Cemeteries

The Hurunui District Council provides and manages nine cemeteries situated throughout the area.  In addition there is one closed Council cemetery, the former Jed Cemetery at Gore Bay, as well as various private burial sites that have no connection with the Council.  The Department of Conservation administers closed cemetery sites at Conway Flat with Church Property Trustees administering Brackenfield, and St. Paul's, Leithfield. Cemetery Records You can search the Hurunui District Council Cemeteries Database to find where your family and friends are buried. on-line enquiry (records as at 16th January 2006) (for Plot reference please download the Layout maps from the area below).

Locations

Fees

Schedule of Fees and Charges

Interments
Separate interment charges are made within the various cemeteries as a consequence of differing costs associated with the various contractors.
Prices are reviewed each 3-year term when the sexton contracts are let.
Three types of plots may be purchased.

Grave plot
These exist in the older areas and can have surrounds or are concreted over. These are the responsibility of the plot owners’ family.

Lawn plot
Lawn plots may have the concrete berm already laid out for the headstone in some areas and will be grassed and mowed for ease of maintenance.  Berms are laid to ensure a consistency of straightness, tidiness and ease of plot identification.

Cremation plot
These do not presently exist in all cemeteries but are planned to be created.  This allows those with ashes to have a final placement site without having to purchase a full size plot.

Reservations
Plot reservations may be made in advance. A certificate is issued to identify the purchaser, the cemetery, and the plot number. Current policy states that a plot may be refunded at half of the original purchase price.

Records

The cemetery records are kept at Council offices in Amberley, Cheviot and Culverden. 

Old maps, registers and burial warrants are archived within an easy access system.  Information from these old records has all been entered into the Council Access database programme, it is now certain that all burial information held by Council has been accessed and that records are up to date. Cemetery records are a matter of public record and are available for inspection.  It is now also common to receive enquiries regarding the whereabouts of past family members by those interested in genealogy. The creation of the Council Access database programme now means that all enquiries can be met with minimal delay, in often emotional circumstances for the customer.  Total customer satisfaction is now provided by: Screen map coloured to show availability of plots Digitised photographs available on screen Printed purchase certificate Genealogical details printout

Being able to see a visual display of the required area gives a sense of comfort at this time and avoids the need to make a special visit to the cemetery.  With often a number of relatives interred within the same rural cemetery, this provides a certainty that the chosen plot is within the area desired.
It is also the intention of the Council to provide a plan within the cemeteries detailing all plots at each cemetery so that any visitor can quickly establish the final resting place of any friend or relative.  This will be contained within the shelter kiosks that are currently being installed at Balcairn, Glenmark, Hanmer Springs & Homeview.