Burials
A traditional form of remembrance, burial offers a lasting legacy.
A traditional and lasting legacy
We provide a range of burial options across our locations that accommodate cultural and personal beliefs. Choose from traditional lawn graves, decorative monumental structures or our distinguished mausoleum buildings.
What is a burial?
Burial is a traditional way of laying a loved one to rest, usually within a cemetery, providing a permanent place for remembrance and reflection. As one of the oldest and most widely practised funeral traditions, burials can provide family and friends with a meaningful place to visit, remember and honour a loved one for generations to come.
Geelong Cemeteries Trust offers a range of burial options to reflect different personal, cultural and religious preferences. These include traditional lawn graves and monumental graves, mausoleum crypts and natural burial options, each providing a different way to create a lasting place of remembrance.
Who is it for?
Burial is chosen for many different reasons and can provide a meaningful and lasting place to remember and honour a loved one. It may be preferred because of:
- Cultural or religious requirements: burial is an important requirement or tradition for many faiths and cultures.
- Personal or family preference: some people simply feel that burial is the right choice for themselves or their loved one.
- Environmental considerations: natural burial provides an option for those seeking to minimise the environmental impact of their funeral choices, however the environmental impact can be reduced with any burial.
- Family tradition: burial may provide the opportunity to be laid to rest alongside a partner, family member or within an established family grave
Whether you’re planning ahead or arranging a burial for a loved one, our client services team can explain the options available and help you choose an arrangement that reflects your wishes, values, culture and beliefs.
Burial Options
Featured Areas
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a natural or green burial?
A natural burial is an environmentally sensitive approach to burial that seeks to minimise the use of manufactured materials and allow natural processes to occur. It generally avoids embalming chemicals and uses biodegradable materials such as untreated timber or woven caskets, allowing the body to return to the earth naturally.
Natural Burials are usually at single depth, and no memorial is permitted. Geelong Cemeteries Trust currently offers hybrid Natural Graves within dedicated bushland settings, including the Moonah Memorial Walk at Queenscliff Cemetery and the Ironbark Memorial Walk at Gisborne Cemetery. These areas combine natural burial principles with some conventional cemetery practices, such as allowing double depth burials and memorialisation.
Is burial or cremation more environmentally friendly?
Both burial and cremation have environmental impacts, and these vary depending on the choices made. Traditional burial includes land use, coffins, memorial materials and ongoing cemetery maintenance, while cremation requires energy and produces emissions.
Natural burial seeks to reduce the environmental impacts associated with conventional burial by minimising materials, avoiding embalming where possible and supporting a more natural landscape. Families wishing to reduce the environmental impact of a funeral can talk to our team about the options available.
What's the difference between a lawn grave and a monumental grave?
A lawn grave typically features a flat plaque or smaller headstone, positioned on a concrete beam. The grave is covered by grass, giving cemetery grounds a uniform, low-maintenance appearance. A monumental grave allows for a larger, memorial structure covering the entire grave site, offering greater scope for personalisation and traditional memorialisation.
How much does a burial plot cost in Victoria?
Burial plot costs vary depending on the cemetery location, grave type (such as lawn, monumental, mausoleum or natural), and any additional memorial or interment fees. For current pricing across our locations, visit our Pricing page or contact our client services team for more information.
Can I pre-purchase a burial plot in advance?
Yes. Geelong Cemeteries Trust encourages you to pre-purchase a burial plot ahead of time, giving you and your family certainty and peace of mind. Visit our Plan Ahead page to learn more.
What happens after I choose a burial plot?
Once you’ve chosen a burial plot and grave type, our client services team will guide you through the remaining arrangements, including any documentation, interment scheduling and memorial options. Contact us or book an appointment to get started.
Let's Talk
Our friendly client services team is here to help and welcomes any questions you may have. Caring for our communities is what we do best.