Visual Tributes

What is the difference between a coffin and a casket?

This type of commemoration is especially meaningful and does much to help family and friends appreciate the life that has been lived.

Your chosen photos and videos are carefully edited and crafted into a visual presentation accompanied by music. This three to five minute visual tribute uses light, sound, music, imagery and motion to create a powerful and moving tribute that tells the story of a life and leaves loving impressions of the person who has died.

A beautifully professionally printed 50cm x 40cm canvas print is prepared for display at the service and is then given to the family with the compliments of Trevor and Don Burstow.

Additional prints can be purchased for $89.00 each.

Bereavement Support is a complimentary service provided to families cared for by Burstows. We have partnered with The Grief Centre to ensure that you and your family receive the very best support.

A letter will be sent to you explaining the service, and then one of the Bereavement Support Team from The Grief Centre will phone approximately 6-8 weeks after the funeral. They are available to keep in touch with you and other family members over the coming year.

Families also receive a brochure and booklet with information on grief and loss, some of the feelings you or family members may be experiencing, along with suggestions that may be helpful during this time.

The Bereavement Support worker can provide a listening ear, and they can arrange for any further information, support, or resources that may be useful to you. Burstows also offers a complimentary counselling session with a qualified counsellor which is available to be used by you or another family member.

These services are all provided free of charge as part of Burstows commitment to going the extra mile and providing you and your family with the very best of service and support.

Personalising the coffin or casket

If you wish, you may personalise the coffin. Here are ideas others have used.

Use folk art, decoupage or colour
Apply significant stickers or adornments
Choose a special fabric interior
Invite friends to sign the coffin at the ceremony

Your funeral director can show you photographs of a range of coffins and caskets.

However, we recommend that you also make a visit to see the items at the funeral home.

See our selection range
for descriptions and prices:

Coffin Selections

Coffins - Traditional Coffins - Contemporary Coffins - Interiors

See a range of Unique and Environmental Coffins.

Casket Selections

Caskets

So many families now acknowledge the value of a beautiful service sheet. Once a document simply used to allow attendees at the funeral to follow the service, the Burstows-prepared service sheet now reflects the uniqueness of a loved one and has become a cherished memento.

Utility room with printing and binding equipment.

Because we value making every service personal, all our showcased designs can be modified to accommodate colour schemes and text in accordance with your wishes. Most of our designs have interchangeable backgrounds, enabling you to exchange them for personal images.

Alternatively, our qualified designers can develop a completely new design to meet your wishes. As this requires significant extra time, a small additional fee will apply in these cases.

See our Service Sheet Design Selection.

Size Guide (Each page is A5 size)

A graphic illustrates different page counts for a folded pamphlet or booklet.

Our client families value our personalised thank you card service. There is great healing in sending a thoughtful message to those you wish to thank.

Carefully folded into small, four-sided cards, these thank you cards can be modified to contain as much or as little text as you wish. Designed with the left-hand inside page blank for your personal handwritten messages, our thank you cards add a personal touch to your message. All our cards are placed into special envelopes.

See our Thank You Card Design Selection.

4 Pages: $3.50 each

Size Guide (Each page is A6 size)

Sample Messages

Sample (A):

"Rest peacefully in some place green, some place nice, some place that's called paradise"

We wish to thank you most sincerely for the loving kindness you showed to us all at this time of great sadness and loss. Your presence was a great testament to the man Mal was. 

 ~The Franks Family~

Sample (B):

We would like to thank you for your contribution in celebrating Mali's life. Sharing with us the joy she brought to us in so many ways.

~Jeremy, Teneille, Joel, Adam & Ella ~

Sample (C):

"This day will be remembered and quietly kept, no words are needed, we will never forget"

We wish to thank you most sincerely for the care, friendship, love, prayers and support that we received from our family and friends following the loss of our beloved Brian; husband, father, father-in-law, grandpa, brother & friend.

Sample (D):

Our family would like to express our sincere thanks for your support and sympathy. It is deeply acknowledged and kindly appreciated.

 ~Mark, Julie, Rhonda & Jane~

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, we just can't be there. If you have family or friends who are unable to attend a service being held in the Chapel, we can accommodate their needs by using one of the many benefits of the Internet.

Provided your friends and family have a standard online connection and a basic understanding of the Internet, they will be able to play a live video (known as streaming) of your loved one's service on their computer from anywhere in the world.

