The secret plan to convert a Sydney golf course into a cemetery

An 18-hole public golf course in suburban Sydney was earmarked for conversion to a cemetery before an 11th-hour intervention from the premier delayed the announcement.

Metropolitan Memorial Parks (MMP)’s confidential plans to convert the 45-hectare Carnarvon Golf Club in Lidcombe were so tightly held that neither the club, the local council nor the Labor MP were aware when contacted by this masthead.

Carnarvon Golf Course: The government delayed plans to convert the course into a cemetery.Credit: Wolter Peeters

Sydney is swiftly running out of burial spaces. A state government audit in 2023 found less than three years’ supply for some faith groups. However, securing prime real estate in one of the world’s most expensive cities has vexed successive state governments.

Adjacent to Rookwood Cemetery, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest necropolis, 75-year-old Carnarvon golf course was considered suitable, given its location and the fact it is on Crown land, meaning the government would avoid the cost of compulsory acquisition, sources familiar with internal deliberations told the Herald.

Faith leaders involved in consultation to find a cemetery site were advised of Carnarvon’s selection in November. But the announcement, pencilled in for December 4, was pulled at the last moment amid concerns about community resistance, sources said.

In October 2023, Premier Chris Minns announced half of Moore Park’s 18-hole golf course would be turned into a public park, sparking a backlash from golfers and community members.

MMP chief executive Denise Ora and the premier’s office did not deny plans to convert Carnarvon, leaving the door open to revisit the proposal. The common response: “No decision has been made on any site.”

A NSW government spokesperson said community consultation would occur on any preferred sites before a proposal was put to government.

Carnarvon has a lease on the land until 2035, but this would not have precluded negotiating an early exit.

Members of MMP’s community engagement committee confirmed they had been told about the new site, though Ora issued an edict to members not to speak to media after being contacted by the Herald.

She said the investigation considered various options, including “Crown land, private land, green space and much more”, and that finding additional land was imperative to resolve the burial site supply crisis.

“Any preferred sites that are pursued for new cemeteries will be done in consultation with key stakeholders and the community; once consultation is completed, our proposal will be provided back to government to decide on a pathway forward,” she said.

Other sites nearby were also considered suitable, said industry sources speaking on condition of anonymity, including the privately owned Strathfield Golf Course and Lidcombe TAFE.

Labor MP Lynda Voltz said converting Carnarvon would be met with “universal” community opposition. It was a widely used public golf course and was important for biodiversity.

“I am sure I would be joined by a couple of thousand golfers and local residents when I chain myself to the front gates in protest if this went ahead,” she said.

A Cumberland Council spokesperson said it was not aware of any proposal regarding Carnarvon.

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