The outlook from Gerringong Cemetery. Photo: Kellie O’Brien.
In the Illawarra, steep real estate prices don’t stop at life — they follow you to the grave.
From coastal views in Gerringong to quiet bushland in Helensburgh, the cost of a final resting place can vary by thousands depending on where you’d like to spend eternity.
Focusing solely on the land itself for your final resting place at council-run cemeteries — and excluding options for ashes — a non-denominational plot starts at $2321 for Jamberoo residents and can stretch up to $8123 at Gerringong for non-residents.
Shellharbour municipality has Albion Park and Shellharbour cemeteries as its two options for your real estate needs.
According to Shellharbour City Council’s latest 2025-26 budget, for a single-depth, single plot you’re looking at $2997.
That offers you a residential outlook with easy access to Shellharbour Road at Shellharbour Village, and positions you within one of the oldest cemeteries in the municipality, with your neighbours’ recorded burials dating back to the 1800s.
Or the other option is the quieter Croome Road at Albion Park with a bushland outlook, where you’ll lie between slightly more modern burials dating back to a mere 1901.
Kiama offers three stunning locations with vastly different outlooks and price tags to match, based on last financial year’s fees.
Kiama Cemetery at Bombo, which gives you beach views beyond the busy Princes Highway, will set you back $3798 if you’re a resident or $5802 for non-resident for a single-depth plot.
It comes with a colourful past, being established in 1860 after it was originally objected to by an adjacent property owner who felt a cemetery would “deteriorate the value of his property”.
If you’re after more of a country outlook for the same space, then Jamberoo is $2321 for residents or $3903 for non-residents.
It has a slightly more modern story, established in the 1890s after replacing individual denominational burial grounds managed by churches in the area.
However, if you desire truly spectacular ocean views, you can’t go past Gerringong.
Situated on the headland, it’s among the most picturesque cemetery locations in the Illawarra — if not the world.
If you’re a resident, you’re looking at $4537 for a single plot, or a more eye-watering $8123 if you’re a non-resident.
It’s also the oldest cemetery in the Kiama municipality, opening in 1864.
For those north of Lake Illawarra, the latest Wollongong City Council budget has two locations with available plots and perpetual maintenance — Wollongong Lawn Cemetery at beautiful Kembla Grange and Helensburgh Cemetery.
For a non-denominational basic adult burial plot in the lawn sections at either location, you can reserve your space for $2500.
At Kembla Grange, you’re moving into an incredibly modern and spacious location, having opened in 1979 and sprawling across a leafy 50-hectare site with established trees and large stretches of lawn.
Meanwhile, in the northern-most part of Wollongong at the Helensburgh site with its residents dating back to the 1890s, you can expect a beautiful but rustic setting, with bushland backdrop.
Whether you’re after ocean views, bush serenity or a touch of history, it seems even in death, location still matters — and it’ll cost you.