For families wishing to use this service, the funeral will be recorded inside the TS Burstow Chapel and edited live by one of our audiovisual technicians from within the Chapel. The video is then uploaded onto the Internet in real time so that anyone is able to see and hear the service as it proceeds. Please note, some families may choose for the webstream to be accessible only by invitation.

At Burstows, we understand the importance of the funeral and, as a tangible help to those separated by distance, web streaming is now available as a complimentary service for all funerals held in the TS Burstow Chapel.

You can view a funeral via webstream by going to the Tribute Centre page of this website https://www.burstows.com.au/tribute-centre

A technician at a soundboard in a church.

The Pioneers Room, Burstows' catering facility, is located on-site but separate from the Chapel and Funeral Home. This facility provides a private venue to meet after the funeral where the atmosphere is friendly and uplifting. The Pioneers Room has been the setting for many gatherings where family and friends have laughed, cried and begun the healing together.

Our delicious comfort food choices are freshly prepared and baked on-site on the day of your gathering.

Room Hire - $150.00

Please note:

Room hire allows use of the lounge for 90 minutes
Use of The Pioneers Room after normal business hours will incur an extra fee.
All prices include GST
The premises are not licensed to serve alcohol

Menu Selection

For just $19.50 per person, plus room hire of $150, a buffet style offering will include gourmet sandwiches, slices and petite blueberry, double choc, luscious raspberry, and pineapple and cream muffins, scones with jam and cream, passionfruit sponge and featured self-serve cheesecake, specialty cake and fruit platter. Our bottomless tea, coffee, juice and water is included. Hot food platters including sausage rolls, mini pies, spring rolls and chunky chips can be added at $40 per platter. A surcharge will apply for weekends or after 5 pm.

After Hours Charges

Monday to Friday before 6pm - Room Hire only

Monday to Friday after 6pm - Room Hire plus an additional $380

Saturdays - Room Hire plus an additional $380

Sundays - Room Hire plus an additional $380

Public Holidays - Room Hire plus an additional $480

Three distinct floral arrangements for funerals.

Select flowers that were meaningful to the person who died or solely as an expression of your love. Perhaps you can think of something more appropriate than flowers to be displayed on the coffin or casket. That is fine too.

With the individual needs of our families in mind, we have sourced a wide range of memorial urns, enabling you to select with ease a final resting place for your loved one that closely reflects their individuality and to help you keep your memories close. We hope you can find something special in our range that you can turn to when you need to - something that you can look to or hold onto - and remember.

Whether you wish to hold your loved one close to you in your home, to scatter their ashes in their favourite place; to wear them close to your heart in an ash pendant or to have a memorial in your garden, we hope our extensive selection will enable you to find a perfect way to memorialise your loved one. Our urns are made from a wide variety of materials including timber, brass, stainless steel and crystal with biodegradable options for placing in both water and soil. Exquisite pieces created from sterling silver and gold are available in our jewellery selection.

See the range of available urns and jewellery.

At Burstows, everything we do we do to honour life. This is also reflected in the care and respect taken when we deal with a loved one throughout the cremation process.

A cremator and equipment in a crematorium.

A waiting room with a view of a cremator.

We always:

Abide by Government regulations, including those of the State Government Health Department.
Follow our own strict policies, procedures and code of behaviour.
Ensure the name plate remains alongside the deceased throughout the cremation process.
Ensure cremated remains of an individual are kept together and not mixed with other cremated remains.

In all cases, only one deceased is cremated at a time (unless there are extenuating circumstances and then only with the approval and knowledge of the family and in accordance with Health Department Regulations).
Burstows embrace transparency and provide a viewing lounge adjacent to the cremation chamber for family members or a family representative desiring to witness the insertion of the coffin into the cremation chamber.

Understanding the Cremation Process

Following the funeral service, the coffin is moved to the crematorium, located on the grounds of the TS Burstow Funeral Home.

Once accepted by crematorium staff the coffin remains sealed throughout the cremation process.

Verification of deceased

Staff verify the identity of the deceased via the name plate on the coffin, ensuring the details match the 'Application for Cremation' (the document required by Health Department Regulations before a cremation can take place) and the two Medical Certificates or Coroner's Cremation Permit received from the funeral director. In addition to confirmation of death the medical certificate indicates if battery powered devices (such as a pace-maker) have been removed.

Flowers

Flowers remaining with the coffin are cremated with the coffin. Families should ask their funeral director during the arrangement process if they wish to retain flowers following the funeral service.

When will the cremation occur?

The cremation will generally be carried out on the same day as the funeral service but, in accordance with Health Department Regulations, can occur up to 48 hours later.

