Cremation services in Warrnmabool

At Guyetts we offer cremation with a funeral service or essential care cremation (direct cremation) as per the family’s wishes. We also can provide religious, cultural or civil (non-religious) services.

The closest crematoriums to Warrnambool are located in Ballarat and Geelong. We at Guyetts use Geelong as our main crematorium which we visit frequently. If families request any other crematoriums, we will accommodate their wishes.

While currently in construction in 2027 Geelong Crematorium plan to open an eco-friendly section of their crematorium. This will allow families to choose an eco-friendlier option if this is their preference.

Cremations in Victoria, Australia, had a slow and controversial beginning, transitioning from unauthorised beach pyres in the 1890s to a regulated, widely accepted practice by the 1920s. Since their controversial start cremations have become a very accepted practice with over two-thirds of deaths in Australian cities resulting in cremation but in rural areas burials have a higher preference rate than in the cities.

Crematoriums in the State of Victoria are owned by the state government and not independently owned. There are only nine crematoriums in Victoria:

  • The Necropolis, Springvale
  • Fawkner Crematorium & Memorial Park
  • Altona Memorial Park
  • Lilydale Memorial Park and Cemetery
  • Bunurong Memorial Park, Bangholme
  • Ballarat General Cemeteries & Crematorium
  • Neangar Memorial Park, Eaglehawk
  • Geelong Cemetery
  • Traralgon Cemetery.

Key historical facts about cremations

  • First Documented Cremation (1892): The first authorised cremation in Victoria was performed at the Point Nepean Quarantine Station on 11 December 1892, on a Chinese man who died of leprosy.
  • First Public Cremations (1895): The first voluntary cremations of non-indigenous people in Australia took place on the Sandringham Beach in 1895, which caused significant public outcry. These were for a Hindu man and later 83-year-old Mrs. Elizabeth Hennicker, conducted by undertaker Joseph Le Pine.
  • Legalisation (1903): After several failed attempts during the 1890s, the practice was legalised by an Act of Parliament in 1903, introduced by Frederick Grimwade.
  • First Official Cremation (1905): The first “legal” cremation occurred at Springvale Necropolis on 13 April 1905, using a hastily constructed brick furnace.
  • First Crematorium (1927): in 1927 at Fawkner Cemetery the first permanent, modern crematorium in Victoria was built.
  • Cremation surpasses burial numbers (1990s): In Australia in the 1990s more families started choosing cremation over burial as their preferred way to honour their loved ones but in most rural areas burial is still the preferred choice.