Cemeteries

Located on Cemetery Road in West Mackay, this is a heritage-listed, monument only cemetery. The earliest burials recorded in the Mackay Cemetery date back as far as 1872. Although still operational, burial applications are only accepted for full or ashes burials in existing family plots.

• View the Mackay cemetery map(PDF, 5MB) .
• View the Mackay Cemetery Heritage Walk Brochure(PDF, 575KB)

Located on Mount Bassett Cemetery Road towards Mackay Harbour, Mount Bassett Cemetery has both lawn sections as well as monument sections with burial records dating back to 1953. Mount Bassett also has five columbarium walls and five garden of memories for ashes interments or memorial only sites/niches.

• View the Mount Basset cemetery map.(PDF, 1MB)
• View the Mount Basset map - beams numbered.(JPG, 164KB)

Located on the Peak Downs Highway just outside of Walkerston, this is a monument only cemetery with burial records dating back to 1885. Walkerston Cemetery has three columbarium walls for ashes interments or memorial niches. Walkerston Cemetery is the only cemetery where vaults can be constructed.

View the Walkerston, Marian and Mirani cemetery map.(PDF, 343KB)

Located on Stayts Road in Marian, this is a monument only cemetery. Like Mt Bassett and Walkerston Cemeteries, Marian also has a columbarium wall for ashes interments or memorial niches.

View the Walkerston, Marian and Mirani cemetery map.(PDF, 343KB)

Located on Cemetery Road, off Mackay-Eungella Road outside of Mirani, this is a monument only cemetery. Mirani Cemetery also has a columbarium wall for ashes interments or memorial niches.

View the Walkerston, Marian and Mirani cemetery map.(PDF, 343KB)

Located on Cemetery Road in Sarina, this is a monument only cemetery. Sarina Cemetery has two columbarium walls for ashes interments/memorial niches. Sarina Cemetery is also the only cemetery in our region which is suitable for special Muslim cultural burials due to its positioning.

View the Sarina cemetery map.(PDF, 198KB)

Council holds very limited historical details on burials in older cemeteries such as:

• Hampden - Bruce Highway (Mackay side of Hampden School)
• Eton - Flaherty Street
• Glenella
• Mandarana - part of the burnt down St Peters Church
• Hazeldean - Peak Downs Highway
• Peri (Malayan and Muslim burials)
• Northern banks of Bakers Creek (old Malayan Cemetery)
• Nebo
• Grasstree
• Palmview
• Double Peak
• Jolimont
• Glendaragh
• Cliftonville

The Mackay Historical Society also holds records and information on these cemeteries as well as other smaller historical cemeteries. Their website and known burial listings, along with some headstone photos for certain cemeteries, can be found here.

If you have lost a loved one, a funeral director will guide you through the steps that are to be taken to arrange all aspects of a funeral service including the burial or cremation. Your funeral director will liaise directly with council cemetery staff regarding the burial arrangements.

There are six funeral directors in the Mackay region:

• City Funeral Services
• Mackay Funerals
• Newhaven Funerals and Crematorium
• Whitsunday Funerals and Crematorium
• Serene Funerals
• Sarina Funerals

Council also offers a variety of options for ashes; Ashes burials and interments can be arranged either directly with council or through a funeral director who can make the arrangements with council on your behalf. Please refer to our ashes interment options for more information.

When arranging a full burial with a funeral director, they will liaise with council with regards to all cemetery arrangements, you do not need to contact council. If you have any questions regarding funeral arrangements, please discuss this directly with your chosen funeral director.

Council does not pre-sell burial plots in our cemeteries unless there are specific exceptional circumstances. The reservation of a plot is allowable at the time of a burial, where the deceased’s family have the option to reserve an adjoining grave, however this is limited to one only.

The pre-purchasing of columbarium wall niches or Garden of Memories sites is permitted at any time on receipt of a completed cemetery application form and payment of such – please refer to our ashes interment options for more information.

A deed or certificate of right of burial is a legal document issued by council as the proof of purchase and ownership of a grave/niche/site. The holder/owner of the deed has the right to say who can be buried in the grave or niche, is responsible for the maintenance of the grave and has the right to authorise the installation of a monument, plaque or headstone on the piece of land or niche in accordance with council’s cemeteries policy and local law policies. If you hold a deed, it is recommended you keep this in a safe place such as with your solicitor.

