Cemetery search｜Services we provide｜Fees and forms｜Cemeteries in Porirua｜History and heritage
For enquiries about our cemeteries or the crematorium, please phone the cemetery office on (04) 237 5089 during business hours.
Our cemeteries are open from 7.30 am to dusk every day. You can also search our cemetery records online.
| Address | Airlie Road, Porirua |
| Opening hours | 7.30am - dusk, every day |
| Phone | (04) 237 5089 |
The Whenua Tapu Cemetery now has three areas for ashes burial, multiple areas for burials, a dedicated childrens' area, a beautiful ashes scattering space, a services section, and a Muslim burial space. Find out more here.
With more than 11,000 people buried in the Whenua Tapu Cemetery, it is the main resting place for many of Porirua’s loved ones. The cemetery attained green flag status in 2021, an award that recognises parks and open spaces for being well managed and well maintained.
To find whether a person is buried in Whenua Tapu, please use our cemetery search tool. For maps of Whenua Tapu click here. [pdf, 1.7MB]
For more info on the services provided at Whenua Tapu click here.
Porirua Cemetery has over 3500 people buried within it, of which more than 2000 are unmarked. Porirua Cemetery closed in 1975 when Whenua Tapu opened as the main cemetery for Porirua.
There are many notable graves within Porirua Cemetery of pioneers and settlers that helped shape Porirua as a region. In 2018 some local volunteers started researching veterans' graves in Porirua Cemetery and they Founded Porirua War Stories and the New Zealand Remembrance Army. The Council unveiled a Services Memorial in 2021 within the cemetery.
For maps of Porirua Cemetery click here. [pdf, 1.7MB] To find whether a person is buried in Porirua Cemetery, please use our cemetery search tool.
| Address | 32 Kenepuru Drive, Porirua |
| Opening hours | 7.30am - dusk, every day |
| Phone | (04) 237 5089 |
These public burial grounds are our oldest and most historic for the region. The first burials were in the 1850s, although exact dates are hard to find given the age of the records. The burial grounds were donated by Thomas Stace for the area, and in 2007 the grounds were vested to the council for maintenance and management in perpetuity. There are many notable graves within these burial grounds.
The neighbouring church and burial grounds are managed by the Anglican Diocese and the land parcel itself is historic to local iwi, being the Pa site of Chief Te Rangihaeta. To find whether a person is buried in the Pāuatahanui Burial Ground, please use our cemetery search tool.
Pāuatahanui Burial Ground dates back to the 1850s and many members of the district’s pioneer families are buried there.
View Pauatahanui Burial Ground maps [pdf, 545KB].
There are many other historical cemeteries within Porirua that are not managed by the council.
St Josephs catholic church holds a historic burial ground. Traditionally Tawa was closely associated with the Porirua region and the Tawa Flat Cemetery has Porirua residents buried within it also. Known urupa, which are managed by local iwi, are also in the area.
Soldiers from Porirua have taken part in conflicts as far back as the Boer War, right up to modern peacekeeping mission in war zones around the world. Their stories have been carefully collected and can be found at the Porirua War Stories website, www.poriruawarstories.com
