ESMP - News - Winter 2012

funeral home

PARK NEWS Winter 2012

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cemetery

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crematorium

Vale Rodney William Arthur (Rod) Neville (16/02/1948 to 06/04/2012)

Vale John Francis (Jack) Walker JP (15/10/1933 to 20/05/2012) It is with sadness that I inform of the recent passing of ESMP Trustees Rod Neville and Jack Walker.

Jack Walker suddenly passed away on 20th May, 2012. He was appointed to the Board of Trustees in July 1999. He was a member of the Board’s Planning and Works Committee.

Jack saw many fundamental changes at ESMP early in his tenure not least of which was the completion of the current modern ESMP Administration Building, replacing the old, smaller building, and the development of the new burial areas on the northern side of Military Road off land acquired from part of the previously decommissioned Bunnerong Power Station.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO As we are greeted with brisk wintery days, I welcome you to this latest edition of our newsletter.

I invite readers to visit us and enjoy the picturesque and tranquil setting of our gardens and relax with a cup of tea or coffee in our café and enjoy a warm nourishing meal while you are here.

Despite the colder weather, we have been busy preparing for spring. In Centenary Park, we have created new gardens and memorials, bordering the ponds and gently cascading waterfalls.

I am very pleased to announce that we have received approval from Randwick Council for the construction of our Greek Orthodox Chapel. More on this later…

Rod Neville passed away on 6th April, 2012 following a long illness. Rod was appointed to the Trusts in July 2007 and became a member of the Finance and Audit Committee. In July 2010 he was appointed Chair of that Committee.

Both Jack and Rod shared with the Board in a number of new initiatives, two of which were major ventures. Firstly, the building and establishment of the Park’s on-site Funeral Home, the first for a Crown Cemetery and, secondly, a purpose-built Condolence Centre, including a café and florist.

The Trustees and I have been grateful for both Jack’s and Rod’s services to the continued development and improvement of the Park, a tradition which we intend to carry on for the benefit of our communities. Both Rod and Jack would, I’m sure, have no difficulty with that philosophy!

George H. Passas FAICD FCIS FCPA Chief Executive Officer

Our Asian Gardens development is progressing very well as our management team and architects work through the detailed planning, design drawings and costings that are integral to the success of this significant project. We have been consulting extensively with the community leaders to explain the various sections and features that will be unique to this beautiful area and to gain the benefit of their advice.

In relation to our quest for additional burial space, in response to the overwhelming wishes of the broader local communities, I am, sadly, unable to report any significant progress on this.

Despite the clear wishes of many thousands of people in the Randwick City Council area, the looming critical shortage of burial space in the eastern suburbs remains unresolved.

It is hoped that over the course of the next few months the matter can be resolved so that some certainty can come to the communities most concerned about this very important issue.

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PARK NEWS

ASIAN GARDENS ESMP is currently developing a beautiful and important Asian memorial garden to become Sydney’s newest and most significant cremation and burial interment area for peoples of Asian ancestry, religions and cultures.

We extend our sincere thanks to the leaders of Asian communities throughout Sydney who are providing valuable advice in ensuring

Moon Garden Niche Walls

that these new Asian Memorial Gardens are sensitive to the needs of their respective traditions and communities.

Our aim is to provide high quality and tradition-appropriate, interment and bereavement care for families of different traditions and faiths, including Buddhist, Taoist, Christian and nondenominational.

It will contain many secluded gardens and Asian families of the same and different faiths can be memorialised and buried together within close proximity in accordance with appropriate religious traditions and Feng Shui principles.

Issues of Filial Piety of having respect for parents and ancestors in a

Dragon Garden Shrine

good society are being embraced, to ensure that the correct rituals are observed at the time of death to assist both the spirit and the surviving family.

The gardens will feature sculptures, deities and pathways set within historical sandstone walls and ponds, similar to those found in traditional Chinese gardens throughout Asia.

A long, prominent and winding Dragon Path leads visitors through picturesque hill-side terraces to a traditional Buddhist and Taoist shrine with Buddha reincarnations, Eternity Lights on either side and Ancestral Tablets. Families will be welcome to use the shrine during funeral services, when they visit the Park and for other occasions as

Columbarium

required.

Adjacent to the shrine and overlooking the gardens will be a Ceremonial Burner and two spacious gathering areas where families can celebrate grave-side services and participate in important religious festivals such as Ulambana (Hungry Ghost) and Qing Ming (Cheng Beng). A Ceremonial Luck Bell is located on the Dragon path, close to the Shrine, which visitors can use as they enter the Gardens.

