CREMATION PRACTICE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 117, 20 May 1933, Page 10

CREMATION PRACTICE.

SLOW GROWTH IN DOMINION. Tradition and custom die hard. Cremation of the dead as a. general practice is not progressing very rapidly in Wellington, although when it was instituted, mainly through the efforts of Miss Studholmc, of South Canterbury, nearly 25 years ago, it was supposed to be going to supersede liurial within a decade (says the "Dominion"). Miss Studliolme, during a lengthy visit to England, had become convinced of the necessity for cremation as a hygienic measure in the interests of the health of the public, and sucli were her arguments and powers of persuasion that she raised £803 by public subscription, which was subsidised by the City Council to the extent of £570, with which amount (altogether £1433) the crematorium was provided in the cemetery at Karori. Since its establishment, just over 1000 people have been cremated—lo2s up to the end of 1032-33.

As illustrating how slowly the practice of cremation is growing, the financial returns over the past five years are a fair guide. The fees aro £4 oil week days and £4 10/ on Sundays, and the revenue has increased .from £301 17/ in 1928 to £532 9/0 last year.