Waikumete Cemetery, originally Waikomiti Cemetery, is New Zealand's largest cemetery. It occupies a site of 108 hectares in Glen Eden, Auckland, and also contains a crematorium in the south-west corner of the cemetery.

History

Waikumete Cemetery was established in 1886 and is the final resting place for over 70,000 people. It was established after the Symonds Street Cemetery was surrounded by residential housing, and its location was decided by the proximity of the nearby

Glen Eden railway station Glen Eden railway station is located on the Western Line of the AT Metro rail network in Auckland, New Zealand. The station house is a local historical landmark that was restored in 2001. A cafe is located in the old station building. Hist ...

, as access by railway was desired. Passengers would travel to Waikumete on the same train as their loved ones in special train services held on Sundays. The funeral carriage was separated from passengers, and used a separate platform. The Chapel of Faith in the Oaks was built in 1886 as a mortuary chapel and was used until the larger chapel was built in 1952. The Chapel of Faith in the Oaks were shared between local Methodist, Anglican and Pentecostal communities for church services, until the Methodist and Anglican churches were built in Glen Eden in 1910 and 1926 respectively. The cemetery was used to bury bodies coming from the city of Auckland during the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. Glen Eden residents themselves were mostly unaffected by the flu. An alarm would sound at the train station when the bodies were brought by train from the city. Most flu victims were buried in the non-denominational section of the cemetery, due to the lack of identifying knowledge about who many of the victims were. In 1929, a major fire broke out at the cemetery, burning 100 acres of native bush that had been planted in the 19th century. In February 1939, the cemetery was involved in the first case of graverobbing in New Zealand, when two Australian visitors to Auckland, G R Mackey and J A Talbot, dug up the body of a recently buried soldier to use in an insurance scam, burning the body inside a bach at

Piha Piha is a coastal settlement in West Auckland, on the western coast of the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is one of the most popular beaches in the area and a major day-trip destination for Aucklanders throughout the year, and especially ...

. Waikumete is home to a number of prominent memorials, including the

Mount Erebus disaster The Mount Erebus disaster occurred on 28 November 1979 when Air New Zealand Flight 901 (TE-901) flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. Air New Zealand had been operating scheduled A ...

memorial, a Holocaust memorial, a New Zealand

memorial and an ANZAC cenotaph.

War graves

Two extensive areas of the cemetery were allocated for the burial of service personnel of the World Wars and post-war veterans. In total, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission register and maintain the graves of 285 Commonwealth service personnel at the cemetery, 110 from World War I and 176 from World War II. In the entrance to the cemetery the Commission erected the Auckland Provincial Memorial, commemorating the 56 service personnel from the Auckland Province who died serving in and around New Zealand in both World Wars but have no known grave. The commission also commemorates 44 World War II service personnel who were cremated at Waikumete Crematorium. In 1999, a memorial to seven personnel whose ashes were formerly stored in the chapel building was placed on the site of their final resting place in the chapel lawn.

Burials

Some of the notable people buried at the cemetery include: *

Albert Asher Arapeta Paurini Wharepapa (3 December 1879 – 8 January 1965), or Albert Asher as he was more commonly known, was a New Zealand List of dual-code rugby internationals, dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballe ...

(1879–1965), rugby union and rugby league footballer *

Don Buck Don Buck (real name Francisco Rodrigues Figueira or Randoff Sanfrisco Figuero) (died 5 August 1917) was a Portuguese immigrant in New Zealand in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He was known for working newly released prisoners ...

(1869/70–1917), also known as Francisco Rodrigues Figueira, gum-digger and businessman *Barry Butterworth (1939–1993), speedway driver * Assid Corban (1925–2018), the first Mayor of Waitakere City and winemaker * James Crichton (1879–1961), recipient of the Victoria Cross * Angela D'Audney (1944–2002), Television New Zealand news anchor *Father

Felix Donnelly Father Felix Cornelius Donnelly (23 November 1929 – 26 August 2019) was a New Zealand priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Auckland. He was well known as a social activist, writer, academic and radio talkback host.''New Zealand Who's Who, A ...

QSM ONZM (1929–2019), priest, broadcaster, Youthline founder *

Cameron Duncan Cameron Troy Duncan (20 April 1986 – 12 November 2003) was a filmmaker from New Zealand. Biography Life and film career Duncan was of Māori descent and was raised in Auckland and attended Avondale College. Duncan completed many home videos b ...

(1986–2003), writer and director, inspiration for Into the West * Pauly Fuemana (1969–2010), lead singer of OMC *

John Gildroy Grant John Gildroy Grant, VC (26 August 1889 – 25 November 1970) was a soldier in the New Zealand Military Forces during the First World War. He was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that ...

(1889–1970), recipient of the Victoria Cross * Richard Henderson MM (1895–1958), decorated stretcher bearer in World War I *Paul Hewson (1953–1985), songwriter and keyboard player in NZ band

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

* Reginald Judson (1881–1972) recipient of the Victoria Cross, Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Medal * Ray Lawless (1909–1968) New Zealand rugby league representative * Bruce McLaren (1937–1970), race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor *

Ellen Melville Eliza Ellen Melville (13 May 1882 – 27 July 1946) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician. She was New Zealand's second female lawyer, and the first woman elected to a city council in New Zealand. She sat on the Auckland City Council for 33 ye ...

(1882–1946), president of the National Council of Women of New Zealand and Auckland City Councillor *

Horace Neal Horace Neal was a rugby league player who represented New Zealand in one test match in 1919 against Australia at halfback. In the process he became the 128th player to represent New Zealand. He also played one match for the Auckland representati ...

(1896–1951) New Zealand rugby league representative * Don Oliver MBE (1937–1996), weightlifter and fitness centre founder * Tuna Scanlan (1934–2014), boxer * Ian Scott (1945–2013), artist * Maurice Shadbolt CBE (1932–2004), writer and playwright * Samuel Shrimski (1828–1902), politician from Oamaru *

Arthur Singe Arthur Percy Singe (7 July 1898 — 5 January 1936) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented the national side in 1925, becoming Kiwi number 179 in the process. Prior to this he played for the New Zealand Army rugby team in 1919 i ...

(1898–1936), rugby union and rugby league footballer

Notes

References

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External links