Project status: Closed

How you had YourSay:

The ACT Government is building a new cemetery for the southside to meet the needs of our growing city. We recognise as our city grows it also becomes more culturally diverse so we need to provide cemetery and crematoria services which all Canberrans can access. The initial masterplan for the future Southern Memorial Park was prepared in 2012 with a revised version completed in early 2021 to update the masterplan and prepare concept designs for the first stage of construction works.

From 14 April until 7 June 2021 we asked the community to take a look at the masterplan documents and provide their feedback on what elements should be prioritised in the design as well as how we should name the various spaces within the Southern Memorial Park. We also held six pop-ups throughout the southside town centres of Tuggeranong, Weston Creek and Woden.

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback to the project team. The What We Heard report summarising the feedback received during the consultation period is now available. A more in-depth Engagement Report is also available.

Funding in the 2021-22 ACT Budget has ensured design work will continue for southside’s Southern Memorial Park following consultation with the community.

  • The survey

    After looking through the masterplan documents, feedback was provided via a survey about what elements should be prioritised in the design as well as how we should name the various spaces within the Southern Memorial Park.

  • Feedback

    Locals shared their feedback at various pop-ups in Canberra's south.

We are looking at:

We want to create a public space that goes beyond its immediate objective and creates a space that families, friends and loved ones can gather, share memories and build community.

Key features of the masterplan include:

  • a bush cemetery for the bush capital
  • a high quality and welcoming visitor experience
  • flexibility to enable different faith and cultural groups to practice their specific rituals
  • interment in three broad categories: ‘traditional’ lawn and monumental burials, ‘natural’ burials which is an emerging trend and a memorial garden for ashes
  • botanical gardens with a focus on local native plants.

We are looking at what elements should be prioritised in the designs. These include public art, walking and cycling trails, nature play and landscaping.

We will also look at the naming conventions to be used, including for roads, buildings, function rooms and the gardens.

What is not flexible to change

The masterplan sets out a four-stage approach to its delivery. The staging plan has been created considering the highly constrained site on which it is to be built. We have taken a sensible approach to providing key amenities in a sustainable and logical process that meets the needs of the southern Canberra community.

We will use your views to:

Your feedback will be used during the detailed design phase for stage one and will be incorporated in design work for future stages.