Final resting place at Orchard Hills?
ORCHARD Hills has been touted as the possible location for Sydney’s next Jewish cemetery.
ORCHARD Hills has been touted as the possible location for Sydney’s next Jewish cemetery.
The site is more than 50 kilometres west of Bondi and 40 kilometres south-west of St Ives, but NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) president Yair Miller said despite the distance, it was a good option.
“The drive from the heart of Bondi only takes 45 minutes and it is a lot closer than one of the previous options in Berrima, which would be an hour-and-a-half away,” he said.
Noting that it took 45 minutes to travel to Rookwood Cemetery before freeways were built, he added: “Looking for a cemetery has been a project for nearly 10 years, but this specific site has only been on the cards for the last few months.
“The reality is that there is no land closer to metropolitan Sydney and that is just a fact of life.”
Former JBD president David Knoll has been charged with the task of finding a suitable site.
“We are in the very early stages with the property, but the reason that it is suitable is because there is no need to rezone the area for it to become a cemetery,” Knoll said.
“There is nothing as good as this that we have been able to find.
“We have been to the north-west, south-west and have also seen possibilities two hours out of Sydney but they are too far away.”
Knoll said about 400 Jewish people were buried every year, which meant that there would only be enough room at Macquarie Park, Rookwood and eastern suburbs cemeteries for the next decade.
“The lead time to get a cemetery functioning is three to seven years, depending what you have to do to the land.
“NSW Minister (Katrina) Hodgkinson and her office has been fantastic and we are hopeful that we can work together for a solution.”
JOSHUA LEVI
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