A 128-hectare site in Harkness is earmarked for development into the largest cemetery built in Victoria in the last 100 years.
The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (GMCT) has released a master plan for the site adjacent to the Gilgai
Woodlands Nature Conservation Reserve, between Harkness and Bulmans roads.
GMCT said the development will be a “reimagined public cemetery” and the largest in the last 100 years.
According to GMCT, the cemetery would be the first it has built on a greenfield site.
The master plan provides an overview of the cemetery design, including how the development might be staged to provide multi-use purposes for the site over time as it transitions to meet the burial and cremation needs of Victorians for the next 100 years.
” Our masterplan seeks to reimagine the public cemetery, delivering a space that is first and foremost a sanctuary for families to remember and grieve,” GMCT said.
“As an innovative community space, new public facilities will make the site a welcoming multi-use space to celebrate life. This includes public access to venues, recreational spaces, suitable retail and parklands.”
GMCT plans to develop the site into three areas, offering a different experience.
It is proposed that the north-south cultural axis will feature a series of intimate rooms creating an inclusive, multicultural journey.
The east-west community axis will offer a space for people to come together to share knowledge, while the natural dissecting ecological axis will provide an experience connecting to nature with the creek and woodlands.
“These axes, or the areas that divide the site, create separate spaces, making it clear what different areas are for. This
is a strong way to plan out which areas would be for interment, and which for events and activities. Clear wayfinding and signage will help visitors navigate easily. This means the site will be set up to contain or divide certain experiences and activities while respecting cemetery use for memorialisation and encouraging exploration of areas that have a combination of uses,” the master plan said.
GMCT said the new cemetery was necessary, with the majority of Melbourne’s grave sites or spaces for cremated remains will have depleted by 2035.
“GMCT’s immediate challenge is to provide burial, cremation and memorialisation space for communities in the city’s north and west growth corridors and surrounding areas,” the master plan said.
Details: yoursay.gmct.com.au/harkness
