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General Information

Council, since 1967, has had 9 cemeteries under its control. These are located at: 

• Mt Irvine (earliest known 1935)
• Mt Victoria (earliest known burial 1881)
• Blackheath (earliest known burial 1884)
• Megalong (not currently in use and no records held)
• Katoomba (earliest date not known)
• Wentworth Falls (earliest known burial 1889)
• Lawson (earliest known burial 1899)
• Faulconbridge (earliest known burial 1880 - now closed)
• Springwood (earliest known burial 1886)

Note:    Mt Wilson and Leura Crematorium are not under Council control.

Council took over control from trustees (excluding those on church property) in 1967. Prior to 1967 the cemeteries were either administered by community trustees or by church trustees. Because of these arrangements many of the cemetery records are incomplete or missing prior to 1967. Printouts of cemetery records/maps are available at Council’s Katoomba Office at 2 Civic Place.

The cemeteries do not have caretakers on site but arrangements can be made for the cemetery staff to meet people on site if required.

• Bookings for burials are made via Funeral Directors.
• Council is also responsible for the Columbarium Walls at Springwood, Katoomba and Faulconbridge Cemeteries and Terraced Gardens, at Faulconbridge and Springwood.  These areas are designed for the placement of Ashes.
• All monumental works carried out in Council controlled Cemeteries are subject to prior approval of Council.
• Perpetual Maintenance was not paid by applicants until 1988, opening of Double Depth Graves established prior to this date will incur Perpetual Maintenance fees.

For any enquiries regarding Council cemeteries please contact Council on (02) 4780 5613.

History

Council has 9 cemeteries under its care and control. In 1967, following the introduction of Local Government Control of Cemeteries Amendment Act 1966, responsibility for the care control and management of cemeteries outside the Sydney Metropolitan areas was transferred to local Councils.

This was a necessary measure as active interest by local trustees had long since ceased. Prior to 1967 the cemeteries were administered by various church and community trustees. Due to the number of trustees involved many of the cemetery records are incomplete, missing or incorrect. Several surveys and research projects have been undertaken over the last 10 years in an attempt to improve the integrity of the information however despite this work our records will never be completely correct nor will the identity of many occupants of graves be determined.

For more specific historical information please refer to Council’s Local Studies section at Springwood Library on (02) 4723 5044.

Burial Rights

A Burial Right is the reservation of a grave plot in a cemetery on behalf of an individual.

The Council or the Manager, upon payment of the appropriate charge fixed by Council, issue a Right of Burial giving the exclusive right of burial in one or more specified allotments of the cemetery; but the Council may refuse, or may authorise the Manager to refuse to issue a Burial Right for more than one allotment to any one person if it is satisfied that an attempt is being made to create a monopoly or to deal in such Rights in the way of business.

The Council or the Manager reserves the right to refuse the issue of a Burial Right over a particular grave plot.  An alternative plot is to be offered in these circumstances.

Burial Rights may be transferred or transmitted and the Council or the Manager shall record any transfer or transmission upon satisfactory proof of the right of the claimant to be regarded as the transferee of successor thereto.  The holder of the Burial Right must supply the original Burial Right Certificate, full details of the name and address of the transferee and a written declaration to the effect that they no longer have any interest in the reservation to be transferred and relinquish all rights to that reservation.

Burial Rights may be surrendered back to Council and the Council reserves the right to determine if any refund is to be given and the amount of the refund given.  Council is not obliged to refund monies on surrendered Burial Rights.

Note: If a refund is granted, it is to be for the value of the fee paid, not the current fee.

Reservations For Ashes Placement

Plots can be reserved in either the Columbarium Walls or the Native Gardens. The fee involved is only that for a Plinth in the gardens or Niche in a wall.

Burial Of Ashes In A Grave

Application can be made to have ashes of a relative placed in an existing grave plot.  The application forms are available at Council’s Springwood or Katoomba Office.

Council may permit the use of a grave plot for the interment of cremated remains (ashes). The placement of ashes in a grave is subject to the following conditions:

• all placements are carried out by Council;
• a fee will be charged in accordance with the adopted fees and charges schedule. N.B. any grave with an interment date previous to 1981 will incur the current maintenance charge. Where placements are being done in a new (not previously used grave plot) the full costs associated with a normal interment of a casket will be applied (ie perpetual care, grave marker, grave fee);
• a maximum of 8 lots of cremated remains are to be placed in any one grave plot;
• where ashes are being placed in an existing grave or in a Burial Right, the owner of that grave or burial right or in the event they are deceased, the written consent of the rightful successor must be provided;
• in the instance of multiple placement of ashes in a grave, Council may restrict the placement of monuments to a single headstone/plaque;
• if a casket is intended to be placed in the grave containing cremated remains, the owner of the grave should ensure that the executor of their will is informed of the presence of those ashes and Council is given appropriate notification to that effect when arrangements are made for the interment of a casket;
• where monumental work exists over a grave where ashes are to be placed, Council will endeavour to place the ashes at the base of the headstone to avoid the necessity to remove monumental work. If this cannot be achieved, the family will need to make arrangements for the removal of the necessary monumental work, at cost to them; and
• application for the interment of ashes in a grave must be on the prescribed form and the appropriate fee accompanying that form.

Monumental Work

All work proposed to a grave site is subject to prior approval of Council in accordance with the Monumental Works Policy.  No approval will be granted for placement of masonry monumental work on graves less than 6 months old. This is to allow the ground sufficient time to settle to avoid collapse of the monumental work.

The care, maintenance and repair of monumental work is the responsibility of the family or estate of the deceased.

Where a grave is to be re-opened for a second interment any monumental work that must be removed to allow that interment is to be arranged by the funeral director on behalf of the family or person arranging the funeral.  Council under no circumstances is responsible for the removal of monumental work.

Monumental work is to be removed to allow Council reasonable time to prepare the grave plot for burial. The funeral director is to ensure that any monumental work removed for a funeral is replaced within 48 hours of the funeral.

Council does not permit the placement of crypts or vaults in the cemeteries.

All restoration of existing monumental works shall be in accordance with the monumental work policy in respect to the acceptable Australian standard for restoration work.

Monuments are not to be relocated or rearranged in artificial rows, groups or walls.  Incorrectly placed monuments moved from their original location should be reinstated if documentation of the correct location is available. Where the original location cannot be found, monuments should be placed in a group of monuments whose original location is unknown.

Odd alignment of monuments should not be regarded as a problem since these often date from a period before the cemetery may have been surveyed. They should be preserved.

Council may set aside “minimum maintenance areas” where the use of concrete strips as continuous monuments plinths or lawn type areas utilising a single plaque and plinth. The placement of any form of monumental work will not be permitted other than as previously defined.