The Brisbane City Council is currently conducting a six-month review of the burial practices being done at Mount Gravatt Cemetery. The review was prompted by the number of complaints expressed by different families against the spiking of the graves of their deceased loved ones.
Mt Gravatt Cemetery is a 100-year-old burial ground located at the South of Brisbane. Each year, an estimate number of 760 burials and 620 cremations are being held at this cemetery. It is also known for being the only cemetery run by the Brisbane City Council that offers distinct cultural burial areas.
Community Complaints
Over the last three years, complaints about the Mt Gravatt cemetery had risen tremendously. Concerned community members not only call for a higher standard of burial practices and arrangements but the overall proper maintenance of the cemetery as well. They believe that cemetery workers must be properly trained or re-trained in order for them to be efficient and well-equipped in managing all the graves placed at the cemetery.
Just last November 2018, when the flooding of graves has taken its toll to a number of families, the Council finally agreed on conducting a review for the Mt Gravatt Cemetery. The six-month review will run until June 2019.
Spiking is a process of consolidation of a burial land by placing a hose with running water unto it shortly after the burial ceremony. According to the Council, this process of spiking has always been part of the burial process since it stabilizes the graves and prevents the land’s subsidence. But with the ongoing review of the Council, the burial process of spiking has been currently put to stop. This news brought up positive reactions to the families who were previously displeased and even traumatized with the ill-treatment of their loved one’s graves.
Members of the community are now hoping for the Council to conduct series of consultation sessions as part of their review for the Mt Gravatt Cemetery. They are also looking forward for all their complaints to be resolved soon.