Tree of Life Services - End of Life & Funeral Services

22/09/2026

22/09/2026

Let’s talk about the fact that around 2040, Australia will reach peak death.

According to Dr Hannah Gould, who is a death scholar and author of the book How to Die in the 21st Century, this period will be a “boomergeddon” and she says that it brings with it a certain range of ideas about what a good death looks like.

“The overwhelming value of end-of-life decisions, particularly among the baby boomer population, is this value of right, autonomy and control,” she says.

For me, a “good death” comes after a life well lived, where we have done the best we can and are at peace with ourselves. If the actual death happens just the way we planned, that’s rare, but unless we plan for it, write down our wishes, have conversations with the people who matter to you about it, you have very little chance of having your wishes met. You don’t have to isolate yourself or be afraid of having these conversations, it certainly won’t hasten your death, it will relieve you of a huge amount of stress and add to your wellbeing.

Planning for your “golden years” from where you’d like to live in the last years of your life, such as a retirement community, a central apartment close to all facilities, or staying in your own home, are all personal choice. Not everyone has these choices of course, particularly if you have cognitive or physical impairment, or are without a home at all, but the majority do.

When it comes to planning your end-of-life phase, this comes with many variables.

If we’re faced with being told we have a terminal illness there are so many different types of treatments and all are dependent on the kind of illness, your general current health, etc, etc.

If your chosen treatments are no longer working and you’re looking at death being the only future, again, there are many options.

I always recommend that if you are told you have a terminal illness, get in touch with your local Palliative Care team.

People who access Palliative Care early have a better quality of life and studies show that they tend to live longer too. Having access to their knowledge and support can be a great relief.

Also, there are End of Life Doulas, or Death Doulas, Death Walker, or End of Life Workers, (people in this field like to use a “label” that better defines them, hence the variety of terms). These people provide non-medical end of life support to the person approaching their end of life as well as their families, and there are a number of these kind and compassionate people who make this their life’s work here on the South Coast of NSW.

This support can be practical, such as completing paperwork, advocating for their client with doctors, hospitals etc, and/or physical and spiritual support. Simply ‘being there’, during the last months of life, creating a beautiful and calming space to be in, providing a shoulder to cry on, looking after daily schedules for visitors and helpers, being there for discussions on any kind of subject their client chooses, being a friend.

There is also the choice of Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD), which is certainly not for everyone, but I believe it is a blessing that we all now have that choice. End of Life Doulas can also help you navigate this process and help you make sure you don’t leave the organisation of this to the last minute, when it’s too late.

Dr Gould recommends one action that everyone should take immediately, even if you don’t plan on dying anytime soon.

“Know who your legal next of kin is,” she says. “If you have a problem with that person making your decisions, change that person. It often happens with young q***r people who maybe have a contentious relationship with their parents. And I say to them, ‘Well, if you were to die, it’s your mum and dad who will be organising the funeral.’ Or maybe it’s your ex-husband, because you’re still technically legally married.”

Gould thinks it’s important to advocate for our wishes – but also, of course, to communicate them. “It doesn’t have to be a big, scary conversation. It can be a Post-It note on the fridge.”

Or even better, you can appoint a trusted person as your Enduring Guardian at any time of your life and this will ensure the person you choose has the final say.

https://www.nsw.gov.au/family-and-relationships/planning-for-end-of-life/choose-enduring-guardian -about-enduring-guardianship

Part of your end-of-life planning usually involves planning for your funeral.

Tree of Life Funerals provide a variety of funeral styles and we ensure the funeral is personalised and crafted to be the way you choose it to be. One of our genuinely caring and compassionate people will come to you to guide you and/or your family through.

We can also recommend End of Life Doulas for you.

Certainly, there’s no need to hold a full funeral service, you can choose the “just cremate me” or “just bury me in a natural burial ground and plant a tree over me”, or you can have a vigil service without any fanfare, a simple service with close family and friends, or a full service with the wider community attending. All of these choices are yours. A memorial service can be held at a later time.

There’s no need to pay a fortune for a coffin or casket either. Keeping things simple, more eco-friendly, yet beautiful, is kinder to your budget, to your family, and to the environment.

You can call Tree of Life Funerals on 0493-276-554 or our partner, Picaluna Beautiful Funerals on (02) 4412-9228 for all your funeral and end of life needs.

www.treeoflifefunerals.com.au

The experienced team at Tree of Life Funerals are here for you at your time of need, providing personal, caring, and individual attention, from Batemans Bay to Narooma.Our personalised and heart-felt funerals, with caring and compassionate people leading the way, are created with love and care, trul...

21/09/2026

We’re all just walking each other home.

As a Funeral Director, Celebrant, and end of life worker, I’ve spoken to many people who are either coming to the end of their lives or are the family and friends of those who have died recently.

People often speak of regrets, but mostly it’s about celebrating the life that’s been lived.

