Crematorium & Cemeteries

Wagga Wagga Crematorium

Cemetery-Crematorium Office
Brunskill Road
Wagga Wagga 2650
Telephone: (02) 6922 6802

Wagga Wagga City Council maintains 6 Cemeteries (4 Rural, 1 Monumental & 1 Lawn) and one Crematorium. The Rural Cemeteries are located at Humula, Tarcutta, Uranquinty & Currawarna and account for approximately 10 burials each year.

The Monumental Cemetery is located on Kooringal Road Wagga and accounts for approximately 20 burials each year.

The Lawn Cemetery is located with the Crematorium on Brunskill Road Lake Albert, and accounts for approximately 200 burials each year. The Crematorium processes approximately 250 cremations each year.

History

Monumental Cemetery

Council assumed responsibility for the Monumental Cemetery in February 1968 following State Government legislation which removed the ownership from the individual churches. The monuments in the cemetary are privately owned and maintained, Council maintains the grounds as well as the opening and closing of sites. 

The oldest known burial occurred here in 1847 in the name of 'Vincent'. The Vincent family was one of the earliest to settle in this area, and Vincent Road is named after them.

It is believed that this burial was transferred from an older burial site which was located somewhere in the Church St area.

It is unknown how many burials there have been in this Cemetery as the records kept by the Churches, Funeral Directors and independent Grave Diggers for the first one hundred years are non-existent. Since 1989, a concerted effort has been made to locate 'lost' burial sites, and to date, some 9,000 new entries have been added to Council's records.

The Monumental Cemetery adjoins the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Council has absolutely no involvement with this Cemetery. It is wholly maintained by the Commonwealth Government.

Rural Cemeteries

In 1984, following the amalgamation with Kyeamba Shire, WWCC assumed control of the four Rural Cemeteries. The same principles apply to these cemeteries, as to the Monumental Cemetery.

Lawn Cemetery & Crematorium

The Lawn Cemetery & Crematorium complex was opened in 1971 on a site comprising approximately 40 acres in Brunskill Road, Lake Albert. The first burial occurred on 10 August, and the first Cremation occurred on 11 August. Since that time, there have been 6,180 burials and 4,815 cremations.

With this Cemetery, Council owns the land and a "Grantee" is issued a Right of Burial which gives them the right to bury a body in that grave. A Right of Burial is not a Title Deed to that land as many would believe.

Private Cemeteries

There are several Private Cemeteries scattered around Wagga and district, but none of them come under Council control. The Best Cemetery located in Ashmont, and the Cowell Cemetery located in Forest Hill are two examples. As this type of Cemetery is of Heritage value, there are no recent burials, nor will there be any future burials in these cemeteries.