THE WELLINGTON CREMATORIUM.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3188, 13 May 1909, Page 3

THE WELLINGTON CREMATORIUM.

TO BE READY SHORTLY. It is expected that in about six weeks or so the Wellington crema« torium will be ready for use. The furnace arrived from England a few days ago, and as soon as the tower and cremating chamber are erected it will be placed in position. A good deal of work, however, remains to be done. The brickwork has to be completed, the roof to be put in, and -the inside to be finished. The crematorium is being erected in the Karon Cemetery, on a site adjoining the old caretaker's cottage, near the eastern boundary. The building is of brici'r, roofed in Marseilles tiles, and the chimney, 50 feet in height, is concealed in an ornamental lower. The front portion forms the chapel, 28ft by 18ft, which opens through to the cremating chamber, 24ft by 15ft. At the inner *end of the chapel, the coffin is placed on a catapalque or table, from which*, by means of a noiseless hand winch, it can be removed through automatically-closing doors to the cremating chamber and to its place in the furnace. Cremation will occupy about an hour. The coffin is not placed above or near the actual fire; a barrier separates it from the flames, and the. great heat of the furnace operates in redacting the corpse to ashes. If desired, the ashes may be collected and placed in an urn or buried in' a grave in the ordinary way. The City Council has not yet decided what fees will s be chaise:!, but the payment should not be more than .£2 or £3.