Reimagining the public cemetery
This article first appeared in Planning News, the monthly magazine published by the Planning Institute of Australia's Victorian and Tasmanian Divisions (Planning News, Volume 48, No. 1, February 2022).
Benjamin Franklin, one of the founders of the United States, is famously quoted as saying ‘in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes’. While that may be a truism in terms of human mortality, the same cannot be said of the way we deal with human remains after death. Changing social and cultural expectations, demographic diversification, evolving technology, environmental limits, constrained land supply and legislative obligations all intersect to make the cemetery sector a complex and fascinating policy challenge.
The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT) is currently grappling with all these thorny issues in the master planning of its new greenfield cemetery at Harkness in Melbourne’s West. At 128 hectares and located on the western edge of the urban growth boundary just north of Melton, the project represents the largest new cemetery project in Victoria in over 100 years.
To take on a project of this scale, GMCT has appointed an experienced high-profile consortium led by Aurecon and including McGregor Coxall, Architectus, and Greenshoot Consulting. The brief is to prepare a master plan and business plan based on several principles:
‘Our values underpin everything we do. The new cemetery at Harkness offers us the opportunity to showcase our commitment to sustainability. Our principles for this project embody that commitment.’
Deb Ganderton, CEO, Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust
These principles are simultaneously aspirational and pragmatic. On the one hand, GMCT is committed to creating a reimagined cemetery that will provide a memorable experience of international significance. On the other, is the practical reality that GMCT is a self-funding, not-for-profit organisation that is responsible for maintaining all its cemeteries and memorial parks in perpetuity.
One of the most exciting and challenging aspects of the project is anticipating both short- and long-term needs. Current levels of demand in the western suburbs mean that the first interments need to occur at Harkness within the next two years. The site is then expected to service the community for another century to come. To put this in perspective, it is worth observing that interments are still occurring at Fawkner Memorial Park, 116 years after it was first opened on the then outskirts of Melbourne.
Harkness - view from south-west corner of the site towards the north-east
Although the main methods of disposition have not changed much over the past century, there has been a great deal of dynamism regarding community preferences (mainly burial, cremation and above-ground mausolea) and approaches to memorialisation. To complicate things further, preferences have not only changed over time, but also vary spatially across Melbourne according to the cultural background of surrounding suburbs.
Steadily increasing rates of cremation would suggest that less cemetery land will be needed over time, yet in our culturally diverse and growing metropolitan population there remains a strong demand for a variety of forms of memorialisation. Coupled with this ongoing demand are growing expectations regarding the design, amenity and environmental sustainability of cemeteries.
New forms of disposition are emerging, such as natural burials, human composting and aquamation, but take up has been slow and it is far too early to predict their implications for cemetery design and construction. The master plan will therefore need to simultaneously respond to the immediate needs and tastes of its diverse catchment; and be flexible enough to adapt to future, unanticipated technology, and social trends.
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Perhaps the most interesting questions for Harkness relate to the non-traditional ideas being considered for the site. In this regard GMCT is challenging community and stakeholders to ‘reimagine the public cemetery’. A multi-faceted engagement strategy is currently in progress to ensure that the Harkness site is truly integrated into the identity and life of the locality. The vision for the project reflects this ambition:
‘Create a trusted and reassuring sanctuary that evokes feelings of warmth, comfort and peace to connect people with the qualities of nature and community’.
A starting point for this creation is a process of reciprocal engagement with the Traditional Owners of the site, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation. The project is distinguishing itself by involving Traditional Owners from the outset, seeking not only their views about the project but to deepen cultural understanding and organisational relationships. A strong emerging theme of caring for Country will influence the way remnant vegetation, a vestigial waterway, and the interface with the adjacent Melton Gilgai Woodland shape the design and management of the site.
Harkness - view north-west towards Gilgai Woodlands
The reimagining of the proposed cemetery as an integral part of Harkness’ open space network, is arguably not a reimagining at all. In the late 19th century numerous large metropolitan cemeteries in Europe, the US and Australia, were designed as places of recreation as well as disposition and memorialisation. The ‘reawakening’ to this has recently been recognised in the new 2021 metropolitan open space strategy Open Space for Everyone, which cites Harkness as a case study:
‘The design approach will look for solutions that allow for memory and loss, life and celebration to intertwine in shared open spaces. …
The vision revives past uses and reflects present uses in some cities of cemeteries as large, valued, green spaces for picnics, recreation, gardens, iconic architecture and respite.’
Where the vision for Harkness departs from the 19th century conception of a garden cemetery – the ‘reimagination’ - is in GMCT’s aspirations for the development and activation of the site. GMCT is seeking business partners who are prepared to come on the journey to create an iconic destination for the western region of Melbourne. At this formative stage of the master plan the sphere of opportunities remains wide, with cultural, Indigenous, wellbeing, sport and recreation, renewable energy, horticultural, and community partnerships all being explored.
Although some of these options may seem incongruent when juxtaposed to traditional conceptions of a cemetery, that is just the point. In ‘reimagining’ the public cemetery, GMCT is prepared to push the boundaries to create a new model for the way it fulfils its purpose. Beyond the primary objective of creating a master plan for Harkness, the project is seen as a testbed for examining the organisation’s approaches to community engagement, design, sustainability, and partnerships.
The consortium is currently engaging with the local community, key stakeholders and deathcare industry partners. Design development and testing will commence in March, with the entire master plan due for completion in July 2022. Detailed design and construction will follow in 2023, with the first interments planned for 2023. A process for renaming the site to appropriately reflect its purpose, place and vision, is being undertaken concurrently.
GMCT and its consortium partners, led by Aurecon, are currently seeking community and stakeholder input regarding the greenfield site at Harkness. To get involved or be kept informed about the project, visit the project website: https://yoursay.gmct.com.au/harkness
James Reid is Chief Future Built Environment Officer at the Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. [email protected]