More spaces to hold the remains of cremated bodies are being added to Seaview Cemetery following a recent uptick in demand.
Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors recently approved $24,000 to purchase another columbarium that could hold approximately 24 niches – about a four-year’s supply of spaces at the cemetery, located on 1706 Lower Rd. in Roberts Creek.
Columbariums are above-ground granite vaults that hold cremated remains in individual dedicated spaces, or niches. Currently Seaview has two columbariums for a total of 48 niches.
The need for more space came following the sale of five niches in one week in September, described by a Nov. 12 SCRD staff report as “an unexpected recent surge in demand.” That reduced the available space to six niches, which is less than a year’s supply.
Staff asked that the purchase be approved “as soon as possible” to maintain service continuity and the lead time needed to acquire the columbarium. The $1,500 fee for inurnment will cover the cost of the purchase.
“Cremation and inurnment are an increasingly popular burial choice,” said the report, which also indicated plans had been in the works to purchase an additional columbarium in 2021.
Seaview is the only cemetery on the Sunshine Coast to offer cremation niche inurnment.
“This is a unique service to this cemetery, [the] largest operating cemetery on the Coast,” said Area F director Mark Hiltz prior to the unanimous vote to approve the purchase.
The SCRD also operates the Elphinstone Pioneer Cemetery as well as a cemetery in Kleindale, however that cemetery has been closed since November 1982.
Another cemetery still in operation, Forest View Cemetery in Area A, is privately owned and maintained.
