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From: "Edric Russell" <>
Subject: Re: [ZA] Cemetery Plots
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2003 17:20:45 +0200
References: <038b01c32d9e$86304960$479fef9b@telkomsa2156telkomsa.net>


----- Original Message -----
From: "Becky Horne" <>
To: <>
Subject: [ZA] Cemetery Plots


Hi there
In days gone past, why was it so important for our ancestors to buy a plot
in a cemetery? In modern times we have a Funeral Policy. Was it because
there was no Insurance Companies around at that time or hadn't somebody
thought of a funeral policy?


Hi Becky,

This is a very interesting question and although I have spent a great deal
of my working life in cemeteries, I have never given the matter any thought.
Then, as now, the situation probably varied from cemetery to cemetery and
from town to town. Most cemeteries these days are owned and operated by
municipalities. It is hardly ever possible to "buy a plot" in advance.
When there is a death in the family, usually, 2 graves maximum can be
bought. Each grave can be dug to an extra depth to allow 2 burials in the
same grave, thus you have a plot consisting of two graves, allowing 4
people to be buried. This no doubt varies from place to place, but has
been introduced in order to avoid people buying huge plots and never using
half of the graves. The cost of graves has also been pitched very high
these days because of the high upkeep costs of the cemetery and also to
encourage Cremation.

I suppose in years gone by, the population was less mobile and there was a
greater chance of members of the same family staying in the same town for
generations. People also visited graves far more than they do today, and I
suppose that it was convenient to have all your families graves in one plot.
My Grandmother visited the Queenstown Cemetery every Sunday afternoon of
her life to put flowers on relative's graves. She was not the only one.
The cemetery was quite a busy place on a Sunday afternoon!! This was
regarded almost as a sacred duty by her, and if she was to be out of town
for any reason, the job would be delegated to my father who did not show
quite the same enthusiasm for the task!!

I doubt that plots in a Cemetery were expensive in the early days, even by
today's standards. I thus doubt that buying a plot would be a form of
insurance. Funeral policies taken out in the 1920's and for many years
beyond made provision for a Cemetery Fee of Two Pounds and Two Shillings
which I presume was in fact the charge made by the Municipal Authorities in
the big cities, or else, who-ever controlled the cemetery. It must have
paled into insignificance beside the cost of hiring a horse drawn hearse and
buying a coffin.

I may be wrong, but I cannot remember many real big family plots in the
Braamfontein Cemetery in Johannesburg. In the next cemetery to be used,
Brixton, there were what they called, selected sites, which were along
the main roads. These were and no doubt are still, big sites. However,
in many cases, it seems that these selected sites were bought by wealthy
people, not necessarily to bury more than a couple, but to put up a large
memorial. Some even have stone seats allowing you to sit down inside the
plot. City prices for graves were probably high by most standards and that
alone would discourage the purchase of many extra graves at the time of a
funeral.

In Queenstown, there are some rather large plots dating from the 1800's, I
must say, most of them pretty full with members of the same family. They
were (and some still are) surrounded by ornate steel work. However, the
demand for any possible piece of scrap iron has not left the cemetery
untouched.

For many years, the Cemetery in Queenstown, and I suppose other small
places, was controlled by the Churches, who each had their own plot. They
then formed a 'Burial Board' who appointed a caretaker to look after the
roads and the condition of the cemetery in general. They received a subsidy
from the Municipality, but each denomination was responsible for what
happened in their own section. There was no shortage of ground, and I
suppose that if you wanted a 6 grave plot in advance and you were in good
standing with the church concerned and knew their representative on the
Burial Board, you got what you wanted, probably free or at best for a
nominal charge.

I would be very interested to hear the views of anyone else on the subject.
You have certainly raised an interesting topic,

In closing, we are all inclined to think only of the White Cemeteries when
we chat about them on here. Under the old regime, no black person was
allowed to buy more than one grave. That was the situation in Queenstown.
No doubt it varied elsewhere. Here too, "plans" were sometimes made, and
some Black couples share their final resting place.

One interesting fact in closing. In the early 1960's in Queenstown, a
Coloured man died and all the arrangements were made for his funeral in the
Coloured Cemetery. Not long before his funeral, it was discovered that he
was in fact White, having been born in England, but having chosen to live
as a Coloured person. His I D Card said he was white. There was great
consternation, but in the end, authority decreed that he was to be buried
in the 'white' cemetery. I often wonder if his coloured friends were even
allowed to attend.

Strange times indeed.

Edric Russell
Queenstown


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