Porirua City Cemeteries Manager Daniel Chrisp on the new memorial walk at Whenua Tapu.
Whenua Tapu now has a dedicated space where families can scatter the ashes of their loved ones.
The new Piwakawaka Memorial Bush Walk is a gentle path which has been lined with 1500 native plants and runs between the lower and upper areas of the cemetery.
“We didn’t have a place for people to scatter ashes,” Porirua City Cemeteries Manager Daniel Chrisp says of creating the new area. “Now it makes that option for the families a bit more pleasant.”
People can also choose to buy a small plaque to display on a wooden post along the walk to more permanently mark where their loved one is scattered.
There is a chance to hear more about the new walk as part of this year’s annual Cemeteries Week, which runs from 29 October to 6 November.
The events this year include talks at Whenua Tapu, Porirua Cemetery (off Kenepuru Dr), and at St Albans and the Pāuatahanui burial grounds.
A tour of the upgraded crematorium at Whenua Tapu is also on the agenda, where Mr Chrisp says attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and debunk any myths they may have heard about cremations.
“There’s a lot of mystery around what happens when a body is cremated. Most of the public don’t know what goes into the process.”
The $2 million project to refurbish the crematorium, which included installing a new cremator, was completed in November last year.
Here is the full list of events for Cemeteries Week 2022:
Saturday 29 October, 11am – ‘Unmarked but not forgotten’ at Porirua Cemetery with Allan Dodson
Saturday 29 October, 3pm – ‘Introduction to our new memorial bush walk’ at Whenua Tapu with Daniel Chrisp
Sunday 30 October, 12.30pm – ‘Notable graves’ at St Albans with Margaret Blair
Saturday 5 November, 10am – Crematorium tour and talk at Whenua Tapu with Daniel Chrisp
Saturday 5 November, 2pm – ‘Nations – Services section talk’ at Whenua Tapu with Allan Dodson
Sunday 6 November, 10am – ‘Unmarked but not quite forgotten’ at Pāuatahanui Burial grounds with Mickey Reilly.
17 Oct 2022
