Showing posts with label cemetery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cemetery. Show all posts

2014-08-24

Rookwood Open Day

    Rookwood will be having it's open day again this year on the Sunday 14th of September.  The open day will run from 10am to 3pm and include a variety of events like historical talks, parades, crematorium tours, and more.  There will also be multiple stalls and exhibitions from funeral homes and historical groups. So there's certainly plenty to do!


When: 14th September, 10am to 3pm.
Where: Rookwood Cemetery, maps to each gate below.

Map to Rookwood East Gate.

Map to Rookwood West Gate.


For more information:

My post about exploring Rookwood, including how to get there, notable places, and maps.

Rookwood Map.

Rookwood 2014 Open Day Flyer (PDF).

Rookwood 2012 Open Day.




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2013-11-29

The 2013 Events

    This is a collections of past events from this year.  It has been a great year and I look forward to 2014!

Rookwood Picnic -- 18th Jan, 11:00
    A small and casual picnic in Rookwood Cemetery for those interested in the funeral industry.

    Post about the 2013 Rookwood Picnic.

    My blog post with more information.




UNSW Museum of Human Disease -- 18th Feb, 12:30
    This is the only museum of its kind that is open to the public in Sydney, and the staff were very nice, offering to do a presentation and will have someone there to chat with us as part of our visit.

When  -  18th February, 12:30 (lunchtime).
Cost  -  $11 per person (free for UNSW staff and students).
Where  -  Samuels Building, UNSW Kensington campus.

    Post about the 2013 MoHD visit.

    My blog post with more information.

Museum of Human Disease Website:
http://medicalsciences.med.unsw.edu.au/community/museum-human-disease/home


Rookwood By Night -- 19th March, 19:00
    A visit to Rookwood cemetery at night, to take advantage of the late open hours and to experience it in another light.  This was a great event, fun and different, yet impossible to take any decent photos due to the darkness.


Woronora Open Day -- 13th April, 10:00
    A strangely unknown yet anual event as part of Heritage Week, very few from the funeral industry (that I spoke with) knew anything about it.  But it looks like fun and I will certainly be there.







Pinegrove Memorial Park Open Night -- 30th April, 18:00
    I don't have much information about this just yet, so check back closer to the date.  This is the only InvoCare only open evening that I know of, so could be fun!

    The Pinegrove Events page.

    My blog post about the 2013 Pinegrove open day.




Rookwood Picnic -- 18th August, 12:00pm
    Time for another picnic at Rookwood. This is a casual event open to anyone who might be interested.

When  -  18th August, 12:00 (lunchtime).
Where  -  The Elephant House just off Haslem Drive, in Rookwood Cemetery.

My blog post with more information.

Hidden Art Exhibition at Rookwood -- 21st Sept - 31st Oct
    Every year there is an art exhibition in Rookwood Cemetery, it is free and quite fun, seeing the different exhibits on display among the graves.  I particularly like how some incorporate that specific place of the cemetery within their artwork.

   On the last day they hold a little closing ceremony with videos and food, which was very fun and informative last year.

    Hidden homepage with more information.


ESMP Open Day
 --
 26th Oct

    The 2013 ESMP open day was great fun, well worth the trip.  It's also the only funeral home open day I know of, making it a rare opportunity.

    My post about the ESMP 2013 open day.

    My past post about the ESMP 2012 open day.




Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) -- 2nd November
    This is a new event, or at least one I have not heard of in Sydney before. It's a celebration of things related to death and the way life and death are so entangled. There will be a skull painting competition and more.

When  -  2nd November, 9am to 5pm.
Where  -  Gore Hill Oval/ParkCorner of Pacific Hwy and Reserve Rd, St Leonards.

Day of the dead event page.


Living with Our Dead -- 10th November
    Living with our dead is an event organised by a Sydney celebrant to remember and honour the deceased and bring the idea of death into an acceptable and public setting. I don't have any other information at this stage, so if you're interested follow the link below.

Living with our dead site.

Living with our dead FaceBook page.


Macquarie Park Open Day -- Not held in 2013
    I have been asked about this, and the Macquarie Park Cemetery & Crematorium (MPC) open day will not be held in 2013.  The open day is only held every two years according to the website. Macquarie Park Cemetery & Crematorium website.


Rookwood Open Day -- Not held in 2013
    Rookwood is a huge place with a few different organisations working out of it.  As such they have a wonderful open day, from parades to displays and tours.