If you have lost your certificate of right of burial, council can provide you a copy on the payment of the prescribed fee. Should you need to request a copy, you must submit such a request in writing including your full name and address; this can be lodged in person at our customer service centre or alternatively you can email council@mackay.qld.gov.au

As per council’s cemetery policy, burial rights cannot be sold.

Should you be a burial rights holder of a vacant/reserved plot or niche that you no longer require, there are two options available to you:

• You can transfer your burial rights to another person or family member. You can do so by submitting a written request in writing ensuring you include the full details of the person whom you wish to transfer the rights to including their full name and postal address. There is a fee applicable to the transfer of burial rights.
• You may surrender your reserved plot or niche back to council. Council may re-purchase your reserved plot or niche.
• • For those purchased more than 10 years ago – 70 per cent of the original purchase price will be refunded.
  • For those purchased less than 10 years ago – 80 per cent of the original purchase price will be refunded.

Should you wish to surrender your reserved plot or niche back to council, you must submit this request in writing to council. Upon receipt of such, your request will be reviewed and a council officer will contact you regarding the outcome.

For further information regarding the above information, please refer to council’s cemetery policy,(PDF, 815KB) or alternatively contact council.

For information on interring ashes in council cemeteries, please refer to ashes interment options.

Council does not supply or install headstones or monuments (including lawn plaques). Should you wish to have a headstone or monument installed on a plot, you can engage the services of a qualified stonemason. In order to authorise the installation, you must be the burial rights holder, or have the express permission of the burial rights holder. A stonemason will then liaise with council on your behalf including the council application process. There are two stonemasons in our region.

They are:

• Mackay Monumental Masons
  7 Kinnon Street, Mackay
  Phone: 07 4944 0008
  Email: david@mackaymonumentalmasons.com.au
  Web: www.mackaymonumentalmasons.com.au

• Enduring Memorials
  437 Shakespeare St
  PO Box 1666
  MACKAY QLD 4740
  Phone: 07 4953 1070
  Email: info@enduringmemorials.com.au
  Web: www.enduringmemorials.com.au

Please refer to our monument fact sheet(PDF, 343KB) for further information or contact council.

The burial rights holder is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the grave and any monument or headstone on such grave.

Temporary monuments may be permitted in certain cemeteries and sections;

• Mount Bassett Cemetery – Beam sections; temporary grave ornaments permitted for no more than eight weeks, and must be placed only on the concrete beam area.
• Mackay, Walkerston, Marian, Mirani and Sarina cemeteries; Temporary monuments only, such as a simple wooden cross bearing the deceased name is permitted for no more than six months.

NOTE: The planting or maintenance of any trees, shrubs or plants in any council cemetery is strictly prohibited under Local Laws.

Please note, council does not offer cremations - Please discuss cremation services with your funeral director or local crematorium.

After a cremation has taken place, council can assist families who are making the choice of the resting place of their loved one’s ashes. Ashes interments can be arranged either directly through council or through your chosen funeral director.

Following are the available options for ashes in our cemeteries.

The scattering of ashes is permitted in all council cemeteries, however council do ask that ashes are scattered on grassed areas only, not over the top of any concrete, headstone or monument. Should you wish to have the ashes scattering recorded in council’s database, an application will need to be made and the appropriate fee paid. For further information on this please contact council on 1300 622 529 or email council@mackay.qld.gov.au

All plots have the provision for up to eight ashes burials. Should you wish to have your loved ones’ ashes interred into a new or existing plot, you will need to complete a cemetery application form and lodge with council along with the prescribed fee. If you are arranging ashes to be interred into an existing plot, the application must be signed by either the Deed Holder or by an authorised family representative.

For ashes burials into existing graves, please ensure you note on your application with whom you would like the ashes interred – if you require existing plot details, please contact council.

Our cemetery staff require a minimum three business days’ notice of your preferred date and time for the burial to take place to ensure effective scheduling around cemetery maintenance and other funeral services.

Should you wish to arrange an ashes burial in a new or existing plot, please complete a cemetery application form, or alternatively seek the services of a funeral director who can arrange this with council on your behalf.