If the cremation is not to occur immediately, the coffin is held in a temperature controlled holding room.

Preparation for cremation

When cremation is due to occur:

The coffin is transferred onto an insertion trolley.
The name plate is removed, and placed alongside the cremator, for identification throughout the process.
The coffin is inserted into the cremator.
In all cases, the coffin and deceased are cremated together. Cremation begins immediately once the coffin is inserted into the cremator.

The cremation process

Cremators generally comprise of a main cremating chamber, a secondary air chamber and a holding chamber.

In accordance with Health Department Regulations, coffins must be cremated individually, in other words, only one coffin is ever placed inside the main cremation chamber at any one time. Likewise there may only be one body per coffin except in special circumstances which require permission from the Director General of Health.

At the completion of the main phase of the cremation process the cremated remains are moved into the holding chamber to finalise the cremation. Once finalised, the cremated remains are placed into a cooling container. When cooled, metallic contents (prostheses, coffin nails etc) are separated from the remains and disposed of in an appropriate manner.

Cremated remains or ashes

Commonly cremated remains are referred to as 'ashes'. However, technically there are no ashes, what are left are the fragile calcified bone fragments.

Ash container

The cremated remains are transferred to a processor to reduce the bone fragments to a fine granule type consistency which in turn is placed in a sealed container. the name plate and an identifying label are attached.

The container accommodates all of the cremated remains. In the unusual event that an ash container is insufficient to hold all of the ashes, an extra container is used.

Ash containers are held until instructions are received from the family or applicant. The ashes are then, subject to Health Department Regulations, dealt with according to the instruction given.

How do we manage the metals after a cremation?

After a cremation, metals remaining range from nails, staples and fittings from the coffin/casket, through to orthopedic implants, jewellery and even dental implants. These are separated and collected for recycling by OrthoMetals.

OrthoMetals is a fully certified; family owned and operated business and take great care in the recycling of remaining metals for crematoria.

At their partner foundries, the sorted metals are smelted for re-use. None of the metals will be recognisable and are reused for other purposes.

The metals are sold at intraday prices (precious metals) or market prices (non-ferrous and implants).

After deduction of OrthoMetals costs, most of the proceeds are returned to the crematoria.

Burstows choose to donate the full proceeds to charity and our current beneficiaries are:

Toowoomba Hospice
The Toowoomba Hospital Foundation
Toowoomba Legacy Inc.

Interesting Facts

Over 130 000 people die in Australia each year.
56% of people currently opt for cremation with the number slowly increasing. In urban area where crematoria are more readily available the rate approaches 70%.
Cremation is usually not acceptable within Orthodox Judaism, Islam and Eastern Orthodoxy. However, most Christian denominations approve cremation, and it is the preferred method among Hindus and many Buddhists.
The Roman Catholic Church no longer considers there to be a danger that Christian cremation will be associated with non-Christian belief, or with a denial of such doctrines as the resurrection of the body, immortality of the soul, and the existence of eternal life. The Catholic Church recommends cremated remains are disposed of in a way that indicates respect for the body of the deceased person. A memorial in a public place is favoured so that even in death the deceased person's commitment to Christianity is still proclaimed.
Once the crematorium has accepted the coffin it may not be opened.

One person is only ever cremated at a time. The only exception is in the case of a mother and baby or twin children. It may also be acceptable for both a mother and baby or twin children to be in the same coffin. In these instances, the process would only occur as a result of a direction from the authorised family member.
A cremator is made from refractory (heat resistant) bricks and fuelled by natural gas.
All coffin handles are cremated unless they hinder the cremation process.
The time taken to cremate will depend on many factors including body mass, bone density and the materials from which the coffin is manufactured. The average time for an adult cremation is 90 minutes at a temperature of between 800 and 1000 degree Celsius.
On average from insertion to final cooling the cremation process may take up to four hours.

Now complimentary with all services held in the TS Burstow Chapel, following the service you will also receive this presentation on a USB as part of the service recording, as a keepsake. Additional copies are available through our reception.

How to prepare your photos

Firstly, choose the photos and videos you would like to use. Number the photos from one to thirty in the order you would like them to appear. Indicate the footage from the video and the beginning and end times. Then give the hard copy (that is, USB, DVD, portraits out of frames, printed pictures) to your funeral director or if you wish to submit media material electronically via email, please discuss with your funeral director. We have a submission portal to enable uploading to a dedicated online platform.

Thank You Card