Cemeteries

We undertake to provide a reliable and responsive interment service within the Taupō District.

Lawn cemeteries are provided in Taupō, Turangi and Mangakino. These are all operated and maintained by us.

Cemetery Bylaw 2012
Cemetery Management Policy 2006

Burials and ash interments

A permit must be received from Council before a burial or interment of ashes can commence.

If you already have a plot reserved, you will need to provide the cemetery, area, row and plot number in your permit application.

You can search our online database via the link below. If you are looking for an available plot please give us a call on 07 3760899 to discuss choosing an available plot.

Search cemetery database

To apply for a burial warrant, complete our online application form.

Application for burial warrant

Once submitted we will check through the details and if we require any additional information we will contact you.

You will receive confirmation of the issued burial warrant by email along with the invoice for any applicable plot or interment fees.

Cemetery fees

Interment of ashes

On receipt of a burial warrant, the ashes of a person may be buried in the following places:

• specific ash plots set aside for that purpose
• in a specific burial plot where exclusive rights have been purchased and the owner has been given consent.
• up to six interments of ashes may be made in the larger Opepe Cremation plots on receipt of the appropriate permit, and up to two interments in other cremation plot areas.

Natural burials at Taupō Cemetery

Taupō Cemetery now offers natural burials, an increasingly popular option for people and families who hold strong environmental beliefs. Natural burials use nature’s own decomposition process: non-embalmed bodies are placed in untreated wood caskets, and buried in shallower graves than usual, with trees grown in the area above.

Certified by the Natural Burials organisation, the natural burial area is located near the entrance to the cemetery on Rickit Street. It is very easy for families and friends, and future visitors, to get to the flat site.

Natural burial area ecosystem

The natural burial area is planted in an open grid pattern, allowing mourners to access plots and also maintenance persons. This will provide shelter and a healthy nursery crop to better ensure the survival of your tree, chosen from the following options:

• Sophora tetraptera – Kowhai
• Podocarpus totara – Totara
• Fuscospora cliffortioides – Mountain Beech
• Weinmannia racemose – Kamahi
• Cordyline australis – Tikouka
• Fuchsia excorticata - Kōtukutuku

Plot allocation

Ecosystem restoration plans determine the location of plots in order to achieve the regeneration aims. Therefore plots cannot be reserved and are allocated sequentially.

Plot markers

Only the use of H3 treated wooden markers is allowed. These markers should be placed at the time or within the first week of burial, centrally located at the head of the plot. Permanent individual memorials, monuments and associated items must not be placed within our natural burial area.

Enquiries

For more information or to arrange a guided tour of the natural burial area at Taupō Cemetery, please call us on 07 376 0899 or email info@taupo.got.nz.

Cemetery locations

Please note, dogs are to be controlled on a leash at all times when within a cemetery.

Our cemeteries operate a six-day a week interment service with a minimum of one day's notice. This is in accordance with the Cemetery and Cremations Act 1964 and the District Cemetery Bylaws.

Returned Services Association (RSA) Section

Please visit the Veterans' Affairs New Zealand website to view information on burials and interments in our RSA section.

Veterans' Affairs New Zealand

The only form of monument in the RSA section is a bronze plaque. Plaques are provided by the Veterans' Affairs New Zealand.

Orders can be placed through a funeral homes, RSA or direct to the Veterans' Affairs New Zealand.

Pre-purchase of plots

Up to four burial plots or up to two cremation plots may be pre-purchased. For purchase of more than the number stated, prior consent must be obtained from Taupō District Council.

To apply to reserve and purchase a plot, complete our online application.

Application to reserve and purchase a plot

Headstones and monuments

A permit is required from Taupō District Council prior to the erection of any monument, memorial, foundation, headstone, gravestone or any other structure. The application form is available at the Council office that manages the cemetery.

The application for the permit must include a plan of the proposed structure including the dimensions, materials or design, inscriptions or adornments proposed. Council may then grant or refuse permission to erect the structure.

In the areas set aside for cremated remains, the only types of memorial material permitted are:

• plaques
• floral tributes (except immediately following burial) are restricted to containers that can be housed within the concrete berm or on the memorial.

Maximum dimensions for headstones and plaques

Lawn Berms
950mm(h) x 450mm(d) x 1065mm(w)
In Turangi & Mangakino, a larger headstone may be approved provided it is in keeping with the character of the cemetery, poses no safety risk and does not extend into the space of another lot.

Opepe Cremation Berm
600mm(h) x 350mm(d) x 560mm(w)

Garden of Rest/Pihanga Cremation Berm
150mm(h) x 16mm(d) x 230mm(w)
In the Garden of Rest area, the plaques that will be allowed are black granite only.

To apply to erect a headstone or plaque on an occupied plot, complete our online application.

Application to erect headstone or plaque

Wreaths, memorabilia and flower receptacles

Floral tributes and wreaths can be placed on the grave for up to three calendar months after burial, after which they will be removed for leveling the grave.

Examples of memorabilia which are not acceptable for display on graves are: plastic or glass bottles, articles of food, clothing and objects of financial value (this is not an exclusive list).

Council retains the right to remove any memorabilia or other tribute that it deems to be unacceptable and/or offensive. Removal of unacceptable items will be carried out in consultation with the family/whanau of the deceased.

Disinterment

It is illegal to remove any body (or the remains of any body) buried in any burial ground without a disinterment licence from Toi Te Ora Public Health.

More information
Toi Te Ora Public Health - Burials, cremation & disinterment
Read the guidelines and apply for a disinterment licence (WORD, 868KB)