The gardens are being designed in consultation with representatives of the Asian communities. The development application has been lodged with Randwick Council and approval is expected in August, 2012. We look forward to updating you further on this exciting, new and important community project.

WINTER 2012

3D Model viewing at ESMP

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FUNERAL HOME NEWS The funeral home has continued to serve families with professional and caring service. To this end, we have sought to expand our ability the support the cultural, religious and linguistic diversity of our community by employing funeral consultants with multilingual skills.

Funeral Home Web site - www.esfs.net.au We have launched our new Eastern Suburbs Funeral Services web site which contains many helpful and innovative features, welcoming families and visitors to our Funeral Home, providing useful information and convenient on-line access to our professional services.

The focus of the web site is people and it acknowledges the diverse circumstances that families and communities of all backgrounds, cultures and religions need to embrace when the death of their loved one occurs.

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The site contains many features to help people learn about and manage what can be a very difficult and sad time in their lives. These are: 1. Explaining what needs to be done when a death of a loved one occurs; how to arrange a funeral with our professional assistance; and what happens after the service.

2. Describing how to arrange a pre-paid funeral and the benefits 3. Introducing our on-site funeral home, our beautiful chapel, arrangement and viewing rooms, on-site mortuary and convenient parking.

4. Providing an extensive checklist which includes the following topics: •

The immediate steps when someone has died

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What will be discussed and arranged by us, the funeral director

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What needs to be done to care for their loved-one’s affairs

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Organising the solicitor, accountant and grief counselling services if needed

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Arranging a burial, cremation and memorial for their loved one

5. Including an extensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section with answers to the many questions that we receive in relation to what is involved with funeral arrangements, burials, cremations and memorialisation’s 6. Linking the site to professional services such as the Police, Ambulance, Lifeline Australia, Beyond Blue, Sids and Kids NSW, the Coroners Court, Aboriginal Land Council, NSW Trustee and Guardian and the ESMP Park web site.

7. Listing all of the current services that are being arranged for our Funeral Home client families. This provides the details of when and where the services will be held and families are able to include additional information that they would like to share with their friends, family and visitors to the site.

8. Our new “On-Line Memorials” page is a new and important service which will enable families to post an enduring memorial of their loved one.

9. Families will have the convenience of searching our site on their smart phones using a dedicated QR Code.

We invite you to visit our new website and explore these many features. Please call us on (02) 9694 9494 if you would like more information or assistance.

Eastern Suburbs Funeral Services welcomes Vasily Makeev BTh We welcome Vasily Makeev who has joined our team of experienced Funeral Consultants.

Vasily is fluent in Russian, he can support families with his extensive knowledge of religions, cultures and communities. He attended St Andrews Greek Orthodox Theological College and graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor of Theology.

His Grace Bishop Seraphim of Apollonias, Assistant Bishop to His Eminence Archbishop Stylianos of Australia, and Sub-Dean of St Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College with our new Funeral Consultant, Vasily Makeev.

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Delegation from Suzhou In April, ESMP Chairman, Mr John Morrison, OAM was invited by Mr James Ding, President of the Federation of Australian Suzhou Association to attend a special function to mark the establishment of the Federation of the Australian Suzhou Association. At this significant event, Mr Morrison had the opportunity to meet the Delegation from Suzhou.

Suzhou, known as the “Venice of China” because of its many canals, has a population of 13 million. Its GDP is the fourth largest in China.

Suzhou is west of Shanghai and famous for its gardens and is also

Mr. Victor Z. Ding, Senior Adviser of FASA.

known as the beautiful garden city.

ESMP Chairman, Mr John Morrison, OAM and Professor James Ding, President of FASA attend the Celebration of the establishment of The Federation of Australian Suzhou Association (FASA).

Greek Orthodox Chapel Construction has commenced of the Greek Orthodox Chapel which will provide a central focal point and a place where memorial services can be held for families of Greek Orthodox faith who live within our community. It represents the strong ties that ESMP has with the Greek Orthodox community.

With the migration in the 1950’s of young Greeks to Sydney, a large portion of them settled in the eastern suburbs. As a result of this, ESMP represents the last resting place for a large number of these people and their family members.

The design of the chapel reflects the form of a contemporary interpretation of a domed structure over a circular enclosure of the altar. The external paving will represent the main body of the church with the congregation placed three steps below the alter level.

With the chapel doors open, the clergy can perform a service for the attending worshippers. A permanent ‘Candilli’ box will be placed outside the altar for the benefit of the faithful.

The Trust has also commissioned the erection of a rotunda of contemplation structure which will serve as a place where the faithful can sit, rest and contemplate. This will be conveniently located within close proximity to the neighbouring car park area.

