The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust

Join our community as we come together to honour those who served at our annual Anzac commemorative service. Date: Monday, 14 April 2025 Time: 4:45-6pm Location: Federation Chapel, Lilydale Memorial Park (126–128 Victoria Road, Lilydale) Each year this twilight service is a valued opportunity for us to gather together as a community in Melbourne's east and honour those who served and sacrificed for our country, including the many servicemen and women laid to rest in our care. Thanks to the generous contributions of the Rotary Club of Lilydale, Friends of Rotary, and residents of Evelyn Ridge Retirement Village, our handcrafted poppy display will return again this year with a new theme, ‘Animals of War’, paying tribute to the often-forgotten animal companions who served alongside our troops in various conflicts. We’re also proud to partner with not-for-profit catering social enterprise, TastyAz, who will provide light refreshments before the service. Come along prior to the event for a cuppa and homemade Anzac biscuits! For more information about the event, visit our website: https://lnkd.in/gAWVQx6J Image description: Two men in formal attire with military medals are standing on a grassy area at sunset. The man on the left is playing a bugle. There are brick buildings with verandas in the background and tall trees framing the scene. #AnzacDay2025 #MelbourneAnzacService #LestWeForget #MelbourneMemorial #WarMemorial #AnimalsOfWar #LilydaleMemorialPark #GMCT 

Reminder: Applications for our Community Advisory Committee close soon. There’s still time to apply to join GMCT Trust members and other like-minded individuals as part of our Community Advisory Committee (CAC). This voluntary role offers a unique and meaningful opportunity to influence vital public spaces and services, while gaining valuable governance experience. We welcome and encourage applications from a range of diverse backgrounds. Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/gjTgwJMS Applications close at 5pm on 31 March 2025. #CommunityAdvisory #MelbourneLeadership #GovernanceExperience #NotForProfit #CommitteeOpportunity #Community

We recently welcomed an extraordinary panel of voices to explore gender equality through multiple lenses, hosted by ABC's Jacinta Parsons. The conversation featured our own Dimi Patitsas, alongside musician and disability advocate Eliza Hull, and advocate against gender-based violence Tarang Chawla. Their insights on workplace equality, navigating the music industry as a woman with disability, and addressing gender-based violence sparked meaningful conversations that continue to resonate with our team. The discussion was followed with a special performance by Eliza, accompanied by dancer roya the destroya, who brought an incredibly moving artistic expression to these important themes. We hosted this event to celebrate International Women's Day, but at GMCT, our commitment to gender equality is year-round and demonstrated by achievements like our organisation-wide zero gender pay gap. Read more about our progress: https://lnkd.in/gN-4rd-g Thank you to our panellists, Patrice Capogreco, and our Diversity and Inclusion network for creating this space for our learning. We also extend a big thank you to SisterWorks Inc., a social enterprise empowering migrant and refugee women, for providing our delicious catering. #GenderEquality #ZeroGenderPayGap #DiverseVoices #IWD2025 #InternationalWomensDay

The Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust acknowledges with sadness the passing of former Trust member David Cragg. David served as a Trust member from 2016 until 2024. In this capacity, he also served as a member of the Community Advisory Committee and the Finance and Investment Committee. David was a passionate advocate for cemeteries, particularly the importance of collaboration across the sector, the safety and wellbeing of our staff, and the value of history and heritage for our local communities. Our Trust members, management and staff pay tribute to David Cragg for his service to the community. We extend our heartfelt condolences to David's family, friends, and all who knew him during this time. His commitment to our community and dedicated service to the Trust will be remembered with gratitude and respect.

Be a voice for your community - join GMCT's Community Advisory Committee! We're looking for new members to join our Community Advisory Committee (CAC) who can bring unique perspectives to GMCT. In this volunteer role, you'll collaborate with members of our Trust and other like-minded individuals to ensure our services reflect and honour the various cultural, religious, and social needs of Melbourne’s diverse communities. We welcome and encourage applications from diverse backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, LGBTQIA+, people with disability and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This role also offers valuable governance experience with a 3-year term and quarterly meetings. Does this sound like you? Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/gjTgwJMS Applications close 31 March 2025. Image description: The image has white text and a four-panel collage on a dark orange background. The collage features diverse community members: a person holding a Pride flag, an Indigenous person in traditional attire with ceremonial instruments, an older person in a white coat speaking outdoors, and people engaged in conversation at a religious gathering. The text on the image reads "Community Advisory Committee (CAC) Member application". #CommunityAdvisory #MelbourneLeadership #GovernanceExperience #NotForProfit #CommitteeOpportunity #Community

