The Kinglake Ranges Cemetery Trust has been working hard since October 2019, to develop a vision for a community cemetery at 265 Whittlesea Kinglake Rd, Kinglake, with the entrance via Blackwood Lane. The cemetery would be a bush cemetery. The plans were developed by a well-known firm of architects and landscape architects.
The plans are at a draft stage prior to submitting a planning application to Murrindindi Council and as a prequel to our future community consultation sessions. The designers have taken our ideas along with the visions of previous trust members and past and present community residents who shared their thoughts with us.
All areas are designed to be as low to the ground as possible because one of the main considerations was to retain the uninterrupted views. These areas are the lawn cemetery, Children’s Memorial, the Pioneers’ Memorial Garden (Memorial Blackwood Grove), and the Veterans’ Memorial Garden (Lone Pine Veterans Memorial Garden), which are marked on the plans.
The memorials for ashes is a series of low walls which serve two functions. They can be used as seating - as a meditative place and for memorialising ashes. They are situated on the site that would complement the view. In our research over the last few years we found that the greatest demand is for ashes internment as cremation has become preferred over burials.
Planting is native and largely indigenous to the area of Kinglake. This has the benefit of not just being low maintenance to give the best chance of survival, but also helps to restore the land. Consultation has occurred with the Upper Goulburn Landcare group to ensure that plant species are appropriate.
The site at 825 Whittlesea Kinglake Rd, Pheasant Creek, is no longer reserved for cemetery purposes and is currently managed by DEWLP. The site at 265 Whittlesea Kinglake Rd, Blackwood Lane, Kinglake is the only site currently under the trusts’ management.
We welcome the opportunity of working with the community and Council on this exciting project.
Les Joynson, Chairperson
Alex Pottage,Secretary
On behalf of the Kinglake Ranges Cemetery Trust