Canberra has no national cemetery similar to Arlington in Washington. It means that leading Australians are buried or their ashes scattered in various parts of Australia and, indeed, the world. Most notably, the bodies or ashes of Australia’s dead Prime Ministers are in graves in quite obscure places, if marked at all.
Some of the graves, especially that of Ben Chifley, are not in good condition. The epitaph on his grave has weathered beyond legibility. Clearly the family should have the final say on the type and place of a memorial. However, at present there is no national cemetery option; and there should be one. A starting point could well be a place with memorials to all the dead Prime Ministers with plaques telling something of their life, where they are buried, where their ashes or in Harold Holt’s case something about his disappearance in the surf. It is understandable that in the past families of Australian leaders did not want burials or memorials in Canberra. Canberra was a smaller place and somewhat remote. That is no longer the case. Further the creation of the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier in Canberra showed that Canberra, as the national capital, is the place for events, memorials, institutions and symbols of national significance.
It should be possible for that to include the funerals and burial places of Prime Ministers and other people of national stature. It may be that some families will not wish this. In those cases those wishes should be respected. But at least the option of burial in a national cemetery should be created. Some may argue that it is not the Australian way to construct memorials; that our way is more modest, unassuming and egalitarian. That may be the case. However, that Australian national trait (if there is such a thing) can be reflected in the nature of the cemetery. It need not be ostentatious. Parliament House, in some respects, captures Australian democratic values in the way the people can walk on grass over the top the top of the building.