Cemeteries 

Cemeteries are important community spaces that provide a respectful place for burial and remembrance. They also have cultural, historical, social, and environmental significance, helping to preserve local history and providing places for reflection and connection within the community.

Local governments often own, manage, and maintain public cemeteries. Their role is to ensure cemeteries remain safe, accessible, respectful, and compliant with relevant laws and community expectations. Effective cemetery management involves maintaining the grounds and infrastructure, planning for future needs, managing costs, protecting the environment, and accommodating the cultural and religious needs of the community.

The Shire of Cuballing manages two Cemeteries, Cuballing and Popanyinning. Each cemetery also has a Niche wall where ashes can be placed and plaques be erected.

Cuballing Cemetery  Popanyinning Cemetery 

Reserving a Plot 

Planning ahead provides comfort and certainty for you and your loved ones. Reserving a cemetery plot or niche wall space ensures your preferred location is secured and allows future arrangements to be made according to your wishes. Whether you choose a burial plot or a niche wall for the placement of cremated remains, advance reservation offers peace of mind and reduces the emotional and financial burden on family members during a difficult time.

Firstly, you will need to contact the Shire Office to obtain a map of the preferred site that shows what plots are available. The Administration office will have a map of the Cuballing and Popanyinning cemeteries which includes both niche walls. Upon reserving a plot, you will need to apply for and pay for a Grant of Right of Burial. A Grant of Right of Burial is a legal tenure agreement granting you the exclusive right to authorise burials, inter ashes, and erect monuments in a specific gravesite.

To reserve a plot (Cemetery or Niche Wall), you need to:

  1. Complete a Grant of right of burial Form
  2. Complete either the Cemetery Reservation Form or Niche Wall reservation Form
  3. Pay the Grant of right of Burial Fee - $71.00
  4. For Niche Wall reservations -Pay the Niche Wall reservation Fee - $110.00 for single reservation and $165.00 for a double plot
  5. Once the Grant of right of Burial is completed, get a grant certificate issued by the Shire of Cuballing

You can either pre-purchase a Grant of right of burial or buy a grant for an immediate burial. The grantee is the person making the application to council and holds the right to the chosen plot. As the grantee, you can reserve plots for other people, yourself or select a plot due to a sudden or urgent burial.

The Grant of right of burial is valid for 25 years. After 25 years, the Grant will need to be renewed as per the current year’s fees and charges.

What happens if my grant of right has expired? 

If your grant of right has expired, you are able to renew it at the Shire Administration Office. As explained above, you will need to pay the prescribed Grant of right of burial fee again in order to renew your Grant.

Can I transfer my reservation to another person? 

Yes, you can elect to transfer your grant of right of burial to another person. To do this, you will need to complete application transfer of grant of right of burial form. Once the form has been completed and returned to the Shire of Cuballing, the reservation will be updated.

What happens if I change my mind about reserving a plot at the Cuballing or Popanyinning cemetery? 

If you decide that you no longer wish to retain your reservation at the Cuballing or Popanyinning cemetery, you will need to notify the Shire of Cuballing administration staff so the reservation can be removed. This needs to be completed by putting the request in writing and either dropping a written request off to the Shire administration building, or via email at enquiries@cuballing.wa.gov.au.

 Burials 

Burials are organised by both the Shire of Cuballing along with your chose Funeral Home. In the Shire of Cuballing, Dawsons Funeral Home typically manage the majority of burials.  A burial refers to placing a deceased person in the ground or an above ground structure.

In both cemeteries, there is the option for a single grave or double, depending on what your preferences may be. This is important to know when reserving a plot as this will change the depth of the grave.  To reserve a plot for two people, you will need to:

In order to organise a burial, it must be done through a funeral home first. From there, details of your preferred funeral date and other applicable details are provided to the Shire through the selected funeral home. The Shire of Cuballing will try its absolute best to accommodate any needs the family or Funeral Home may have. For example, providing a small number of chairs for any graveside ceremonies, assistance in hiring facilities before or after, etc. More information about hiring Shire facilities can be found at Facility Hire.

It’s also important to note that burials are extremely difficult in the Popanyinning Cemetery due to hard rock below the ground. This can make it extremely difficult to dig through which in turn makes burials at this cemetery more expensive.

Can ashes be placed in a cemetery plot? 