    Unfortunately this event is only held every second year, so the next one will be in 2014.

    My post about the Rookwood 2012 open day.


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2013-11-28

ESMP Open Day

    I finally have time to write for the blog again, so I'll start with the 2013 Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park (ESMP) open day.  As expected it was a great day and included a variety of things from free food to an Aboriginal dance, needless to say I had a blast.

2013-10-25

Hidden at Rookwood (2013)

   I went to Hidden at Rookwood Cemetery this year but haven't had time to put together a post about it, and won't be able to for a while at least. So in the mean time I've uploaded some photos to my Facebook page. So head over to my Facebook page for the photos and other fun stuff!

    Hidden really is an amazing art exhibition, so check it out if you can! The closing ceremony will be on the 31st of October, check my Facebook page and the Hidden website for the details.

The Other Side Of Funerals Facebook.

Hidden photo album.

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2013-10-20

Forest Lawn Open Day

    Apparently Forest Lawn Memorial Park will be having an open day this Saturday (26th of Oct), it's a shame this is the same day as the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park open day and I won't be able to go.

    I'd recommend going to the Forest Lawn open day as InvoCare, who manage Forest Lawn, organise decent events. The Pinegrove Memorial Park open evening was fun and informative so I expect the Forest Lawn one would be fun to.

    InvoCare are doing a good job of slowly opening their side of the funeral industry to the general public, they tend to be honest with any questions asked. Making the Forest Lawn open day a great chance to get a get some decent information and answer any questions.

    Unfortunately I won't be going due to the ESMP open day and being busy with thesis work. So if anyone goes let me know how it was!

More information: Forest Lawn Memorial Park open day link.

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2013-10-05

Event - ESMP Open Day

    The Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park (ESMP) open day will be held on the 26th of October. The 2012 open day was great fun, so I'm looking forward to it this year.

When  -  26th October (Saturday), 11am to 2pm.
Where  -  Military Rd, Matraville
Cost  -  Free.

    This is the last open day for the industry that I know of, and It's a fun day. Based on last year there should be free sausages, tours (of the funeral home, crematorium, cemetery), face painting, cars and hearses on display, stalls, and more! It's well worth a say out, I'll certainly be there and look forward to seeing some of you.


    My post about the ESMP 2012 open day.

    A post about ESMP including contact information & how to get there - although this needs updating.

    My guide to some interesting places in ESMP.

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2013-09-14

Event - Hidden Sculpture Walk at Rookwood

    Every year Rookwood Cemetery is host to a sculpture walk called 'Hidden'. Sculptures are scattered throughout the Anglican section of the cemetery, using their surroundings as part of the sculpture itself in many cases.

Where: All Saints Chapel, on Hawthorne Ave, Rookwood Cemetery. Near the Anglican office.
When: 11:00am Saturday, on the 21st of September.

    The event is completely free and good fun, the path to follow is no always perfectly clear and sculptures can be hard to find (hidden in a sense). Which creates a fun feeling of exploration and adventure, and because of this every time you go you'll have a very different experience.

    Below I have photos from Hidden last year.

2013-07-17

Rookwood Rail Line

    I accidentally found this interesting post on the blog Past/Lives about the history of the rail line at Rookwood.  It's actually one of the better sources of information on this that I have come across so far.

    So check it out via the link below, it has a lot of good photos and information not found elsewhere:

http://pastlivesofthenearfuture.com/2012/07/08/rookwood-necropolis-railway-lidcombe-nsw/

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2013-07-13

Mortuary Station

    Here's some photos of Mortuary Station in the CBD from the rail lines. Currently Mortuary Station is  closed to the public, as it is on an active rail line and under renovation. But if you catch the right train you can get some pretty close photos of it, some other lines get even closer than this.

2013-06-26

The Echo of Graves

    The missing graves, or vanishing graves as I call them, have always interested me.  These are graves that for one reason or another have simply gone, reduced to little more than an outline in the soil.  All that remains is an 'echo' of the grave which once stood there.

    They interest me for a number of reasons, so this post is a collection of photos and comments about these vanishing graves.

2013-06-05

Cemeteries Running Out of Space

    Every so often the public papers will run a couple of stories on how cemeteries are running out of space, then promptly drop the story.  It is an odd occurrence I have seen repeated ever few years and something I should address eventually.

