Australian cemeteries get new lease of life
adelaide (Australia) — From the graveside to the dinner plate, olive oil is being harvested from centuries-old trees at a Australian cemetery in a bid to shake up people’s attitudes towards death and burial sites.
The full-bodied oil from Adelaide city’s West Terrace Cemetery is the latest effort by Australian authorities to attract not just the dead — but also the living — to the historic sites.
By reinventing cemeteries as unexplored, lush, green spaces in the heart of crowded cities, they hope to challenge the taboos surrounding death while breathing new life into the usually sombre grounds.
“Trying to sell death is very hard, no-one wants to buy it,” Adelaide Cemeteries Authority chief execu- tive Robert Pitt said as olive trees rustled in the background above ageing headstones.
“However, if we’re selling olive oil or selling an experience... (it’s) where the real value of coming to a cemetery is. And there’s definitely a sense of place here. There’s a sense of reverence and a sense of history.”
This year’s limited-edition bottles of olive oil, released to mark the cemetery’s 180th anniversary, sold out in a flash despite their unusual source.
It shows that cemeteries are moving beyond their main role as sites “for the disposal of the dead”, said historian Cathy Dunn.
Older cemeteries such as West Terrace and Sydney’s Rookwood — the largest in the southern hemi- sphere — are also becoming tourist hotspots, she added.
Rookwood, a so-called “necropolis” that is the final resting place for more than one million people, has drawn crowds by hosting open days, annual sculpture walks and even bike races.
Its recent open day to commem- orate 150 years featured live jazz music, grave-digging demonstrations and face-painting for children.
Rookwood chief executive George Simpson told the industry was tapping into online genealogy to connect with as many people as possible. —