If you have any questions about our burial options, memorials, or cemetery facilities, please explore our Frequently Asked Questions page where you’ll find helpful information and guidance.
Ipswich Cemeteries recognizes that in some cultures, it is customary for mourners to fill the grave after interment as a sign of respect and connection. However, for safety reasons, this practice is not allowed at Ipswich Cemeteries. In cases where such cultural practices are observed, Ipswich Cemeteries will provide a quantity of loam to symbolically cover the coffin, allowing families to fulfill their cultural responsibilities without actually filling the grave. It is important that lowering devices remain in place to prevent any accidental slips into the grave while placing the loam.
All new burial plots are double depth, accommodating two coffin burials as well as multiple ashes placements beneath the headstone. Graves may only be reopened within six days or after twelve months from the original burial.
Warrill Park Lawn Cemetery is accessible to the public 24 hours a day. The gates remain open at all times, and office hours are from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays.
As a facility, our cremation fees are less expensive than our burial fees. However, you should discuss this with a funeral director who can advise you on their exact costs, including their professional fees.
Ipswich Crematorium was built within the grounds of Warrill Park Lawn Cemetery and has been in operation since early 2014. The Warrill Chapel and Blue Wren Tea-Room opened in May 2016. These facilities allow Ipswich Crematorium to offer the community of Ipswich a full death care service.
The service may take place in one’s own church, with a short committal service in the crematorium chapel or the whole service may be conducted elsewhere with the deceased coming to the crematorium after this service for a direct committal.
You may arrange for your own minister or celebrant to conduct the service at the crematorum. The form of this service should be arranged with the minister and funeral director.
A civil ceremony may occur, but it is not always necessary. Families sometimes choose to hold a memorial service after cremation, without the involvement of a clergy member, celebrant, or funeral director.
When it comes to cremation, specific documentation is required under the Cremation Act 1966 due to its finality. It’s advisable to contact a funeral director as soon as death occurs. Discuss with them when you would like the cremation to take place, who you would like to officiate the service, and the type of service you prefer. The funeral director will handle all the necessary arrangements and complete the required documents for the cremation. It is important to note that Ipswich Cemeteries is not a Funeral Home.
If you are the executor, the next of kin, or someone authorized by either party, you will need to sign the “Order for Cremation” or “Burial Details” form provided to you by your chosen Funeral Director. The person who signs the form will hold the burial rights once full payment has been received.
Ipswich Cemeteries provides a range of memorial garden options, including standard shrub and rose gardens, premium shrub gardens, a memorial walk through the melaleuca forest, a peaceful bamboo garden and an artificial rock garden. We also offer two styles of columbarium walls and a dedicated scatter garden. Our friendly staff can assist you with any additional details.
Ipswich Cemeteries provides a variety of memorial options, including cast bronze, aluminum, and granite. Our experienced staff is here to guide you through the decision-making process, ensuring you make an informed choice. Please visit our memorials page to view a selection of popular cast bronze plaques.
The coffin is typically brought into the chapel by the chosen Funeral Director and placed on the chapel trolley before the mourners enter and take their seats. Families may choose to play specific songs or video presentations during the service, and your Funeral Director will operate the audio-visual system to do so. If the family has decided not to carry the coffin out of the chapel, it will be subtly removed from view during the service by closing the committal curtain at the appropriate time. At the end of the service, the Funeral Director or celebrant will lead the mourners out of the chapel.
For cremations, the coffin is taken to our committal area, where the nameplate is verified against the cremation authority paperwork to ensure correct identification. Before the coffin is placed into the cremator, the nameplate is removed and is ultimately affixed to the ashes container after the cremation is completed.
For burials, the funeral director’s hearse is used to transport the coffin to the graveside.
Cremation will typically take place on the same day as the service.
Yes. The coffin is placed in the cremation chamber intact.
The temperature at which a modern cremator operators (between 800 and 1000C) is such that metals are destroyed or fused together with other materials, so that they are not recognisable and have no salvage value. Any metallic material resulting from a cremation is disposed of in accordance with the instruction of the cremation act.
No, the only exceptions to this rule are for a mother and her baby or for twin children. In these cases, we will allow both the mother and baby or the twins to be cremated together, either in the same coffin or in separate coffins if requested by the next of kin.
No, we do not have a dedicated viewing area for this setup at Ipswich Cemeteries.
There are strict controls in place to ensure the accurate identification of cremated remains. Each coffin is identified upon arrival, and the nameplate is removed from the coffin and placed on the outside of the cremator as soon as the coffin is loaded. This nameplate remains in place until the remains are extracted, at which point it is transferred to the cooling tray that then goes to the preparation room. The nameplate stays with the remains until they are placed in a container, and it is affixed to the ashes container along with a label that specifies the cremation details. Since each cremation chamber can only accept one coffin at a time and the remains must be withdrawn before the chamber is used again, all remains are kept separate throughout the entire process.