Reported by Suprovat Sydney: NSW’s first crown cemetery in eight decades officially opened on Monday, April 7, 2025, at Macarthur Memorial Park in Varroville, Campbelltown. The 113-hectare park, designed to serve Sydney’s diverse and growing population, was celebrated in a ceremony attended by NSW Premier Chris Minns, Minister Steve Kamper, Archbishop Anthony Fisher, and leaders from 25 faith communities.
The $125 million project, delivered by Catholic Cemeteries and Crematoria (CCC), has been handed back to the NSW Government as crown land, ensuring long-term public access. The park will provide 136,000 burial plots and thousands of cremation niches, addressing Sydney’s critical shortage of burial space for the next 100 years.
Macarthur Memorial Park includes three chapels, a 250-seat function centre, 20 dedicated religious burial areas, six lakes, eight kilometres of walking and bike trails, gardens, and a café. It’s designed as a peaceful, inclusive space for remembrance and community gatherings.
CCC CEO Lauren Hardgrove said the park was inspired by international models that integrate remembrance with nature and reflection. Premier Minns praised the park as a “beautiful open space” and a solution to Sydney’s burial land crisis.
Community leaders welcomed the park’s significance. Muslim Cemeteries Board Chair Kazi Khalequzzaman Ali OAM and AMUST Editor-in-Chief Zia Ahmed attended, along with many Imams, Sheikhs, and Bangladeshi only media CEO Abdullah Yousuf Shamim.
Michele Goldman of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and Maronite Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay also highlighted the park’s vital role in ensuring respectful burial space for all faiths.
CCC also announced the expansion of its Kemps Creek grounds, adding 10,000 more plots on newly acquired crown land.
Burial sites at Macarthur Memorial Park start from $6,950, plus a $3,529.60 interment fee.
Archbishop Fisher commended the Minns Government for providing certainty for the nearly 30% of NSW residents who require faith-based burial options, calling the park “a place for all cultures and generations.”