Your completed application can be lodged along with your payment in person at any of our customer service centres in Mackay, Mirani or Sarina. Alternatively, you can send your application in via email to council@mackay.qld.gov.au; in this instance, council will contact you to arrange a phone payment of your application. Please note, no arrangements or plaque orders will be made until payment has been received.

All council cemeteries except Mackay Cemetery have columbarium walls available for ashes interments.

A single or double niche can be purchased either at the time of interment, or pre-purchased and reserved for a future interment. From July 1, 2025, the cost of the plaque and interment is an additional cost to the purchase of the niche. They can also be purchased as a memorial only. The brick walls in Mirani and Walkerston are our only walls with double-sized niches which have the provision for two sets of ashes to be interred together. On all other walls, you can purchase two single niches side by side should you require.

Ashes are placed inside the niche in an urn or alternate box organised through the crematorium. All niches are enclosed with a brass or brass-coloured plaque (see plaque options).

All plaques for our columbarium walls are ordered through council and can take up to six weeks to arrive. The cost of the plaque and interment is separate to the cost of the niche.

Brass plaques are available in a variety of colours and there is also a wide range of graphics available should you choose. There is the option to have a photo attached to a brass plaque. If you require a photo to be attached this must be indicated on your application form. You then need to engage a stone-mason to prepare your chosen photo.

Available colours and graphics can be found here(PDF, 593KB).

In addition, there is the option of purchasing a columbarium wall vase. This is a small vase that is attached to the wall beside your niche to hold flowers. These vases are narrow but are able to hold one thick stemmed flower or a small bouquet of fresh or artificial flowers.

Walkerston Cemetery is home to council’s first granite columbarium wall. This is a two-sided wall with both east and west facing sides. This particular wall has only single-sized niches but you are able to purchase two side by side.

As with our brick walls, niches can be purchased at the time of arranging an interment or pre-purchased and reserved for future use.

Niche’s on our granite wall are enclosed with a black granite-etched plaque. Vases, graphics and colours available on brass plaques are not available on this particular wall. For an extra fee, photos can be attached. Should you wish to have a photo attached to a plaque on the granite wall, this must be arranged with our local granite plaque supplier Enduring Memorials.

There are set layouts available for Granite Wall Plaques which can be found here.(PDF, 391KB)

Should you wish to arrange the purchase of a columbarium wall niche, or arrange for the interment of ashes into an existing reserved niche, please complete a cemetery application form, or alternatively seek the services of a funeral director who can arrange this with council on your behalf.

Your completed application can be lodged along with your payment in person at any of our customer service centres in Mackay, Mirani or Sarina. Alternatively, you can send your application in via email to council@mackay.qld.gov.au; in this instance, council will contact you to arrange a phone payment of your application. Please note, no arrangements or plaque orders will be made until payment has been received.

The purchase cost of a columbarium wall niche is separate to the plaque and interment (be it now or in the future). Please refer to cemetery fees and charges(PDF, 178KB) for current costs relating to columbarium walls.

Mount Bassett is council’s only cemetery with memorial gardens available called the Garden of Memories. Sites in the Garden of Memories can be purchased as memorial only sites or, for an additional fee, ashes can be interred at the purchased site. Most sites have the provision for two sets of ashes to be interred either separately or at the same time.

A site can be purchased either at the time of an interment or alternatively are able to be pre-purchased and reserved for future use.

The purchase of a Garden of Memories site includes a basic formica plaque. The standard formica plaque does not have any colour choices, cannot have any graphics or photos and can contain a maximum five lines of text. The size of the plaque is 75mm x 50mm.

Upgrades to a brass or brass-coloured plaque for the Garden of Memories is available, and an additional charge applies. The plaque will be to a maximum size of 150mm x 200mm and can include a photo and up to eight lines of text. Should you choose to upgrade to a brass plaque, the available graphics and colours can be found here.(PDF, 593KB)

Should you wish to arrange the purchase of a Garden of Memories site, or arrange for the burial of ashes into a reserved site, please complete a cemetery application form, or alternatively seek the services of a funeral director who can arrange this with council on your behalf.

Your completed application can be lodged along with your payment in person at any of our customer service centres in Mackay, Mirani or Sarina. Alternatively, you can send your application in via email to council@mackay.qld.gov.au; in this instance, council will contact you to arrange a phone payment of your application. Please note, no arrangements or plaque orders will be made until payment has been received.