Southern Hemisphere’s largest necropolis in Sydney is running out of burial space
In Sydney, Australia, Rookwood Cemetery — the largest necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere — is facing a shortage of burial plots. Metropolitan Memorial Parks (MMP), which manages about two-thirds of its territory, said that available plots for burial after a person’s death could run out for some religious communities within two to three years. This was reported by ABC News Australia.
According to MMP chief executive Denise Ora, most such plots, which are purchased after a person’s death, are likely to be exhausted by around 2036. She noted that this is particularly concerning for religious communities for which burial is essential, including Muslim and Orthodox communities.
Expansion plans
MMP manages 190 hectares of Rookwood Cemetery, accounting for about two-thirds of its area. The remaining territory is managed by Catholic Cemeteries and Crematoria. In August last year, MMP proposed converting the nearby Carnarvon golf course into a cemetery, but the initiative drew objections from the local Labor Party member of parliament and part of the community. The final decision on the proposal is to be made by the New South Wales state government.
According to MMP, burials account for 31% in Greater Sydney, while the state average is 27%. The cremation rate in Sydney is 69%, lower than the New South Wales average of 73%.
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History and heritage
The cemetery was established in 1867 on an area of 80 hectares in a locality formerly called Haslams Creek. It emerged during Sydney’s growth, when the Devonshire Street cemetery, where Central Station is now located, was overcrowded. A special funeral train previously ran to Rookwood twice a day, with three stops on the necropolis grounds.
Initially, the cemetery was divided among six denominations: Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, Independent and Jewish. It now has burials for representatives of about 140 religions and 250 languages. In the 1980s, the Society of Australian Genealogists spent eight years transcribing records from 750,000 graves to preserve information after some headstones were lost due to a road project. In 1989, a permanent conservation order was placed on the cemetery, and ten years later it was added to the State Heritage Register.
Denise Ora also named tenure burial rights as one possible approach. In New South Wales, this mechanism has been in place since 2018: remains may stay on a plot for 25 to 99 years, after which it may become available for reuse. She stressed that such a system is not mandatory and does not suit all religious traditions.
