Thanks for that Sharon, will have a good look at the map. Maybe one Catholic will protest! Regards Bernadette Salter -----Original Message----- From: australia-cemeteries-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:australia-cemeteries-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Sharon McBride Sent: Friday, August 20, 2010 9:26 PM To: australia-cemeteries@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [AUSTRALIA-CEMETERIES] Karrakatta Cemetery WA Gallus headstones Hi Bernadette, They say they are running out of room but resist the obvious solution of burials at another cemetery. They could close the cemetery for new burials, allowing burials in plots already held by families and of course continue with cremations but all pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Cremation has of course taken over from burial as the most usual funeral now & usually when we do attend a burial service it is most often for an elderly person wishing to be buried with family members who have gone before in a family grave. There has been many protests & efforts from members of the public to stop the practice of grave reclaiming at Karrakatta but to no avail though there have been some concessions to appease the masses such as the photographing of headstones, keeping some headstones & placing them in an area around the perimeter of the section (in my opinion a headstone should mark the grave not be moved to a different spot but I guess better than what they used to do - dump them). It is a horrible sight to see a bulldozer clearing a large area of a cemetery, how much worse it must be for those who's family are buried there. At Karrakatta the policy is not to disturb the bodies in the graves (well, they say they don't but it is a tight squeeze & I can see how they could easily get it wrong). What they do is remove all the headstones in the section & survey the area marking out new plots in the space between each old grave. So, if we go to a burial service in these "new" sections it is with the uncomfortable knowledge that we are standing on someone else's grave, there really being no other choice as to where we can stand. There is a map on the MCB website of all the sections of the Karrakatta cemetery which tells you when each section is expected to be renewed. It may be the next 5 year, next 25 years, 25 years plus or never. They have targeted mainly Anglican and Catholic sections, in my opinion those less likely to kick up a stink or claim they are being discriminated against. As your Aunts grave does not expire until 2012 then I doubt you have anything to worry about in the near future & reclaiming an area where there are graves of a religious order I think might be a bit too political for them to attempt anyway. Renewing a grant is expensive, only lasts for 25 years & really of no point unless the area is up for renewal or of course if there is space in the family grave you are planning to use. The grant of a plot must be current before any new burial. In most cases people usually wait until the time comes (Dad wishing to be buried with Mum etc) & renew before the new burial so as to be safe for at least 25 years. Have a look at the map & check the section where your aunt is & you may be able to put your mind at ease. http://www.mcb.wa.gov.au/OurCemeteries/Karrakatta/map.html Sharon >Hi Sharon, Why are areas being reclaimed? Does this mean the plots that are >removed are recycled again. I have an aunt in the Nuns' section, the grant >expires in 2012, does this mean the grant has to be renewed. >Regards >Bernadette Salter ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to AUSTRALIA-CEMETERIES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message