2013-05-10

Pinegrove Open Night

    The Pinegrove Cemetery & Crematorium was a simple but fun night.  It was strange to have the open night at 6pm on a Tuesday, but it worked well. I enjoyed the night quite a lot and will definitely be at the next one.  An event well worth going to.

2013-04-22

Event - Pinegrove Open Night reminder

    Pinegrove Memorial Park will be having an open evening at the end of this month.  Pinegrove is owned and operated by InvoCare, and in my experience they know how to hold a decent event.  So in theory it should be quite fun.

- When: 30th April (Tuesday) - 6pm
- Where: Kington St, Minchenbury.

Pinegrove events webpage:
http://www.pinegrovecrem.com.au/driver.asp?page=/our+services/our+events

Pinegrove Google Page (with contact info and address):
https://plus.google.com/115487533186623482454/about?gl=au&hl=en

    Hopefully I'll see some of you there!  Look for the person taking photos and chatting with staff to find me.

An~~

2013-04-15

Woronora Open Day 2013

    The Woronora open day was one of the best I have attended so far, what made it stand out was the focusing and mentality behind the open day.  It was held on the 13th of April (Saturday) 2013, and while the day was meant to go from 10am to 3pm I was there from 9:30am to 3:45pm.

2013-04-08

Rookwood Cemetery Station - All Saints Church Canberra

    A while ago I visited the All Saints Church in Canberra which was originally Cemetery Station No.1 at Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney.  And finally, I have found time to put together a post about the trip!  This is mostly a picture post, I know it's been a while.

2013-04-06

Woronora Open Day

    I recently discovered that Woronora also has an open day, on the 13th of April no less.  Which is rather odd and surprising as none of my funeral contacts knew about it until I started asking about.  And there is nothing about it on the Woronora website.

    The best source of information was Emerald Creative, a site offering various funeral support for mourners, such as order of service booklets, music, and so on.  This is a site I mean to talk about in more detail another time (it really is such a good resource for mourners) but time is rare these days.

    The open day is organised as part of 'Heritage Week', it looks like it could be a fun day, and either way I will certainly be there.  But most interestingly is the government heritage page says there will be a Medieval Regiment display at 10:30 on.

When13th April (Saturday) - 10am to 3pm
CostFree.
Where: 121 Linden St, Sutherland.

More information:
http://heritage-week.govspace.gov.au/event/open-day-at-woronora-general-cemetery-crematorium/

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2013-04-05

Event - Pinegrove Open Evening

     Pinegrove Memorial Park will be having an open evening of the crematorium this month, which could be good fun as my experience with InvoCare event have always been very good so far.  As uni is getting busy I will be making this the blog event for the month, roll a few things into one.

    There will be more details closer to the time as I know them.  If you follow the blog facebook page you can keep up to date with events.  Greg Bisset tends to also post things about various InvoCare events and functions for those interested.

When30th April (Tuesday) - 6pm
Cost: Free (most likely).
WhereKington St, Minchenbury.

Pinegrove events webpage:
http://www.pinegrovecrem.com.au/driver.asp?page=/our+services/our+events

Pinegrove Google Page (with contact info and address):
https://plus.google.com/115487533186623482454/about?gl=au&hl=en

An~

2013-04-04

Upright Burial

    The concept of burying coffins standing up (vertically rather than horizontally) is by no means a new one.  This is an older idea and one brought up every so often, but it is about time I gave my own personal thoughts on the matter in a short post.

2013-03-12

Rookwood by Night

    Rookwood Cemetery is open until 9pm through Summer every year (until 31st of March).  I have found Rookwood to be extra beautiful and atmospheric after dark, so why not take full advantage of the extended hours.

    I will be doing a little exploration of Rookwood with a couple of undertaker friends next Tuesday (19th March).  Anyone interested is welcome along, we're a small but fun group!

When: 19th March (Tuesday) - 7:30pm to 8:45pm.
Where: Reflections Cafe (by the East Gate).  Google map of the location.

    This is rather short notice, but maybe some others might find time to join us.  You can register interest via the blog facebook.  Or email me (email provided below).  Or simply come along, if late simply email me as it will go through to my phone.

An~~

2013-02-25

Appropriate In a Cemetery

    What is appropriate in a cemetery is quite a debatable thing, but I have found that many take a reverential and highly respectful view of cemeteries.  However, this view requires a certain distancing from the cemetery, that those who think this way cannot understand the cemetery itself and cannot visit cemeteries regularly.