Cemetery extension starts at Kororāreka Russell

Developing an extension to Kororāreka Russell Cemetery will provide an additional 40 ash berms and 30 plots, with work beginning on Monday 20 October.

The existing cemetery on Queens View Road has reached its capacity. However, a 2200m2 parcel of land located behind the existing cemetery was generously donated by a local resident and will help address unmet demand for plots.

While the full site will be developed over time, current works focus on establishing priority areas to meet immediate community needs.

Council contractors will develop the land to add lawn burial plots and ash berms; install bollards along the front of the carpark to enhance safety; improve the landscape with planting; and install a pou (pillar). The pou will honour the kōiwi (human bones) found at nearby Oneroa Bay, also known as Long Beach, in 2020. The kōiwi were reburied at the existing cemetery.

The cemetery extension will also provide for future facilities including a memorial wall, garden of remembrance, and a tikanga Māori ash interment and sustainable land use area.

An unveiling of the new area will take place on the completion of the works, expected to be in December. The council will advise when the new area is available for internments in early 2026.

The first phase of this project was completed in mid-2024. These works cleared the new parcel of land of vegetation and created an accessway to link it to the existing cemetery. Once the land contours were revealed, a design process could begin to determine the exact cemetery layout.

Council staff thank the Kororārea Russell community for their patience during the phases of this project.

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Main image - the parcel of land that will extend the cemetery, located behind the existing cemetery.

Photo below - the area that will be developed for an additional 40 ash berms and 30 plots from Monday 20 October.