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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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.

    My blog post about the 2013 Woronora open day.

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/Park, Corner 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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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.

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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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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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.

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~~

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.

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.

- When: 13th April (Saturday) - 10am to 3pm
- Cost: Free.
- 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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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.

- When: 30th April (Tuesday) - 6pm
- Cost: Free (most likely).
- 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

An~

The New ESMP Site

    Estern Suburbs Memorial Park Cemetery & Crematorium (ESMP) launched their new site a white ago.  At the time I was both busy and waiting to see what other changes might be made.  But ait is now about time I discussed the new site.  As it is well worth discussing and a great step in the right direction.

Funeral Company Relationships

    There is a surprisingly complex web of relationships between groups operating in the funeral industry.  Below I finally tackle this topic and attempt to explain how the various companies interact with each other.

Thanatourism: Northern Suburbs Crematorium

    Northern Suburbs Crematorium (NSC) is a small but beautiful crematorium in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney.  It is an historial place with great atmosphere and well maintained gardens.

Forest Lawn Cremating Drugs Investigation

    Recently I heard a rumour that Forest Lawn Crematorium had been used to destroy (via cremation) drugs by police.  Below I outline why I think this otherwise minor story is getting traction.

Thanatourism: Macquarie Park Cemetery & Crematorium

    Macquarie Park Cemetery & Crematorium (MCP) is a very interesting place, at least from my perspective.  It is a great example of modernisation in society and such a rich place for study.  But it is also a nice place to just visit casually.

    MCP has gone out of its way to make the place friendly.  From good staff to good grounds, this is a good place to have a picnic or explore for the day.

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.

Thanatourism: Rookwood

    Rookwood is the largest cemetery in the Southern Hemisphere.  It has a rather interesting history and is a wonderful cross-section of Sydney population over time.  Originally it was intended and designed for leisure, as a place for people to enjoy.  Because it was quite a trip out of Sydney they deliberately designed it for people to spend the whole day there.  When one went to visit a grave they would also enjoy the place.

Hidden exhibition.

    Unfortunately this has vanished, as people distanced themselves from funerals after WWI.  So Rookwood was confined to state of avoidance.  People now only go here for a funeral or to visit a specific grave.  Almost nobody visits Rookwood just to explore.  A state which would make the original planners quite sad.

    In this post I explain how to visit Rookwood.  Some things to see, which ways to go and so on.  In the hopes of getting some to use it as intended.  It genuinely is an amazing place to have a picnic, equal to Waverley Cemetery or Hyde Park.

ESMP open day

    Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park had its open day this weekend.  It was a great day, so much to do and a wonderful atmosphere.  But what made it special was how open and relaxed the staff and company was.

    This was the last public social event for the funeral industry (that I know of).  And it was a great day, a perfect way to end the social calendar for the industry.

Thanatourism: Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park

    Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park Cemetery & Crematorium is an older cemetery in Eastern Sydney.  This cemetery is mostly focused on 'ethnic' cultures, so the graves tend to be rather colourful and diverse.  Of all the cemeteries in Sydney ESMP has the most variety of graves in one section.

The more notable and unknown thing about it is the farm.  At the back of the cemetery, hidden behind a green fence there is a heritage Chinese farm.

Guest Post - Cemetery & Crematorium Price Guide

    These are some cemetery and crematorium price guides.  They were sent to me anonymously from someone in the funeral industry.  I don't know if they are accurate, or even how old they are.  But they are interesting.