Haere i te rangimarie

We can make a best guess at how long the whole process will take, but it’s only ever a guess because every individual is different. If someone has died overnight, there may be a delay until they can be taken to the mortuary (if they’re in the hospital) or seen by their doctor. If someone is with the Coroner, we can’t know how long it will be until they are released; you’ll have someone from the Coroner’s Office who will be your contact for questions about their process and timings.

The time it takes to embalm someone to the appropriate level will depend on each individual. Influential factors include the cause of their death, whether they’ve been injured, their body size, if they’ve been on powerful medication and whether they’ve had a full post mortem. And unfortunately sometimes it’s just nature’s way that some people will deteriorate faster than others. Our embalmers are experts and they’ll do everything they can to slow down and stabilise that natural process. They’ll take their time and do it right, because that’s the best care they can provide for your loved one.

Yes. We have a small space, just two rooms, with one set aside for staff only where we look after the deceased, and the other for family to gather. We only have two carparks, but there is some parking available further up Tinakori Road opposite the Botanic Gardens. At the moment our wharepaku is up a flight of stairs (we’ll show you the way). We try to be good neighbours in our village, so please bear in mind that Tinakori Road is a pretty busy thoroughfare and there will be locals wanting to come and go as well. It’s possible (depending on the time and day) that we may have other client families who need to use our space; we’ll talk this through with you. But we know it’s important to be able to stay with or near your loved one and usually we are able to make that happen.

We know – our Merc and our Ford are great cars. But no, they aren’t available for hire or borrowing. For insurance reasons, only our staff can drive them. If you want to engage us to drive your loved one home, or to create a relay between us and some other funeral directors to get your loved one up the line, we can do this but it will be a whole other conversation and expense.

We’ll provide your chosen casket’s specificaitons so that you can measure your vehicle and check you have the space. We’ve seen many types of vehicles used successfully, from a ute to a van to an SUV or a station wagon. With the back seats down and the front passenger seat pushed forward, we can usually make room. We recommend putting some padding (flattened cardboard boxes, pillows, couch cushions) around the casket, and a covering of some sort (a quilt, sheet or other fabric) over the casket.

That’s a good question. We recommend embalming for loved ones who are travelling, as it is the best method available to stabilise the body and slow down the natural process. However, there are alternatives such as Manaaki Mats which can be used along with refrigeration. The key with these alternatives is that we have to have to know at least 24 hours beforehand to give enough time to freeze the Mats. Read more about care of body. We can talk through what’s possible, advisable and best for you and your loved one, in your particular circumstances.

As mentioned above, we ask for 50% payment up front, with a commitment to pay the balance within 3 months. In some circumstances a WINZ funeral grant can be accessed for up to $2,697.43, or there may be the possibility of a grant from ACC. We can assist with applications for either of these grants. If there is Funeral or Life Insurance, we can provide an invoice or other paperwork as required.

We’ll ask some questions, add the information provided by the Doctor/Coroner, and then ask you to review a proof copy of the Death Certificate to ensure we’ve got everything correct. Then once burial has taken place we’ll complete the registration (we can’t do it until the burial or cremation has happened, and we legally have to do it within three days of burial or cremation).

When the Death Certificate arrives at our office we’ll be in touch to arrange the best way to get it to you, the executor or a lawyer, as appropriate. If you have a Funeral Director up the line who will be arranging a service, burial and the registration of your loved one’s death, just let us know that they’ll be taking care of the registration and we’ll remove this cost from our invoice.