Managing several cemetery sites across Melbourne’s west involves far more than you might think. Brendan Koch, Group General Manager at GMCT, spoke to FM Media (Facility Management) about how modern cemetery management must balance immediate customer needs with planning for the future. His team's work ranges from supporting families during their most difficult moments to informing the development of new spaces and services that will serve generations to come. "We're almost involved in every aspect of what goes on in the business, rather than just operations – we do a little bit of finance, a little bit of governance and operations, even a little bit of HR." Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/ggz3vHbR #FacilityManagement #CemeteryManagement #Operations #Management 

Introducing: Harkness Memorial Park! We’re pleased to announce that our new development site in Melbourne’s west has been officially named Harkness Memorial Park, following strong community support and formal approval from the Victorian Government. The new name aligns with its location in the suburb of Harkness and reflects the local identity of the area, marking an important milestone as we progress with detailed design of the site and continue to work with the community in Melbourne's west. We extend our thanks to our Community Advisory Committee, local stakeholders, and community members who provided valuable input throughout the naming process and consultation. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gKcVi7Nx Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to develop Harkness Memorial Park into a place of reflection, remembrance and community connection: https://lnkd.in/gVg279v Photography by Tiffany Garvie. Image description: A view of the Harkness Memorial Park development site from the south-east corner, near the Arnolds Creek Western Corridor. There is a fence in the foreground, grassland and trees in the distance, and blue skies overhead. #HarknessMemorialPark #Harkness #MeltonWest #NewCemetery #MelbourneCemetery

What if we could help cool an entire region of Melbourne? With 500,000 new trees, we're about to find out. Melbourne’s west is facing a pressing challenge: a lack of tree canopy cover in the city. As urban development accelerates, we're losing vital trees and vegetation—creating heat islands that impact the health of communities and wildlife. To help combat this, we’ll be planting 9,500 trees across our western sites, including the new memorial park at Harkness. This will include 100 mature trees and 9,400 tubestock trees that will increase biodiversity, provide habitat for local wildlife and shade for people, improve water quality along critical waterways, and mitigate the impacts of climate change. The best part? They’ll be in the ground by the end of next year. This project has been supported by the Victorian Government through the More Trees for a Cooler, Greener West program, an initiative that will see half a million trees planted in Melbourne’s west. We're proud to be a part of this important program and to be playing our part in building more sustainable, liveable and beautiful green spaces for our communities. Learn more and keep up to date with the initiative: https://lnkd.in/gRXhZx5x Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action #sustainability #urbandevelopment #placemaking #greenspaces

Everyone experiences grief, remembrance, and belonging in their own way—and the needs of different communities can vary greatly. As part of our range of engagement opportunities, we’re launching an LGBTQIA+ community focus group to help deepen our understanding of your needs and preferences and shape how our parks can reflect and support the queer community. If you identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, we invite you to share your insights and experiences with us. The focus group will be a two hour workshop in March or April and participants will receive an $120 e-gift voucher for their time. Learn more and submit an expression of interest: https://lnkd.in/gAX_vP8t #LGBTQIA #Inclusion #Community

As the new memorial park in Harkness starts to take shape, we’re documenting the site’s transformation.   To do this, we’ve teamed up with Chris Warrior (Kokatha/Yankunytjatjara) and mentee Dakoda Carpio Woods (Nyoongar, Yamatji, Wongi) from Wiru Drone Solutions, a First Nations owned business. Last week marked Dakoda's second commercial flight, where she expertly mapped future road routes and documented Arnolds Creek's entry point—contributing to the respectful documentation of this significant space. Dakoda is developing her skills through the Minyerra Borrinyu Drone Program, an Australian Government initiative providing culturally appropriate Remote Pilot Licence training for First Nations people. We look forward to working with Chris and Dakoda throughout this project as they continue to capture the site's regeneration and development. Keep up to date with the memorial park project as we prepare to break ground this year: https://lnkd.in/gVg279v #FirstNations #FirstNationsBusiness #Country #Harkness #design #placemaking #construction