For years now, I have been working for my community here in Batemans Bay and surrounds in the end of life arena. I have held public talks, held events to chat about all things death and dying, educated people as much as I could.

I also created Tree of Life Funerals as I wanted to provide an alternative to the single option for funerals already on offer in the Eurobodalla. I wanted to provide my own version of compassionate, genuine, heart-felt end of life and funeral services to my community. I also wanted to provide eco-friendly and person-friendly services as well as supplying coffins at very reasonable prices without huge mark-ups.

I’ve also supported the development of Walawaani Way Conservation Burial in Bodalla which provides the most beautiful final resting place with natural burials, surrounded by trees, and which was built with love and dedication by the wonderful Fiona McCuaig.

I built up my funeral business with the loving support of my husband. I have developed friendships along the way, friendships with other celebrants, and other lovely people who share my values.

I took on people to work with me and invested a lot of time, money, and a lot of myself into them and their training only for them to fall away as they didn’t really understand how complex it can be to be a funeral director, or life interrupted their plans, but it was what it was and I carried on.

Along this journey, I forgot to look after myself, I forgot about celebrating my own life and I ended up suffering as a result.

I forgot that I needed care as much as anyone.

Since early 2020, I have lived through not only the Covid period like the rest of us, but the early sudden death of my dear cousin who left behind a young widow and their 14 year old daughter, the death of a close childhood friend of my husband’s and all that entails, moving down to the south coast, semi-retiring, starting a business, receiving the heart-breaking news that a very close friend had received a terminal diagnosis with stage four cancer, having my mother-in-law die in her aged care home in Canberra, dealing with the issues around my 90-plus year old mother in Newcastle, her falls, hospital visits, selling her house, placing her in an aged care home in Newcastle near my older sibling, and most recently, seeing my brother on life support in Moruya Hospital after he suffered a massive bleed on the brain while he was at work and not knowing what his future would be as he was evacuated to Canberra hospital.

And then, to top it all off, I came down with an appalling case of shingles, tore the rotator cuff in my right shoulder and was in pain, physically and emotionally, and still had to provide the funerals I loved providing and continue to give of myself during it all.

Thankfully, my partners in business, Picaluna Funerals, stepped up and sent people to me to help me through what was one of the most awful times of my life and we all succeeded in providing beautiful services.

Of course, I didn’t take the time to heal properly and my outlook on life dimmed and I forgot to fully live my own life as I felt burdened by everything I felt I was carrying.

Then, I saw on Facebook that a beautiful friend of mine was holding a women’s spiritual retreat in Bali and I knew I had to go. In the lead up to August this year, I felt my spirits lift as I had that wonderful experience to look forward to.

I took the decision to shut Tree of Life Funerals while I was away so I could totally relieve myself of the mental and emotional attachment to having others run services when I wasn’t here and to immerse myself in the wonderful Bali retreat.

For the first time in four years, I took a complete break.

I returned refreshed, renewed, and feeling much more at peace with my life and life’s circumstances. I’ve also renewed my promise to myself to look after me and to get out there and enjoy life so much more, just like I advise everyone else to do!

It’s like the old joke about the plumber having leaky taps, we forget about our own needs close to home.

So, the moral of all this is, simply, remember to live your life, to enjoy your life, and there’s no need to sacrifice your own health and wellbeing just to get through life’s circumstances and to meet your obligations.

Also, don’t be afraid to put your hand up and ask for help as I did, eventually. This was a big lesson for me, I don’t have to do everything on my own and I can rely on others.

We are all fragile human beings who need other people, even funeral directors!

I have been filled with gratitude and love for the people who came forward to help me during these dark times and I’m now strong enough to properly support others through some of their dark and stressful times whether it’s coming to end of life or for when someone they love has died. I am also more able to be involved with my family and friends and my volunteering with the Batemans Bay Lions Club.

To me, to grow as a human being means living your life on your own terms, to develop rich and meaningful connections to others, to your community, to show care and compassion, and to stand up for your values. It’s not easy, and life doesn’t come with guarantees and we all have to roll with the punches, so to speak.

I’ve remembered that how we experience our life depends a great deal on our attitude and what we focus on. It’s so hard when we have what feels like an avalanche of terrible things falling upon us to keep a good attitude, but I have discovered that our attitude is the key to happiness, that and gratitude, and I am very grateful for my life, even the “bad” bits, particularly the bad bits actually, as they make the sweet times of life so much sweeter, if you choose to make it so.

Soon, I’m going to put the call out for a couple of special people to come and work with Picaluna Funerals and myself with Tree of Life Funerals so we can all continue to provide the love and support for people during the death of someone they care about and to continue to provide even more understanding and compassion and beautiful, heart-felt funerals to our community.

In the meantime, if you or someone you love is in need of end of life or funeral services, please contact Tree of Life Funerals because myself and my colleagues are here for you.

