Cremation costs will rise for Eastern Bay families over the next month while Whakatāne Crematorium is upgraded.

The crematorium and chapel at Hillcrest Cemetery is closed for five weeks while cremator equipment is replaced, meaning cremations will be carried out in Rotorua or Tauranga.

Gateway Funeral Services funeral director Dean Weber said the business was only notified in mid-May about the closure.

“We had heard rumblings about the cremator being replaced for some time,” Weber said.

“Our plan is to use Rotorua [Crematorium] as the primary option during the closure as it is more closely priced to the current Whakatāne price.

“There will be a small add-on for the travelling expenses, but we are trying to mitigate that as much as we are able to.”

He said the Rotorua facility had one cremator able to carry out four cremations a day, so scheduling was likely to be the biggest concern.

A second option was the Tauranga facility, which had two cremators, but was significantly more expensive.

The cost of a cremation in Whakatāne is $687 for adults, with a proposed increase to $700 from the new financial year beginning July 1.

In Rotorua, it is $630, soon going up to $647, but funeral directors will need to charge a travel fee on top of that. In Tauranga, the fee is $979.

“The add-on in petrol, time and vehicle in getting over to Rotorua is still less than the cremation fee alone in Tauranga,” Weber said.

A proposal before Tauranga City Council would reduce this to $777 in the upcoming financial year, to better reflect the actual cost of the service.

People may also have a longer wait to receive ashes after the cremation.

“Getting ashes back locally is awesome. The council bring them to us the following morning,” Weber said.

“Now, we can fill out the paper work for a family representative to go over there to collect them, or they can wait for our next trip over for us to bring them back,” he said.

“In the end it will be better for the Eastern Bay, but there is going to be some cost in the short term.”

Willetts Funeral Services owner and general manager Steve Butler said it would add a few hundred dollars to the price of a cremation.

“Obviously, it will affect [families] but about 16 years ago, that was the norm. Before we had the cremator here, we used to go to Rotorua or Tauranga crematoriums. So it’s just reverting back to what we had before.”

The crematorium and chapel at Hillcrest Cemetery in Whakatāne is currently undergoing an upgrade. Photo / LDR

Whakatāne District Council first installed the crematorium 16 years ago. It is the only Eastern Bay of Plenty crematorium.

Ian Molony, the council’s open spaces operations manager, said the upgrade was about meeting new environmental standards.

Recent updates to the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s Natural Resources Plan required the district council to apply for a consent for Discharge to Air, which was granted in August 2024.

“Due to the age of the cremator, we have been unable to meet some of the conditions since, particularly in relation to monitoring and reporting of operational parameters.”

The council awarded the tender to Australian engineering company Austeng on December 19 to replace the cremator.

Council staff said the new cremator would cost $820,000, funded through the depreciation-renewals budget.

It is designed to meet stringent United Kingdom guidelines, internationally recognised as best practice for cremator emissions.

It is also compatible with a hydrogen-gas mixture once, this becomes available.

“The new cremator will bring environmental improvements around air quality and run more efficiently than its predecessor once fully operational,” Molony said.

The replacement is a lengthy process, requiring decommissioning of the existing cremator.

The new cremator, which will weigh several tonnes, will be craned into place.

The facility should reopen around mid-July, although shipping or delays could mean minor changes to the opening date.

The work is noisy, so the adjoining chapel will close.

Molony acknowledged the important role the crematorium held in farewelling loved ones.

“We recognise that there will be impacts to those who will require these services during this period and thank them for their understanding as we carry out this necessary replacement.”

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.