Burial or Cremation
To Honour | To Remember | To Heal.
Choosing a resting place
Most families find themselves facing the decision of burial vs cremation. Whether you’re making plans for the future or find yourself in an unexpected situation, these two options are readily available for almost all circumstances in Hawkes Bay.
Cremation is often more affordable and gives families more ways to remember the deceased. While burials are the more traditional choice, they’re typically more expensive.
We can liaise with your cemetery of choice to secure a burial plot or arrange interment in an existing family plot. We also liaise with the Hawke’s Bay Crematorium on your behalf to arrange the time and date for cremation, according to your wishes.
Cemeteries and crematoriums charge for burial plots and cremation. These charges are set by them. We work with them on your behalf, but we do not add any surcharge to these costs.
Burial
In New Zealand, burials are limited by law to official cemeteries and natural burial grounds or traditional Urûpa burial grounds. In Hawke’s Bay all of these options are available.
A plot will need to be bought, and a fee paid for digging the grave. We can help you choose and buy a plot (or double plots, if needed) and assist you with arranging a headstone or plaque to mark your loved one’s grave.
There are different services that you can choose for a loved one’s burial, depending upon your individual needs and preferences:
- Immediate burial means that your loved one will be buried without a public service or gathering.
- Graveside, chapel, or committal services are held at the cemetery, and allow family and friends to be present as their loved one is transferred to his or her final resting place through ground burial.
Cremation
With cremation there is no restriction on specific burial places. Ashes can be buried in a cemetery or special memorial area; or they can be scattered elsewhere such in a garden, at sea or in a special place. A memorial or plaque is often chosen to provide a focal point for family and friends.
The biggest misconception about cremation is that there can’t be a funeral service or visitation. This is absolutely not the case. For example, you could have a visitation period for your loved one, followed by a public funeral service of some kind, followed by a private gathering of family at the crematorium. Then later you could have a gathering for scattering ashes, or a memorial celebration. After cremation, there are a variety of choices for your loved one’s final disposition:
- Interment means that you’ll bury or entomb your loved one’s cremated remains. This can be in a family plot, a memorial site, a cremation niche or urn garden, or in a variety of other indoor and outdoor locations. You can find information on local cemeteries here.
- Graveside services are similar to those celebrated alongside a traditional ground burial, in which loved ones are present at the burial of the cremated remains and honour the deceased through memorial prayers or other meaningful tributes.
- Scattering allows you to spread your loved one’s cremated remains at a meaningful site. You also can choose to scatter some of the cremated remains and retain the rest in an urn for interment or another form of disposition. Please note: some locations will require permission.
- Placing cremated remains in multiple urns allows family members who are separated by distance to each feel the comfort of having their loved one’s final resting place in a nearby location.
Natural (Green) Burial Services
For those who want to be more environmentally friendly with their end-of-life decisions, we offer green burial options. This way, you can honour your loved one’s life while reducing their environmental impact. A green burial service may be right for your loved one if they were an avid nature lover, worked in an environmental science field, or were passionate about living an eco-friendly lifestyle.
To learn more about our green burial options, please download our information booklet below, and feel free to ask us any questions.