Thanatourism: Woronora

    Woronora is a large cemetery located in the Shire area of Sydney.  I find it a nice place, quiet and peaceful.  But not quite as interesting as others.  Although it does have a unique history and does deserve its own place on this list.

    I am not writing a 'guided tour' of Woronora as I would recommend just wondering about freely.


    You can view all of the photos shown here and more at this Facebook gallery, or even more at this public gallery.  All photos were taken by me, and as such I encourage others to use them where and how they like.

    Driving straight to the office from the main gate is a nice drive.  The road is lined with tall thick trees on either side.  Which cast a peaceful shadow over the road and footpath.  It is a nice way to enter a cemetery.

    Google Map of Woronora.

View as you enter, keeping straight will take you to the main office while
veering right will go to the crematorium.

Cemetery:
    I have found nothing particularly noteworthy.  Still, it is a decent drive and there are one or two graves worth looking at.

This rather interesting grave is located right by the new mausoleum.

    One of the best things I have found is this new memorial area.  It's only new, and was still not quite finished when I was there.

    Google Maps location of this new memorial -- the map needs updating as this memorial is very new.

The use of colour is really striking here.

    I am not a huge fan of 'neo Christian' architecture and styles.  But this was a nice place, the water features were a particularly good touch.  They added a nice soft sound to the background.

One of the water features, bubbling away.

Mausoleum:
    This is the newest part of Woronora, only opened in late 2012.  Right now it is mostly empty, which is actually rather odd.  I found it strange to walk around a mausoleum without any names or details on the walls.

    Google Maps location of the new mausoleum -- again, this map needs updating.

A wall waiting for cremation urns.

A rather strange feel, to walk around and see so many
empty vaults.  Sitting there waiting for people to fill them.

Cafe:
    The 'Forget Me Not' cafe is a good place to stop as it has toilets, places to sit and food.  I haven't eaten here, but I hear good things about it.  The cafe itself is on a road lined with trees, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

    Google Maps location of the cafe.

Looking out of the cafe, the road is picturesque.

    It has a nice outdoor area, perfect for lunch, unfortunately the cafe was closed while I was there.  But it is normally open on weekdays.

A courtyard at the Cafe, normally has tables and chairs set up.
There is also pedestrian access to the street here.

Crematorium & Gardens:
    This is possibly the nicest area of Woronora, at least I think so.  The crematorium was built between WWI and WWII, so it has a certain feel and look to it.  It reminds me of Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park Crematorium, even having similar rose gardens and chapel layouts.

    Google maps location of the crematorium and gardens.

A WWI war memorial on a crematorium wall niche.
WWI had a big influence on crematoriums, so they have a special
relationship with one and other.

Crematorium in the distance.

A special niche room inside the crematorium.

    You can view all of the photos shown here and more at this Facebook gallery, or even more at this public gallery.  All photos were taken by me, and as such I encourage others to use them where and how they like.

An~~