WHAT a difference a decade has made for Bathurst families.
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Up until 2013, cremation was not possible in the Bathurst region, with people having to travel to Orange or elsewhere if they wanted to access such a service.
It was a long fight to get Bathurst its own crematorium, but one finally opened its doors in mid 2013, and since then the final wishes of thousands of people have been able to be honoured in the place they called home.
History lesson
Getting a crematorium was no easy feat for the people of Bathurst.
Former councillor Bobby Bourke spent around 10 years campaigning for one to be built in Bathurst so families no longer had to travel for their loved ones to be cremated.
He experienced this first hand with both his parents during that campaign, telling the Western Advocate in 2009 that "it has been a dreadful feeling to have to travel to Orange" to have them cremated.
In 2008, more than a year after council conducted an investigative tour in Canberra, the Western Advocate reported that a crematorium could be open in 2009.
At the time, Bathurst council was finalising its negotiations with Norwood Park to build the facility in the city.
However, the wait would be far longer than that.
A development application wasn't approved until 2010, and it was another three and half years before the crematorium was built and operational.
The official opening was held in October, 2013.
Impact of the crematorium
Norwood Park general manager Michael Bridges said the crematorium has made a huge difference for people in Bathurst and continues to support the needs of a growing population.
He said there is an average of four cremations conducted every week, meaning more than 200 people are cremated each year.
After 10 years, that adds up to more than 2000.
That means that the loved ones of more than 2000 people haven't had to travel for that tough final goodbye, nor face the additional costs involved with transporting the deceased.
"Without this facility, it would be a very costly exercise all round to have a loved one taken to Sydney or further along for cremation," Mr Bridges said.
"Having this facility here has made a big difference, not only for the local people to make it more accessible, but the cost factor as well."
Although some people do still have a church service prior to cremation, around 90 per centre of funeral services are held at the crematorium for people who will be cremated.
That is made possible with the chapel, which has seating for around 80 to 100 guests, and space outside for overflow.
This space is also used for services for people who will be buried in Maranatha Lawn Cemetery.
Is cremation the way of the future?
More people are choosing cremation across Australia, particularly in the major cities, where around 70 per cent of the deceased are being cremated.
Mr Bridges said this is largely driven by cost, as burial land is at a premium.
But regional areas, too, are seeing an increase in cremations, even though their cemeteries are far from capacity.
When it comes to burials versus cremations, Mr Bridges said "it's about 50-50" as to what choice regional families are making.
He expects that to change, though.
"As the younger generation comes through, you'll probably find an uptick in cremations in regional areas," he said.
"People are, in general, beginning to move away from the traditional burial-type services that we do. Cremation is becoming quite popular."
He said younger generations find cremation more convenient, and are also citing cost and time as reasons why they'd prefer cremation over burials.