Rookwood Cemetery - Anglican and General Cemetery Trusts

Visitors to Rookwood Necropolis often have very firm ideas about what is, and is not, acceptable and how the cemetery should be run.

"They" are blamed for all kinds of shortcomings.  But who actually are "They"? Are "They" the council? Are "They" the church?  The government, perhaps? In fact "They" are none of these specifically.

Rookwood Necropolis is one of the largest cemeteries in the world and many would argue that it has an administrative structure to match!

To begin with, Rookwood Necropolis is Crown Land which means that it is owned by the State government.  The responsibility of managing all of the land and all structures thereon, is vested in the nine separate administrations below.  Each cemetery Trust is managed by a Board of Trustees, who is nominated by the Minister of Lands. The Trustees manage the affairs of the cemetery on behalf of the Minister in charge of the Crown Lands Act. Today over 100 staff are employed by the various administrations at Rookwood Necropolis (this includes office and grounds staff). The Trustees work in an honorary capacity but each administration has an office at Rookwood and employs its own managers, office staff and grounds staff.  Each Trust owns and operates its own equipment and manages its individual sections.

Currently land allocations in Rookwood cemetery are roughly as follows:

Although there are only six denominational Trusts there are more than 55 separate sections for different religious and national groups at Rookwood.  Most of these are catered for by the General and Independent Cemetery Trusts.

In 1925 the Government amended the Necropolis Act by creating a Joint Committee, consisting of one representative from each body of Trustees. This Joint Committee was to estimate each year the amount that would be required for the construction and maintenance of roads, fences, paths, drains and other necessary “common property” within the Necropolis.  It was given the power to levy an amount from each Trust to carry out this work.

The Joint Committee still operates on this basis. It levies the Cemetery Trusts at a ‘rate per funeral’ based on the previous year’s income. The fee, payable every three months, is used to maintain the infrastructure of the Necropolis and to provide services such as general security between the Trusts and outside organisations.  Along with the six cemetery Trustees, representatives from the following organisations also sit on the Joint Committee:

• Department of Lands
• National Trust of NSW
• Heritage Council of NSW
• NSW Cremation Company

Although Rookwood is one of the largest public open spaces in Sydney (Rookwood is larger than the Botanic Gardens and Centennial Park which both receive funding through the Premier’s department), Rookwood does not receive any direct financial assistance from the government.

Money for the restoration of heritage items must be applied for on a piece-by-piece basis through government and private grant schemes.

The 2.8 hectare War Graves sections at Rookwood are an exception.  These cemeteries are managed by the federal government through the Office of Australian War Graves, which is not required to contribute to the Joint Committee revenue and is not represented on the Joint Committee.

In 1926 a major change for the Necropolis was the introduction of facilities for cremation.  Amendments to the Act set aside 4 acres for a crematorium (Rookwood Memorial Gardens and Crematorium), which is leased from the Crown.

Rent is paid in an annual lump sum to the Joint Committee. These days about 50% of all funerals at Rookwood are cremations. This means that the crematorium is a large contributor of funds to the Joint Committee.

Likewise the Catholic Cemetery Trust, which has conducted the largest number of burials every year for more than 40 years and holds the largest area of land at Rookwood, is also a major user of the cemetery.

• The Anglican & General Cemeteries

The Anglican and General Cemetery Trusts carry out a maintenance regime in accordance with the governing structures that covers Rookwood Cemetery, including the Threatened Species Conservation Act. Unfortunately the government used to control the Trust prices for graves and until 1989 the Trust did not sell graves at a price that allowed for future maintenance. The families were responsible for the grave care as well as the monument because there were no additional charges at the time of the grave purchase to allow for future maintenance of these old graves.  We now know this was not practical and as time passed people no longer visited their family’s grave.

The Trusts do endeavour to keep the older areas looking presentable and accessible but we have been restricted by the growth patterns of indigenous species. These patterns allow the native and introduced bulbs, sedges, orchids and native grasses to flower and set seed, thus ensuring survival of the plant communities at Rookwood. 

This also provides a food source for native fauna.  In allowing this to happen we are reducing evaporation through shading the ground and reduce the movement and erosion of the clay soils, which push against the monuments through expansion and contraction of the clay due to changes in moisture content. In particular the kangaroo grass does produce a tall flower/seed stalk and unfortunately seeds best from September to December to mature before it can be cut down.

This means the older sections of the cemetery are covered with seed stalks of these plants for 16 weeks of the year from September to December.  With this in mind some older areas are now cut 2 – 3 times a year and others 5 –  6 times a year.  This is twice the number of cuts carried out 6 years ago.

• Annual Care Program

In addition to the normal maintenance of the cemetery grounds, the Anglican and General Cemetery Trusts have a program in place where people can subscribe to have their graves in monumental sections of the cemetery looked after on a monthly basis.

Your grave will be attended to by staff who will cut the grass, tidy, and if necessary, spray the area to prevent weeds regenerating in the immediate area surrounding the grave.

To join the program, all that is required is a letter requesting us to carry out the work with your name and address, the name of the deceased and the grave number and section.

When you join the program the grave is placed on a list and the work is carried out on a monthly basis. A reminder is sent annually for renewal.

The annual cost for this program is $135.00 for one grave and $247.00 for two graves. Price on application for multiple graves.

For further information please contact us.