Ashburton District Council administers 11 cemeteries. They are located at: Ashburton, Methven, Rakaia, Chertsey, Mt Somers, Ruapuna, Alford Forest, Winslow, Hinds, Waterton and Barrhill
The Council also carries out the interments at four private cemeteries: Dorie, Windermere, Coldstream and Cracroft.
The Ashburton Cemetery has a returned services and children's section, interdenominational layout and cremation beams. Methven cemetery has a Returned Services section.
At the Ashburton cemetery we encourage double interments by way of extra depth to enable two caskets to be interred in one plot. In some of the rural cemeteries this is prohibited due to high water table or stony country. There are bylaws relating to cemeteries which outline the type, size and upkeep of memorials.
Cemetery Records
Access Ashburton District's electronic cemetery records here. Council also keeps cemetery burial records on file and each cemetery has a site map. If you have an enquiry, please contact us at (03) 307 7700.
We Are Extending the Ashburton Cemetery
Ashburton District Council is planning to extend the Ashburton cemetery to provide for our burial and remembrance needs for the next 80 years.
With our population continuing to grow and the average age of our residents increasing we need to look to our future requirements. Our district is also becoming more multicultural and we need to cater for a range of beliefs.
A planned extension of the cemetery gives us a chance to look at new features we could incorporate into a new cemetery space.
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