Cemeteries are changing

Cemeteries in Australia "are moving beyond their main role as sites ‘for the disposal of the dead,’” historian Cathy Dunn was quoted in an article "Australian cemeteries get a new lease of life” from Agence France-Presse (AFP) reprinted in The Hindu, November 20, 2017. "Older cemeteries such as West Terrace and Sydney’s Rookwood — the largest in the southern hemisphere — are also becoming tourist hotspots,” she added.

Rookwood Independent Cemetery Photo: Wikipedia

Open days, annual sculpture walks, bike races, harvesting of olive oil from trees are just some of the activities introduced to attract not just the dead — but also the living — to the historic sites. By reinventing cemeteries as unexplored, lush, green spaces in the heart of crowded cities, they hope to challenge the taboos surrounding death while breathing new life into the usually somber grounds. "Trying to sell death is very hard, no-one wants to,” said Robert Pitt, chief executive, Adelaide Cemeteries Authority. Yet, he notes "more and more people are going to be confronted by their own mortality, if not those of relatives and friends.” AFP notes the death rate will double in Australia over the next four years as the population ages.
To commemorate Rookwood’s 150 years "live jazz music, grave digging demonstrations and face painting for children,” were featured, noted AFP. But the approach has its critics. "Media reports earlier this year highlighted the complaints of a Melbourne family upset after their grandmother’s funeral was delayed as it clashed with a historic food tour,” states AFP. "But Maree Edwards, who has witnessed the evolution of Rookwood since burying her father there four decades ago, is convinced the spruced-up grounds and changing attitudes towards death will open up the hidden world to more people.”
"‘Twenty years ago, there was only a little, tiny tin-shed flower seller there at the entrance. But now, there’s coffee shops,’ Edwards said, adding that she hopes her daughter will one day join her for a weekend sojourn at Rookwood. ‘You’ve got to come with a different mentality here and think, Wow, this isn’t like a creepy, dead man’s land. It’s nice, it’s a cheery place. And it’s just a joy to be here, bizarre as it seems.’”