By CASEY NEILL
BUNURONG Memorial Park is on its way to becoming three times bigger than the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Health and Ageing Minister David Davis started work on the Bangholme cemetery’s $50 million redevelopment at a ground-breaking ceremony last Wednesday.
The project will generate 125 full time jobs over 18 months and include three chapels, five function rooms, waterways, sculptures, a playground, an administration building and 200 car parking spaces.
An Australian-themed landscape design will include more than 80,000 native trees and shrubs.
The not-for-profit Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (SMCT) manages the site, which was established in 1994.
“This is the cemetery of the future,” CEO Jonathan Tribe said.
“It’s going to be very different to anything else that exists in Australia.
“There’s a great sense of anticipation amongst all the staff here.”
Mr Tribe said the 101 hectare site would meet Melbourne’s population needs for at least the next 70 years.
“Our vision for Bunurong is to transform a traditional cemetery into a ‘new age’ memorial park visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year,” he said.
“We want to demystify cemeteries and get people to regard them as great community assets – green, relaxing places where you can socialise with family and friends.
“That’s how people in the Victorian era regarded cemeteries.”
SMCT research found that about 5000 people would visit the Melbourne General Cemetery on a summer Sunday in the 1860s, to picnic in the gardens and promenade along the wide pathways.
“In the 20th century, people developed a morbid attitude towards cemeteries,” Mr Tribe said.
“Bunurong Memorial Park is a community space that will help change that perception.”
The cemetery currently has about 2100 graves, 260 mausoleum crypts and 1370 cremation memorial spots available.
Visit dandenong.starcommunity.com.au to watch an animation of the redevelopment.
Watch an animation of the redevelopment here:
