Cremations in Whanganui trending over burials for past five years

Cleveland Funeral Home director Craig Cleveland said 79 per cent of his funerals last year were cremations rather than burials. Photo / Bevan Conley

Cremations are becoming much more popular and widely accepted than burials in Whanganui.

Whanganui District Council statistics show the number of people choosing cremations over burials has been growing every year for the past five years in Whanganui.

In 2022, 433 people opted to be cremated and 148 people were buried, which was the highest number of cremations in Whanganui since 2019.

Cleveland Funeral Home director Craig Cleveland said 79 per cent of his funerals last year were cremations rather than burials.

“There’s been quite a large uptake,” he said.

Cleveland said part of the reason for the increase could be due to burials being more expensive.

“Some of it could be cost-driven, when you compare the cost of a burial at Aramoho [Cemetery] where you’re having to buy a plot, and pay for the interment up there, that still works out dearer than buying a cremation plot and interring the ashes.”

An adult burial plot in Whanganui is $1515, whereas a cremation plot is $755.

There are variations in the prices of burial services in Whanganui depending on the day and time of the week, but for the most expensive slot on a Saturday after 1pm, an adult cremation service is $350 cheaper than opting for a burial.

Whanganui cemetery fees are considerably cheaper than in other cities such as New Plymouth — which is one of the most expensive in the country with a cost of $4579 for an adult burial plot.

Cleveland said there had previously been a tendency for burials to be chosen over cremations by Whanganui residents, due to there being more space and larger sections available unlike in big cities.

During Covid, families became more accepting of cremations due to restrictions making it difficult to transport family members to special burial sites unless they were cremated, he said.

Council data shows there were 58 more cremations in 2021, than in 2020 in Whanganui.

Cleveland noticed that cremation was becoming a more accepted practice amongst Māori and Pacific Islanders.

“In the last two or three years, I’ve probably done more cremations of Māori and Pacific Islanders than I would have in the last 10 years added together.”

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.