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PARK NEWS

Customer Service News The Customer Service team is committed to providing professional guidance and service to families, Funeral Directors and visitors to our Park. Our new consulting rooms, brochures and PowerPoint presentations enables us to welcome, advise and support families as they discuss and decide the most appropriate memorial for their loved ones.

2012 Mother’s Day Service Sydney was treated to a magnificently warm and sunny day on Mother’s Day this year and many people took the opportunity to visit our beautiful Park, to pay their respects and enjoy its peaceful surrounds.

ESMP hosted our annual Mother’s Day service in the South Chapel, to provide comfort and support to the many families in attendance.

While Mother’s Day for most of us is a happy and joyful occasion, it can be a difficult time for families who have recently (or not so recently) lost this very important person in their lives.

We warmly extend an open invitation to anyone in the community who would like to come to our annual Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Christmas services. Please call us on 9661-5655 if you would like us to mail you an invitation. We find that these services offer great benefit and everyone is welcome.

Forthcoming Father’s Day Service Our Father’s Day service will be held at 10am on Sunday 2nd September, in the South Chapel.

Eastern Suburbs Crematorium welcomes Concierge We are very pleased to introduce Greg Agius who joined the Customer Service Team on the 31st May as our Chapel Concierge. His important role is to assist Funeral Directors and families with all audio visual requirements in our chapels and ensure that the services run as smoothly as possible.

Greg’s professional background and Concierge experience makes him ideal for the role. He has a very friendly disposition with excellent communication skills, and takes pride providing a professional and seamless service to our clients.

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Park and Gardens News Our Centenary Park gardens will feature a new sandstone bridge which is currently being constructed to cross the lower level of ponds.

The inviting and serene ambience of this tranquil garden area will be further enhanced with the planting of additional plants, shrubs and trees.

The walls of the ponds in this area have been secured and raised to create new memorial areas. This will include 20 family gardens, additional pedestal gardens and the bridge will have memorial plaques installed.

Enquiries can be made at the Administration Office or by calling 9661 5655.

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PARK NEWS

funeral home

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9694 9494

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cemetery

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crematorium

www.esfs.net.au

funeral home

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9694 9494

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cemetery

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crematorium

www.esfs.net.au

Future events calendar Father’s Day

Christmas Service

ESMP Open Day

Quarterly Masses

10am, Sunday 2nd September, South Chapel

11am - 2pm, Saturday 27th October

ESMP’s customer service team welcomes Funeral Directors to ask for assistance with the following: • Booking the on-line Web Casting service.

• Organising Audio/Visual equipment • ESMP staff (if required) • Testing of PowerPoint presentations prior to the day of the service.

• Arrangement of DVD keepsakes.

• Viewings and witnessing.

CONTACT INFORMATION • Appointments for families wanting to choose the grave site of • • •

their loved one can be made by calling ESMP on 9661 5655.

Condolence room, florist and café enquiries and bookings can be arranged by phoning Eastern Suburbs Memorial Centre on 9661 8865.

Clergy and celebrants are welcome to call 9661 5655 to make appointments to familiarise themselves with our chapel facilities.

If you require a funeral director contact our Funeral Home Consultants on 9694 9494.

Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park

Post Address / Administration & Cemetery Office 12 Military Road Matraville, NSW 2036 T | (02) 9661 5655 F | (02) 9311 3654 E | enquiries@esmp.net.au

Eastern Suburbs Memorial Centre 49 Military Road Matraville, NSW 2036 T | (02) 9661 8865 F | (02) 9661 8952 E | admin@esmc.net.au

Crematorium Office

At the Crematorium between the West and South Chapels T | (02) 9661 5655 F | (02) 9311 3654 E | enquiries@esmp.net.au

Funeral Home

61 Military Road Matraville, NSW 2036 T | (02) 9694 9494 F | (02) 9694 9495 E | funeralhome@esmp.net.au

Southpoint Shopping Centre

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Gates open at 6.30 am.

Cemetery gates close at 6pm.

Main Crematorium gate closes at 8pm.

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A public parking facility is available to the left of the Crematorium entrance.

Gate Opening Times

2pm, Sunday 4th November Eastern Suburbs Memorial Grove (Crypts and Vault area)

Saturday 8th September Saturday 10th November

Assistance to arrangers

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All Saints Day

6pm, Wednesday 19th December, South Chapel

La Perouse

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Administered by: The Botany Cemetery & Eastern Suburbs Crematorium Trusts

Member of: Cemeteries & Crematoria Association of NSW Australasian Cemeteries & Crematoria Association Australian Funeral Directors Association 12 Military Road, Matraville NSW 2036 P | (02) 9661 5655 F | (02) 9311 3654 www.esmp.net.au

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