In today’s edition, Emily Donohoe speaks to Echuca Cemetery Trust.
Managing a space that documents the history of the region and services a continually growing community is an important role for the Echuca Cemetery Trust.
Working alongside the officer manager and superintendent, the trust maintains and plans for the space.
Trust chair David Jones helped create a group of like-minded members to ensure the future of the cemetery.
“It needed better management, back in those days,” he said.
“I was invited to put together some people who might want to join the trust, which I did on behalf of the department.
“The hats that I had around the table enabled it to go to something stronger.”
Mr Jones emphasised the importance of a functioning trust for the good of user groups like families and funeral directors.
“Until you have some someone deceased, you don’t realise as much how important it is to have your loved one buried where it’s good for them and good for you,” he said.
“We deal with all the funeral directors, who talk to us about what the options the families are looking at, such as the new north lawn.
“It’s a better management situation than probably the traditional older monuments where you have a lot of maintenance.”
The trust members are looking ahead at what is possible for the cemetery.
This involves future-proofing, with the trust members bringing ideas forward on solutions to challenges like space.
“We are restricted on space, as you can see, we’re around flood plains and all sorts of things,” Mr Jones said.
“We’re actively looking at a couple of options there that will drive the cemetery forward over the next 50 years, 100 years.
“It just comes back to good management and people around the table that have some certain skills which help.”
These ideas are shared over monthly meetings, held on the third Thursday of each month.
The upkeep of the cemetery is also supported by Corrections Victoria, where community service hours can be met at the site each week.
“Every Thursday, we have involvement there ... they come out and do a lot of stuff that Phil (Echuca Cemetery Trust superintendent) wouldn’t have time to do,”
“All of that is the key to making the place looking good.”
Despite the dry environment, particularly over the summer months, Echuca Cemetery Trust often gets compliments on the space, impressed by its maintenance.
“We do have a lot of feedback now from people that say ‘gee, the cemetery’s looking good’,” Mr Jones said.
“With the harsh conditions of the weather, etc. they’re always surprised to see how nice and green it is.
“When things don’t look good, people will always tell you about it, so we try to be ahead of the ball and make it look good.
“We wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t enjoy that sort of feedback, the good, bad and ugly.”
Members like Mr Jones are proud to maintain a beautiful space for people to be laid to rest and their loved ones to visit.
He is passionate about providing the best cemetery possible.
“It’s the thing that makes Echuca great, involvement with communities,” Mr Jones said.
“We believe that we’re doing a job that’s worth having for the community.”
Over the next fortnight, the trust will be taking applications for new trust members, decided by the Victorian Department of Health.
Prospective members can speak with the trust about how to apply and what is involved by reaching out to echucacemetery@bigpond.com or by calling secretary Dan Butel on 0420 546 181
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