Guildford, Midland and Rockingham. All have sufficient burial space for many years to come.

In 2012, a 38-hectare cemetery site in Whitby was reserved for the MCB. Over a decade later, this site is still undeveloped — along with several other allocated proposed sites across the metropolitan area.

Unlike suggested, the cemetery would not need to close, or be sold off for housing, should redevelopment stop. Instead, families can lease new graves at other cemeteries, whilst still using the Karrakatta crematorium and chapels. Families would also be able to keep using their existing graves at Karrakatta, as they have been doing for over a century.

All graves, together with headstones, collectively serve as an intergenerational link between our past and present, and provide a last tangible connection to our forebears. Removing headstones from graves breaks this link, shows immense disrespect to families, and disrupts the association of the people of Western Australia with their social and family history. When headstones are removed, the graves can be difficult — and sometimes impossible — to find.

Not only are thousands of 'ordinary' peoples' graves affected, but so too are the graves of our ANZACs and war heroes, along with important historical, cultural and social figures.

Part V Division 4 of the Cemeteries Act 1986 allows cemetery boards to implement 'redevelopment schemes'. (The Act also empowers boards to preserve graves of 'historical significance', but this happens rarely and with no transparency about how the graves are determined.)

No grave in Western Australia is forever — nor can you 'own' one. All are sold with a 25-year lease known as a Grant of Right of Burial. This includes mausoleum crypts and cremation memorials. You have the right to purchase one grant extension, if applied for in time. After 50 years, extensions are at the cemetery board's discretion. Full control of the grave reverts to the cemetery board upon expiry.

On 2 July 2012, all 50-year, 99-year and perpetual grants were extinguished. If your family purchased a grant before July 1987, it has likely expired.

It is a common misconception that you can just pay to save headstones. Requests to repurchase grants in areas planned for redevelopment are usually refused.

Although redevelopment only affects Karrakatta at the moment, it could happen in any cemetery across the state. There have been talks of it happening in Fremantle and Guildford.

The MCB's own research shows that only 28% of the community is aware of redevelopment. Just as 'renewal' is used instead of the correct term 'redevelopment', many other details of the process are not transparent.

The MCB claims to conduct 'extensive consultation' with families, but this does not occur. There is a lack of advertising and free discussion in the media. As such, many families are unaware that their loved ones' headstones are being removed, and are given little opportunity to contest the decisions.

Families leasing new graves are rarely told that they are burying their loved ones between existing graves. This can be especially shocking news for families who have, for example, buried mum and dad next to each other in adjoining graves, not knowing there are other people buried in between them.

The MCB says it will stop redevelopment if the public doesn't want it. But how can people speak up if they don't even know it's happening?

© 2017–2024 Saving Family Headstones at Karrakatta