Well if you are a regular reader of this irregular blog you will probably know that I work for a local cemetery, Karori Cemetery, that is. It’s one of New Zealand’s biggest cemeteries, about 100 acres in area (or 40 hectors in the metric system, to be pedantic) and has about 100,000 people buried in it. There are two chapels, three counting what is known as a mortuary chapel which was at one time frequented by the Orthodox Jewish community for services before funerals. This has become somewhat redundant as they mostly have services elsewhere before arriving at the cemetery.
The Small brick Chapel was built in 1909 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary this November. As the name suggests it is not very big and only really caters to small groups such as the immediate family and friends while the main chapel is somewhat bigger and can easily hold a large crowd.
But enough of chapels and crematoriums, what I was originally going to tell you about is what sort of jobs I do there. Mainly I am involved in almost everything except doing cremations. My responsibilities range from general driving duties to interments and sometimes working at reception, taking bookings, attending enquires and showing people where this that and the other grave.
The cemetery is divided into various sections according to creed and religion. The largest of these sections is made up of Roman Catholic and Church of England, followed closely by public (Interdenominational). There are also sections for Chinese, Russian, Greek Orthodox, Orthodox Jewish and liberal Jewish. Scattered throughout the cemetery are graves for stillborn babies as well as infants (up to the age of three or four, restricted only by the size of the child) and a number of religious orders (Marist Fathers, Sisters of Mercy, the order of the society of Mary, etc.)
On the whole it is a fairly peaceful place to work, away from the hustle and bustle of suburbia & the Metropolitan chaos, as well as traffic. Surrounded by trees and bush it is a perfect place for people to walk their dogs and there are a number of dog walkers who have go to know us all well throughout the years. Most like to stop and chin wag along the way. It is always nice to meet new dogs and greet the ones who are familiar.
Like any job it has its good points and points that are not as joyful as one would hope them to be but still none the less part of the job anyhow. At first I suppose the work we do there takes a little getting use to and probably not everyone’s ideal way to make a living. Things such as disinterments (the process of exhuming caskets for one reason or another), picking up bio tissue for the mortuary (a contract that the cemetery has with a couple of local hospitals) and dealing with the bereaved are things that people are either cut out for or not. Some things no matter how long you do them are tough to deal with, these include attending funerals where the deceased has committed suicide or was a young child/infant or stillborn baby. Older people you can sort of understand as they have had a full life and the funeral seems to take on a more celebration of life motif.
Sometimes I head out to Makara Cemetery, which we also look after. It is more modern type of cemetery, that is to say the graves do not have the concrete surroundings. Most of it is lawn so it is a lot easier to maintain. This is also arrange in different sections (Roman Catholic, Interdenominational, Assyrian, Muslim, Serbian, Greek, Tung Jung, Pon Yee, Pooh Far Servicemen, Pacific Island, Orthodox Jewish and Progressive Jewish. There has also been a site established for Natural Burials (the article mentions that there have been three natural burials so far, but this has increased since the site was last updated, I think we're approaching our sixth or seventh and interest in it is still growing all the time).
This is also a peaceful place to work, perhaps more so than Karori, because of its rural settings. Sheep and cows graze in the pastures and horses have in the past been a frequent site. Several years ago a rooster wandered around, running up to the mourners whenever a service took place. Helped take the tension off I suppose. It’s no longer there though.
Well I suppose that’s really all I can squeeze into a blog entry without making it too big. I’ll write some more later.
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