Porirua crematorium makes final call to families on unclaimed ashes, some dating back to the 80s

The ashes will be interred if not collected by the beginning of March. Photo / Supplied

A Porirua crematorium is on the hunt for the family of more than 20 sets of unclaimed human ashes - including some dating back to the 80s.

Most of the ashes were brought to Whenua Tapu Cemetery and Crematorium in the mid-2000s after a funeral home ceased operations.

Now cemetery manager Jon King is trying to reconnect the ashes with their families.

Unclaimed ashes is something many funeral homes and crematoriums throughout the world have to deal with, he said.

"Sometimes there is no next of kin or the next of kin may have passed away, occasionally a family may be struggling to decide what to do with their loved one's remains, but in our case most of the ashes came to Whenua Tapu after one of the funeral homes stopped trading," he said.

"We have about a dozen sets of ashes that came from Angus Funeral Home, and a few others that have gone unclaimed over the years. It would be really good to reunite them with their relatives and loved ones."

Most of the ashes date back to the 1990s but the oldest set is from 1985.

King said it is often difficult to locate relatives because they may have moved and not left contact details.

"Any ashes that we are not able to return to family will be buried at Whenua Tapu and an online registry will be made," he said.

Porirua City Council parks manager Olivia Dovey said they were yet to receive any inquiries from anyone.

"This is about reconnecting families, We want to reunite families with the ashes of their love ones. We're hoping we can help families put their loved ones to rest properly."

People wanting to find out more should contact Porirua City Council on 04 237 5089 or enquiries@poriruacity.govt.nz.

Any ashes that are not claimed by the beginning of March will be interred by cemetery staff.