A 20 Megawatt Crematorium?

Why don’t we bury people face down, in a crouching position, with their arses sticking up out of the ground? We could put them in Glebe Park and they could be used as bike racks.

You know it makes sense.

Well, there’s an interesting marketing challenge for somebody!

; )

Actually, combining a gas fired power station with a crematorium makes quite a lot of sense. Use the energy from burning the body of your loved one to create Green Electricity, and then get a discount on your power bill…

I agree, bd84. It’s definitely a matter of personal preference.

: )

There’s no point arguing for or against burial or cremation, it’s a personal preference. Having a crematorium on the site makes sense given the high demand for it and given that there is currently only one crematorium in the ACT, the private one at mitchell.

miz said :

How nice that Stanhope was thinking of Tuggeranong residents! (Per link). Ha! It would be OK if it was just a cemetery (ie parkland) but a crematorium? Geez. Surely they can find a spot away from residents?

Someone always needs to complain, no matter how much of an effect it won’t have on anything.

Cemetery + Arboretum. We could put small plaques on the tree planted over each rello.

You know it makes sense.

Granny said :

I would like to have a tree planted over my grave – something pretty liike a redgum.

I like the idea of planting bodies below where trees might grow. A decent sized tree would have enough space for many more than one.

When you consider that 2/3 of the ACT is nature reserves covered by trees we can spare a few hectares to bury ourselves and our relatives.

I still think the timing of the crematorium announcement was Stanhope giving certain Fadden residents the finger.

I couldn’t bear to be cremated.

When I was fourteen they cremated my grandfather, and as the door closed around the coffin I felt so claustrophobic, it really repulsed me. For some reason the Gungahlin crematorium doesn’t affect me so badly because the coffin descends down into the pedestal.

I guess the coffins in the ground remind me of people sleeping in beds which I associate with peace, whereas burning and fire are something I associate with violence. I know it’s illogical, but I can’t seem to help it.

I would really rather be buried close to my family under a tree than be stuck out at a cemetery by myself, unless there was a family plot which wouldn’t feel so lonely. Not that it matters, I know it doesn’t matter. It just feels like it does.

But I actually like having the cemetery and crematorium located close by and together. Whenever there is a funeral I usually know how to get there, although sometimes the service is held in a church somewhere first. But usually I just turn up and it’s just a few minutes down the road.

It’s always saddest for me when they’re young. A person close to my own age makes me feel my own mortality. With older people I always find it interesting to hear all the things I never knew about them.

There is such a unique story attached to each person, even if they were only six years old and lived all their short years with a disability.

Sammy said :

My brother is interred at the Gungahlin cemetery, and it’s a right hike to get there from Tuggeranong. Obviously a future cemetery in Tuggers would not help with that, but i’ve got other relatives that are due to die at some point, so Tuggeranong would be far more convenient in that situation.

+1. My brother, father and mother in-law are also interred in Gungahlin which I think is a really beautiful place (the lawn bit anyway).

Personally I’m happy with a cemetery, crematorium or whatever else is being built in Tuggeranong. ‘Green’ coffins etc… also sound like a great idea.

I think burying someone standing up is a bit odd but that’s my own view. Enacting this this might require a bit of thought though as I think the top of the deceased’s head will still legally need to be 6ft from the surface for reasons of hygiene. So thats a 12 foot hole for a 6ft person.

fabforty said :

Surely we are living in a progressive enough world that we should now stop taking up valuable land by planting dead bodies in it.

I understand and sympathise with the logistics of your argument, but unfortunately, people often don’t think logically when it comes to death. Just the same as some can’t fathom the idea of donating organs after death, others can’t deal with the idea of having a relative or loved one cremated. Yep, I know – the idea of burying them is arguably just as unpleasant – but truly, grieving people do what is right for them at the time.