Vic: Stand up, Australia, for first vertical cemetery

AAP General News (Australia)
04-28-2005
Vic: Stand up, Australia, for first vertical cemetery

By Jamie Duncan

MELBOURNE, April 28 AAP - Plans for a new cemetery where bodies are buried standing
up have been given the green light by Victoria's planning minister.

After more than 15 years of work, Victorian company Palacom has won the right to establish
what is believed to be Australia's first vertical cemetery, in which bodies will be buried
on their feet.

The cemetery will be established on land at Derrinallum, in Victoria's Western District,
about 180km west of Melbourne.

Victorian Planning Minister Rob Hulls approved a proposal from the Corangamite Shire
to rezone the land from rural to public use, allowing the cemetery to be established.

Palacom director Tony Dupleix said the cemetery offered a cheaper, environmentally
friendlier burial.

Bodies would be held at a morgue in Melbourne and would be transported to the site
for burial in batches of 12 to 15, to minimise costs.

The bodies would be encased in bodybags and buried in individual pre-drilled three
metre deep holes, Mr Dupleix said.

The land would be returned to pasture and would be grazed by animals once it was stable, he said.

Burials would cost about $1,000 and would begin once access and fencing was completed
by the Darlington Cemetery Trust, which will manage the site.

"When you die, you are returned to the earth with a minimum of fuss and with no paraphernalia
that would affect the environment," he said.

"You're not burning 90kg of gas in a crematorium and there's no ongoing maintenance costs."

Darlington Cemetery Trust secretary Anna Jamieson said vertical burials would not replace
traditional burials at its existing cemetery, but would provide an attractive new option
for some.

"If you are interested in the environment, it's beautiful land on the Western District
plains facing Mount Elephant," she said.

"Some people will think it's great but other people might prefer a traditional burial."

AAP jrd/gfr/sp/cjh/de

KEYWORD: VERTICAL

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