Waikumete Cemetery

Waikumete Cemetery and Crematorium covers an area of 108 hectares and since 1908 has served as the main cemetery for the Auckland Region. It is the largest cemetery in New Zealand and one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

Background

Waikumete Cemetery

The Cemetery and Crematorium business unit encompasses:

• The Waikumete Cemetery and the smaller Swanson Cemetery
• The crematorium located at Waikumete
• Booking systems for services conducted in the Chapel and on the sites

Established in 1886, the cemetery provides for a wide range of denominational and cultural groups, and aims to offer a large number of alternative services to the bereaved.

Waikumete is one of the largest cemeteries in the Southern Hemisphere and the final resting place for over 70,000 people. It also provides the largest open space environment for passive creation within Waitakere.

The cremators were installed in the 1950s and processes in excess of 600 cremations per year. The replacement of the cremators are currently under review.

Read about Waikumete Cemetery's history

Location and gate access

The Waikumete Cemetery is situated on Great North Road, Glen Eden, between Glenview and Awaroa Roads.

The Waikumete Cemetery is situated on Great North Road, Glen Eden, between Glenview and Awaroa Roads.

The main gates are on Great North Road with other gates situated at Awaroa Road, Glenview Road, Sunhill Estate and Waikumete Road.

The main entrance is opened at 7.30 am and closed at 6 pm (winter) and 8.30 pm (summer). Changes are consistent with daylight saving changeover times.

The Sunhill Gate is now open as per hours of the Main Entrance, due to a ground subsidence, until otherwise advised.

All other outer perimeter gates are closed now except... Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day, 2nd January, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Anzac Day, Auckland Anniversary and Waitangi Day.

The gates will be open when requested by Funeral Directors for large funerals or Unveilings.

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents.  For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

Waikumete Cemetery - Map page 1 (Size 2098K)
Waikumete Cemetery - Map page 2 (Size 1020K)

Office hours

Waikumete Cemetery office at night

The office is open between 8 am and 4 pm, Monday to Friday, closed at weekends and Public Holidays.

For further information contact us during these hours.

Correspondence can be sent here.

Cemetery brochure

Contact us for a copy of the brochure describing services and facilities available at Waikumete Cemetery or you can download a copy.

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print this document.  For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

Waikumete Cemetery  (Size 1590K)

Chapel of Faith in the Oaks

Chapel of Faith in the Oaks

This Chapel was built in 1886 as a mortuary Chapel. It was used to conduct burial services until the present Chapel complex was built in 1952.

The Chapel is located at Waikumete Cemetery.

Since under-going extensive restoration and official opening in October 2010, the Chapel is available for hire for spiritual events such as weddings, funerals, christenings, prayer meetings. Historical tours of the cemetery for small groups are also available.

For bookings or additional information please contact the cemetery office (09) 818 5615 (24 hour)

Genealogy Online Search

Our online cemetery search allows people to search cemetery records and find information about their family and friends.

By entering the details you know, you can get more specific information such as the full name, age, date of death, type of burial, and funeral director.

Presently on-line Genealogy searches are free of charge, however should you visit the office for your research, a basic search only is free of charge but should other information or assistance be required for location etc, there is a fee of $20 per search. If you require a member of the team to accompany and assist you with identifying a grave, we request you phone the office to make a booking to ensure we have staff available to assist you.

Email or counter requests will be limited to two searches. For any greater amounts than this we will request mailing and contact details. The information will be sent to you once the searches are completed. Our staff are pleased to assist you with your research, but we advise that first consideration must be given to our recently bereaved families making arrangements.

We ask for your understanding that you may be requested to wait or return at a later stage to have your enquiry attended to.

Historic burial areas

Holocaust Memorial This memorial has been erected adjacent to the Hebrew Prayer House in the Hebrew section of the Cemetery. It is a simple  granite slab commemorating those who perished in the Holocaust in Europe before and during the Second World War. At the base of the memorial is buried an urn of ashes taken from Auschwitz Concentration Camp by an inmate, held by him and then interred when the memorial was erected.
Influenza epidemic A large number of victims of the 1918 influenza epidemic are buried at the cemetery. The caskets of the victims were transported to Waikumete by train and buried in unmarked graves along Eucalyptus Way. A simple granite memorial marks that site.
Erebus Memorial Following the fatal Air New Zealand flight to Antartica in 1979 the bodies of the unidentified passengers were buried at Waikumete in a mass grave containing some 16 caskets. The site, which is adjacent to the main entrance on Great North Road is marked by a memorial listing the names of the unidentified victims and those who were not recovered from the crash scene. Attractive gardens now surround the site. Council held a memorial service in 2009 to mark the 30th anniversary of Erebus. Each year cemetery staff lay a wreath at the memorial in memory of those lost. Anyone wishing to place a wreath, flowers or messages of sympathy may do so at the memorial site.
Cenotaph For the last few years an annual service has been held at daybreak on ANZAC Day at the Cenotaph situated in the Serviceman's Cemetery. This service is supported by the many RSA clubs in the Western Districts and the Waitakere City Council and is attended by people of all ages.

Muslim and Jewish services

Waikumete Cemetery is the only cemetery in the Auckland Region to provide burial services for persons of the Jewish Faith, and one of two to provide for Muslim burials.

Cemetery walks

These are organised by the "Friends of the Cemetery" and will be commencing with daylight saving hours.

President: Gary Marshall.
Secretary/Treasurer: Colleen Ducker ph (09) 813 4104 - general enquiries.
Walks Information and organiser: Kath Kingswood ph (09) 813 6262.

Decorations

In some parts of the cemetery, families are able to decorate graves.

Permission to do this must be obtained from the Cemetery Office where the conditions regarding what can and can not be placed on graves will be explained.

Wildflowers

The cemetery has one of the best collections of wildflowers of South African origin in New Zealand. They flower between September and December.

Weedspraying

At intervals during the year weedspraying is undertaken in the cemetery grounds. All spraying is carried out by approved applicators. For further information regarding timing and the type of spray being used, please contact us.

Threatened Plants in Waikumete Cemetery

Waikumete Cemetery covers a very large area and has a number of significant remnant habitat types. A study was completed in 2001 by a leading plant specialist to look at what rare plants may be growing in these areas. A number of threatened orchid species were found as well as a few grasses and a creeper. The following report details those species found, provides photographs as well as maps of their locations.

Note: You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print these documents.  For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

Due to the size of the document, it has been divided into sections to allow download time to be reduced. A full version of the document is also available to be downloaded.