Cemetery opens new lawn for burials
After five years’ work the Hamilton cemetery has a new memorial lawn open
Hamilton Park Cemetery is set to open a new wing of burial plots in September.
The Chestnut Lawn – named after the trees planted in the area – will have up to 200 plots available for sale.
Hamilton cemeteries manager Michelle Rivers says that burial costs will be consistent with existing lawns; however the Chestnut Lawn will cater for cheaper headstone options.
“It is the memorial plaques or headstones that determine the difference in price. Basically the bigger the headstone the more expensive it is.”
The lawn will be extended over time to allow for more burial plots as needed.
Contractors completed the lawn this week and Rivers says they are now just waiting a few weeks to give the grass a chance to grow.
A surprising amount of work goes into the preparation of a new lawn.
“All the land has to be levelled, tests are done to see how deep the water shelf is, trees are planted and a lot of work goes into the turf – planting seeds and sorting fertilisers,” Rivers says.
Work began on the lawn more than five years ago and there will be constant maintenance to upkeep the area.
