Waikumete Cemetery

Waikumete Cemetery, originally Waikomiti Cemetery,[1] is New Zealand's largest cemetery. It occupies a site of 108 hectares in Glen Eden, Auckland, and also contains a crematorium in the south-west corner of the cemetery.

Waikumete Cemetery
Waikumete Cemetery in March 2014
Details
Established1886
Location
Glen Eden, Auckland
CountryNew Zealand

Description

Waikumete Cemetery was established in 1886 and is the final resting place for over 70,000 people.[2] Its location was decided by the proximity of the nearby Glen Eden railway station, as access by railway was desired.[1] The Chapel of Faith in the Oaks was built in 1886 as a mortuary chapel and was used until the larger chapel was built in 1952. It is available for hire for religious services.

Waikumete is home to a number of prominent memorials, including the Erebus Memorial, a Holocaust Memorial, a New Zealand Influenza Epidemic memorial and an ANZAC Cenotaph.

War graves

Two extensive areas of the cemetery were allocated for the burial of service personnel of the World Wars and post-war veterans. In total, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission register and maintain the graves of 285 Commonwealth service personnel at the cemetery, 110 from World War I and 176 from World War II.[3]

In the entrance to the cemetery the Commisson erected the Auckland Provincial Memorial, commemorating the 56 service personnel from the Auckland Province who died serving in and around New Zealand in both World Wars but have no known grave.[3]

The Commission also commemorate 44 World War II service personnel who were cremated at Waikumete Crematorium. In 1999, a memorial to seven personnel whose ashes were formerly stored in the chapel building was placed on the site of their final resting place in the chapel lawn.[4]

Burials

Some of the notable people buried at the cemetery include:

See also

Notes
  1. "Glen Eden Railway Station". Register of Historic Places. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  2. "Waikumete Cemetery Background, Auckland City Council".
  3. "AUCKLAND (WAIKUMETE) CEMETERY". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  4. "AUCKLAND (WAIKUMETE) CREMATORIUM". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  5. "Giant of wine making and local politics remembered in emotional and poignant farewell". Stuff.co.nz. 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  6. Harper & Richardson 2007, p. 174.
  7. Harper & Richardson 2007, p. 171.
  8. Harper & Richardson 2007, pp. 168–169.
  9. "Death of the Hon Shrimski". Auckland Star. XXXIII (149). 25 June 1902. p. 2. Retrieved 18 October 2014.

References
  • Harper, Glyn; Richardson, Colin (2007). In the Face of the Enemy: The Complete History of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited. ISBN 1869506502.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

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