Geraldton Cemetery & Crematorium

Geraldton Cemetery is the oldest and largest operating cemetery in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is run by a Board appointed by statutory requirement and incorporated under the Cemeteries Act 1986. The Geraldton Cemetery Board is a not-for-profit organisation audited by the Auditor General of WA and reporting to the Minister for Local Government of Western Australia. The cemetery has been managed by a board since its inception on 23 January 1951. The first burial was recorded on 22 July 1930 when Ethelbert Gibbs was laid to rest in the Methodist section. The crematorium was first established in 1989 and the first cremation was on 2 May 1989. On 2 May 2008, the Geraldton Cemetery Board officially opened the present crematorium chapel.

On 1 March 2017, the new condolence lounge and Joule Cremator were officially opened. There are 17 denomination zones: Roman Catholic, Uniting Church (Presbyterian), Salvation Army, Aboriginal, Church of Christ, Muslim, Chinese, Japanese, Lutheran, Assembly of God, Non-Denominational, Greek Orthodox, Jewish, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Uniting Church (Methodist) and Anglican. The cemetery occupies approximately 40ha of land. Approximately 25% of the available land is occupied. In 2018, approximately 80% of all deceased were cremated and 20% received burials. The Geraldton Crematorium is situated on the cemetery grounds and has seating for up to 200 people.

The cemetery provides memorial gardens as a sanctuary for reflection and tribute. Board members are appointed by the Minister for Local Government and provide their services on a voluntary basis. Board meetings are held monthly. Greg Eastman was appointed to the board on 27th June 2013. Peter Rock was appointed to the board on 28th October 2013. Barbara Thomas was appointed to the board on 11th June 2014. Michael Reymond was appointed to the board on 1st July 2020. Laurence Gallop was appointed to the board on 1st July 2020. Past board member Barbara Shields served for 27 years, concluding on 23/01/2019. The cemetery offers cremation services, burial services, and memorial gardens.

Geraldton Cemetery & Crematorium provides cremation services at its Utakarra site. Two accounts describe experiences there. One reviewer found the grounds a pleasant setting for a funeral, while noting that a power outage occurred without any backup, and suggested a generator be installed so services can go ahead as arranged.

The second account concerns a burial from 1991, when a funeral director asked what was wanted for a son's grave; the plot was subsequently recorded under a stepfather's name, and the stepfather's wife was later buried in the same grave, which the reviewer describes as the grave being taken. The comments cover the setting itself, planning for disruptions during services, and how burial records were managed.