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Waikumete Cemetery was established in 1886 and is the final resting place for over 70,000 people. It is New Zealand's largest cemetery, occupying a site of 108 hectares in Glen Eden, Auckland.
The land at Waikumete was purchased incrementally by the Crown between 1876 and 1881 and reserved as a site for a public cemetery for Auckland.
The new cemetery, known as ‘Waikomiti’, was set aside to replace Symonds Street Cemetery, the main cemetery for Auckland, which at the time was nearing capacity.
‘Waikomiti’ was officially opened in 1886. Since the closure of Symonds Street Cemetery in 1908, Waikumete has served as the main cemetery for the Auckland region.
In 1917 the cemetery comprised 303 acres. It has since reduced in size with land re-purposed for road widening, recreation services and the Sunhill Park subdivision. Currently at 108 hectares, Waikumete cemetery remains New Zealand’s largest cemetery.
It includes a section of early Jewish graves, a memorial to the hundreds who died in the 1918 influenza epidemic, and another to the unidentified victims of the 1979 Erebus plane crash in Antarctica.
Some of the gravestones reflect the range of cultures in Auckland. Large mausoleums have been built for the Corban family (Lebanon) and many Croatian families who settled in Henderson. These include the Nobilos and Ercegs, Markinovichs, Zencics, and Vuletics. The newest sections of the cemetery are filled with Asian and Pasifika graves, which are embossed with gold and have exuberant decorations.