Grave anomaly

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33942, 8 September 1975, Page 14

Grave anomaly

Burial fees at what was described as “the cheapest place to die in New Zealand,” will be reviewed by the Ashley County Council.

The assistant county clerk, Mr M. Lloyd, told a recent council meeting that there had been a burial at the Birch Hill cemetery during the last month, and an anomaly in the charges had been discovered.

Under the complicated set of regulations governing the use of the cemetery, it was stipulated that the charge for a plot would be £1 2s 6d ($2.25). The only way the grave could be dug was by using a trenching machine, and the total cost had been $64, which the undertakers had

refused to pay, Mr Lloyd said.

They had, however, agreed to pay half the account.

The cemetery was technically closed, and only descendants of the original settlers could be buried there. Mr Lloyd recommended that the charges be reviewed.

Cr A. C. W. Mclntosh said there were about 12 graves in the cemetery. “We should have got him to dig half-a-dozen graves up there: they would have lasted for another 100 years,” he said. The council agreed that the charges should be revised.