Headstones and plaques

A permit is required for all headstone and plaque installations. You can personalise a headstone or plaque to honour a loved one - but it must comply with our guidelines around size, design, material and installation.

Work must be carried out by a qualified monument-installer, preferably a member of the Master Monumental Masons Association.

Apply online: Permit to install or work on a headstone/plaque.

Waipā District Council Cemeteries Bylaw: Cemeteries Bylaw (2013)

Headstone dimensions

Erected monuments are to be no larger than 1000mm wide, 1200mm high and 450mm deep. Any concrete base or monument being installed must give an allowance of 150mm between the edge of the berm and the edge of the concrete base or monument.

Stone Memorials for Children and Ashes Blocks

Childrens lawn plots and flat Memorial Ashes Berms at Alexandra (Pirongia), Paterangi and Te Awamutu have upright small stone style memorials.

These memorials are to be no larger than 500mm wide, 550mm high and 330mm deep. Any concrete base or monument being installed must give an allowance of 150mm between the edge of the berm and the edge of the concrete base or monument.

Plaque dimensions

In the following Gardens of Remembrance and Memorial Ashes Berms plaques are to be no more than 150mm x 100mm and must be of bronze construction:

• Leamington Cemetery - Garden of Remembrance 1
• Hautapu Cemetery - Garden of Remembrance 1
• Pukerimu Cemetery - Memorial Ashes Berm 1

In all other Gardens of Remembrance and Memorial Ashes Berms plaques are to be no more than 350mm wide by 230mm high.

Memorial Ashes Berm 4 at Hautapu will require the stonemason to install a desktop plinth for the plaque.

Other monuments

Any exceptions to the above must be approved first by the authorised officer of the Waipā District Council and may include a fee for any extra berms that may need to be laid.

Materials

Waipā District Council prefers the use of permanent, durable materials in the construction of memorials as these are not easily damaged or broken and may last for more than 50 years.

Recommended materials for monuments include:

• Granite or other suitably hard stone
• Marble
• Stainless Steel
• Basalt
• Andesite

Recommended materials for plaques include:

• Granite or suitably hard stone
• Bronze
• Marble
• Ceramic

Not permitted:

• Glass
• Timber
• Limestone
• Sandstone

Any exceptions to the above must be approved first by the authorised officer of the Waipā District Council.

Inscriptions and designs

Under the Cemeteries Bylaw (2013), Section 10.3 offensive language or offensive symbols are prohibited. These may include foul or explicit language, hate speech, gang insignia, inappropriate or explicit images, or images associated with violence or violent groups.

Method of fixing and securing

All monuments and plaques must be installed, removed, or reinstated to the standards set out in the current New Zealand Standards.

Health and safety, contractor expectations

All contractors working on site will observe health and safety guidelines as set out in the Health and Safety at Work Act (2015).

• The work area must be marked off with a safety barrier or hazard cones
• If any headstone or plaque should become loose or unstable Council shall contact the installing contractor to come and re-secure said headstone or plaque
• No contractor shall work in a cemetery during an interment/funeral service
• All contractors performing work in the cemetery must leave the site in a tidy and safe condition. If the site is not considered to be tidy and safe after work is complete the contractor will be asked to return and tidy the site to acceptable standards
• Acceptable standards include leaving no parts of stone, concrete or other debris on or around work site, leaving the lawn with no extensive damage, reporting and arranging for the repair of any damage caused to any cemetery structure or vegetation

Monument permit

The purpose of the Monument Permit is to aid Waipā District Council in the management of cemetery records, to improve the visual amenity of cemeteries and to monitor the condition of monuments and plaques through maintenance and consistent standards.

The permit is to be completed and returned to the Council offices 10 business days before work is due to begin to allow time for processing and to advise of any service(s) that may be scheduled to avoid conflict.

Non compliance

Any new monument or plaque that is found to be non-compliant or installed without a permit will be subject to an order for removal or repair to be served on the contractor, or where the contractor cannot be identified, the next of kin of the deceased. Waipā District Council bears no responsibility for costs incurred by an order for removal or remediation.

If a monument or plaque is found to have come loose or otherwise not securely fixed to its base an order for removal or remediation will be issued to the contractor for action within 30 working days.

Only one structure is permitted on each plot.

Relatives and/or trustees of the deceased are responsible for the ongoing maintenance and repair of the monument