Yes, you are able to bury ashes on a plot so long as the plot has been reserved and a grant of right of burial has been issued. You also require permission from the Shire so the details of the burial can be recorded. This request should have also been made when the original reservation of the plot took place. It’s also important to know that it is the responsibility of the family to bury the ashes at the grave site.

Can ashes be buried on an existing grave? 

Yes, ashes can be buried on an existing grave. This also requires council permission, especially if this was not apart of the reservation details. The Shire should also be notified when the burying of the ashes will take place. It’s also important to know that it is the responsibility of the family to bury the ashes at the grave site.

Can burials take place on private property? 

In Western Australia, it is practically impossible for the general public to bury a loved one on private property. Under the Cemeteries Act 1986, burials are legally required to take place in proclaimed public cemeteries. The Minister does have the power to organise a burial in a place other than a cemetery. Formal authorisation needs to be obtained from the Minister for Local Government. This is only for exceptional circumstances such as historic or cultural ties to the land. For more information, go to Burials outside a proclaimed cemetery

 Monument Information 

After a burial has taken place, there is a minimum of a 1 year wait before a monument or gravestone can be erected at the grave site.  In order to organise a monument/gravestone, you must contact a Monumental Mason. Monumental Masons create the headstone or monument and install it at the appropriate time.

Although there are no official specifications, below are general rules that should be followed when designing and installing Monuments/Gravestones.

  1. No part of a memorial, including any grave cover, kerbing, boundary marker or enclosure is to extend beyond the standard dimensions of a gravesite.
  2. No part of a monument above its base shall extend horizontally beyond its base.
  3. (a) The portion not being a grave cover, shall comply with the following specifications
  4. Unless greater height is approved by the CEO, the overall height of a monument above the original surface of the grave shall not exceed 1.2m;
  5. The height of the base of the monument above the original surface of the grave shall not be less than 150mm nor more than 450mm
  6. The base of the monument measured across the width of the grave shall not exceed 2m; and
  7. The base of the monument measured along the length of the grave shall not exceed
    600mm;
  8. (b) the portion being a grave cover, shall comply with the following specifications
  9. Unless a greater height is approved by the CEO, the overall height of a monument above the original surface of the grave shall not exceed 300mm;
  10. The width of the grave cover shall not exceed 1.2m;
  11. The length of the grave cover shall not exceed 2.4m; and
  12. Shall have foundations extending to a depth of 1m unless concrete beam foundations are approved by the CEO. 

Applying for Monumental Works 

A Monument, Gravestone or Headstone can only be built and installed by a Monumental Mason. To explore options for what you are wanting to place at a burial site, you will need to contact a monumental mason. In order to install the monument/gravestone, an application must be made by the Monumental mason to the Shire of Cuballing. The Monumental mason will need to:

Once the application has been finalised, the Shire will need to be notified when the erection of the Monument or Gravestone will take place.

What happens if the monument is installed incorrectly or is damaged after being installed? 

This is the responsibility of the Monumental Mason; they will need to be contacted immediately to resolve the issue.

 

 Niche Walls 

A niche wall, also known as a columbarium, is a purpose-built cemetery feature comprising individual niches used to house urns containing cremated ashes. Each niche is sealed once the urn has been interred and is generally fitted with a customised plaque displaying memorial details for the person being remembered. Both the Cuballing and Popanyinning Cemetery have a Niche Wall.

Cuballing Niche Wall  Popanyinning Niche Wall 

Much like burials, it is a requirement to have a grant of right of burial in order to reserve a plot on a Niche Wall. To see available plots, you will need to contact the Shire administration office in order to get a copy of the current map for each niche wall.

In order to reserve a plot in the Niche Wall, you will need to:

Plaques are ordered through Dawsons Funeral Home in Narrogin. This ensures that all plaques are unison with the existing plaques on the selected niche wall. The plaques are affixed by Shire staff on the preferred date. Much like burials, The Shire of Cuballing will try its absolute best to accommodate any needs the family or Funeral Home may have when the plaque is affixed. There is a cost of $100.00 to affix the plaque to the niche Wall.

Like burials, you can reserve either a single plot or a double plot at the Niche Wall. The specifications are below:

 For further information about ordering plaques, please contact Dawsons Funeral home on 9881 1161 or via email at support@dawsonsfuneral.com.au  You can also visit their website at Get in touch | Dawsons Funeral Home

Helpful Links and Documents

Shire of Cuballing Cemetery Local Law

Cemeteries Act 1986

Cemeteries and Burials - DLGSC