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Cemeteries and cremation

Photo shows rows of gravestones in Palmerston North's main city cemetery.

Council manages four cemeteries in Palmerston North, all with historical significance. Kelvin Grove Cemetery is the main cemetery for the city.

The crematorium and book of memories room at Kelvin Grove Cemetery are open to the public. Masks are not required at these places.

The cemetery office is open to the public 9am to 3pm. Due to the size of the room and the lack of an air exchange system, external visitors are required to wear a mask at all times.

All our cemeteries are available for interments from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday and 9am to noon on Saturday.

Cremations are only available at Kelvin Grove Cemetery. There are no cremations or burials on Sundays or public holidays.

Kelvin Grove, Terrace End and Ashhurst cemeteries are open to visit seven days a week.

8am to 8pm in summer (daylight saving hours)
8am to 6pm the rest of the year

If you have any queries, please call the cemeteries supervisor on 027 4442 053 or the cemetery clerk on 06 358 5445

Burial and cremation records

Use our online cemetery and cremation search tool to look up Council records for the Ashhurst, Kelvin Grove and Terrace End cemeteries. Our records date back to 1871.

Ashhurst Cemetery

Ashhurst Domain, Napier Road (SH3), Ashhurst

Ashhurst Cemetery is located within the Ashhurst Domain adjacent to the camping ground. An area for services is located towards the eastern end.

Ashhurst Cemetery map(PDF, 290KB)

Bunnythorpe Cemetery

51 Maple Street, Bunnythorpe

Bunnythorpe Community Cemetery was operated by a Trust until 2014, when responsibility was transferred to Palmerston North City Council. Burials here date back to 1900.

Bunnythorpe Cemetery map(PDF, 294KB)

Kelvin Grove Cemetery

118 James Line, Kelvin Grove, Palmerston North

Kelvin Grove Cemetery is Palmerston North's main cemetery, providing cremation and burial services to the city and its surrounding districts. It is set on 36 hectares of land, 7km from the central business district. It has a chapel that can be hired for memorial and committal services and a memorial garden.

The cemetery was opened in 1927 to replace the old Terrace End Cemetery on Napier Road. The crematorium and chapel were added in 1954. A modern gas-fired cremator was installed in 2003.

The cemetery performs about 180 burials and 400 cremations each year.

A Book of Memories is kept on display at the crematorium chapel. Entry into the book must be requested at the time of cremation. Commemoration plaques are available for ashes plots.

Seismic strengthening of our crematorium and chapel at Kelvin Grove Cemetery

Maycroft Construction is upgrading our crematorium and chapel until May 2024. There will be no chapel services during this time.

The crematorium will be closed until mid-March.

We have an arrangement with Whanganui District Council to assist each other over this shutdown period. We are providing free transportation services to the Whanganui crematorium, so please contact our cemeteries team leader Emmet Parsons on 06 356 8199.

We appreciate your understanding as we complete this important work to ensure our crematorium and chapel continue to service our community in future.

Kelvin Grove Cemetery map(PDF, 402KB)

Terrace End Cemetery

Main Street/Napier Road intersection, with access from Napier Road.

Established in 1875, this was the second public cemetery in Palmerston North. The first was on the site that is now the Central Energy Trust Arena. Terrace End Cemetery is closed for sales of new plots, but people with existing family plots may still be buried here.

Terrace End Cemetery map(PDF, 321KB)

Cemetery fees and application forms

These forms are all available from your funeral director. Alternatively, you can download them below.