Funeral Directors

As long as there are people there will be undertakers – there is no escaping the fact that people die and need to be buried.
By Artemis Gouros

In the early 20th century, funeral directors or rather, undertakers, were not highly regarded in Australia. The only press attention they received was limited to coverage of ceremonial funerals or periodic criticisms regarding costs. In the years following WWI, Australian undertakers quietly metamorphosed into funeral directors and developed a professional organisation. Despite this, Australians did not exhibit any interest in funeral directors beyond the necessary, such as when a family member died, until the 1960’s. In the 1970’s, funeral directors were criticised by the media for ‘overcharging’. The industry changed again after 1980, remodelling itself, abandoning American practices and forming its own identity.

History
There has never really been a comprehensive historical study of undertakers. Family run funeral homes put their histories on the internet but the origins of the profession have not been researched, the assumption being that the equation is simple; death necessitates a means of disposing of the body. A little investigation will show that it is not that simple. Different cultures throughout the centuries have dealt with death in many different ways usually dictated by religious practices. Other factors that influence funerary practices are cultural and economic. In a society such as Australia it is amazing to see how not only funeral directors but also cemeteries are equipped to deal with the special needs of virtually any faith.

Some cultures dictate that enormous amounts of money be spent on lavish funerals and ornate crypts, others don’t allow cremation. According to anthropologists, humans worldwide are alike in their instinctive aversion to corpses and unconsciously or openly stigmatise those whose job it is to deal physically with them. This reflexive distaste may help to explain why the funeral industry has seen so much criticism and condemnation in the press in recent years. We are a death denying society so naturally we are inclined look askance at the people who profit from handling corpses.

Urban Business
Are funerals an urban business? The commercialisation of what was once a primarily religious ritual? If so, funeral companies therefore shape an important aspect of culture and society. They support, represent and transform cultural practices. An example of this is the viewing of the body, you rarely find a deceased person laid out in their living room for viewing as they were not so long ago. Nor do family members wash, dress or lay the body out themselves anymore. Somewhere along the way these jobs were passed to the funeral directors and became part of their service. It is a direct result of death moving away from the home, nowadays the majority of deaths occur in a hospital. We are no longer close to death and this cultural shift has naturally been reflected and supported by funeral directors.

In Australia there are scores of family run funeral homes that have existed for decades. There are now also many corporate owned funeral directors. It is not surprising that the death care industry has marched along and kept up with the times, whether corporate owned or privately run, they supply a necessary service. The pre-paid funeral option is one that people especially love to criticise. I challenge anyone, however, to find fault with a system where a person can pay for tomorrow’s funeral at today’s prices, be guaranteed a service and not lose money on their investment. It is foolproof, responsible and definitely not a new concept. The Ancient Romans were fond of the pre-paid funeral and contributed throughout their lives to a fund to ensure they were laid to rest properly. Although their motivation was primarily religious and ours is more social, it is the same thing. People need to be buried and they have always been prepared to pay for it.

Rather than bemoaning the high cost of burial, why don’t we make it easier for people to pay for what suits them? Realistically everyone is allowed to shop around and purchase the funeral that they can afford. We should encourage people to not be cowed by social pressures into choosing coffins and services out of their price range. It is illogical to blame a service provider for charging too much when they offer a range of prices to suit everyone. It is up to the individual, some people may want to purchase an elaborate funeral. This does not mean that everybody should feel obliged to spend a fortune especially if they are unable. People should take responsibility for themselves, when setting out their funeral requirements in their Will a person can ensure they have left sufficient funds or choose something that their family can afford. For people on fixed incomes who cannot afford to pre-pay or to bury their families there could be a government provided funeral. Why not? There is government assisted living and healthcare so why not assisted burial?

Education
The Department of Fair Trading and the Department of Health are two major State Government bodies that oversee the funeral trade. The Department of Fair Trading says that funeral directors are free to set their own costs however they must not make misleading claims or use unfair sales tactics. It is true that the industry is self regulated and that funeral directors do not need formal qualifications to operate in NSW. However, the Australian Funeral Directors Association (AFDA) and the Funeral Directors Association of NSW both conduct training courses as do large private companies such as SCI Australia, owner of both White Lady Funerals and Simplicity Funerals.

There is now a TAFE course in mortuary practices for the first time in Australia, introduced in October 2001 at the Southbank Institute in QLD. The course relates to the skills and requirements required for working as a mortuary assistant within the public or private health care industry Australia wide. There is no denying that the funeral industry has changed dramatically in the last hundred years but then, so has the world. Whether a funeral is supplied by a small family run business or a corporate owned chain, the services available are the same and the choice relating to price is ultimately up to the purchaser.