As Ram Dass, a favourite spiritual leader of mine said, “We’re all just walking each other home”.

Lauren Newman
Funeral Director, Celebrant
End of Life Doula, JP

www.treeoflifefunerals.com.au

08/09/2026

Palliative care is high quality health care and support for people living with a life-limiting illness and their families.

Palliative care is about maintaining quality of life. The aim of palliative care is neither to hasten nor postpone death. Rather, the focus is on living as well as possible, for as long as possible.

Palliative care helps people to live as well as they can by managing pain and symptoms to ensure their quality of life is maintained as the illness progresses.

Palliative care identifies and treats symptoms and issues associated with life-limiting illness which may be physical, emotional, spiritual or social. Palliative care is a family-centred model of care, meaning that family and carers can also receive practical and emotional support.

Research shows that people who utilise Palliative care services have a better quality of life and tend to live longer than those who don't.

Tree of Life Funerals have end of life workers (Doulas) who can work along side palliative care providers to act as advocates for those coming to end of life, as well as providing a variety of support measures, including spiritual, for the dying and their families.
www.treeoflifefunerals.com.au
https://palliativecare.org.au/about-pca/

Promoting quality palliative care since 1991

02/07/2026

At some point in our lives, we all face the question, "how will I ever get through this?". You know the moments — a sudden loss, a messy break up, an unexpected diagnosis or a career halted…

Do yourself a favour and listen to this podcast, it's for everyone ❤

At some point in our lives, we all face the question, "how will I ever get through this?". You know the moments — a sudden loss, a messy break up, an unexpected diagnosis or a career halted… These questions are close to Lucy Hone's heart, not just because of her work as a resilience researcher, ...

02/07/2026

The wonderful End of Life Doulas at Preparing The Way offer practical advice on "what to say when someone faces end of life"

Learn what to say and what to avoid, when someone is facing end of life, with practical tips for listening, empathy, and meaningful support.

30/06/2026

Planning is key to limit the environmental impact of your body after death.

Think about the environmental legacy you’d like to leave for future generations and put it into action.

From cardboard coffins and natural burials, Australians are becoming more open to alternative farewells.

To ensure your wishes are followed for what happens to your body after death, the key is to plan, to write it all down and to share this with family and/or the person you’ve chosen as your Enduring Guardian.

People need to make many decisions as they face the end of their life, but what happens to their bodies can make a significant difference to the impact on the environment.

In a natural burial, there is minimal preparation of the body. The deceased is usually buried in a natural-fibre cloth shroud and/or biodegradable coffin at a shallow depth and decomposes into the surrounding soil naturally over time. It results in negligible release of greenhouse gas and returns the body to the earth.

Swapping a lacquered timber or MDF coffin with plastic parts for untreated pine, cardboard or wicker reduces emissions from any burial as well as from cremations.

It’s estimated that a mahogany veneer coffin with plastic handles and linings leads to more than 170kg of emissions if cremated.

By comparison, a natural burial with a cardboard coffin and rope handles emits less than 10kg, and of course, a cremation with a cardboard or eco-friendly coffin is more environmentally friendly too.

The biggest impediment to more sustainable deathcare is a tendency for Australians to leave funeral decisions until after a loved one dies.

Like most things in life, planning is very important when it comes to what type of deathcare you require.

Think about the environmental legacy you’d like to leave for future generations and put it into action.

Lauren Newman, Tree of Life Funerals

14/06/2026

“Green” funerals and planning

The No. 1 trend in funerals is personalisation, which I absolutely love, followed by seeking a more environmentally friendly funeral.

The personalisation of what a person wants for their funeral service is a wonderful thing. Choosing the venue, the type of service, who speaks, the music that’s played, whether they’d like a natural burial, a “standard” burial, or to be cremated and then their ashes scattered or interred brings comfort to people.

In some countries and in a couple of places in Australia, there are also some new offerings for the deceased, such as human composting, vertical burial and water cremation, none of which are available in the Eurobodalla as yet, but natural burial and shrouded burial are available at Walawaani Way Conservation Burial in Bodalla.

It is now legal to have shrouded burials in NSW (with the permission of the Cemetery), as well as shrouded cremations (with the permission of the Crematorium), so the environmental impact is reduced by not having to use a coffin, just a shroud bearer.

I often hear “all I want is a cardboard box and then my body to be returned to nature”.

Great, we can do that, but does your family know your wishes?

Have you prepared all your end of life planning paperwork such as a Will, an Advance Care Directive, your funeral plan, and told the people who matter to you where to find them all? Having to try and find your written wishes after you’ve died, or even worse, finding them only after the funeral has taken place, can be heart breaking for the people who care about you.

Did you know that a few hours of planning could spare the people close to you enormous, avoidable pain, confusion, and heartache?

Did you know that end of life planning isn’t about death at all? It’s about living on your own terms, right up until the very end and then being cared for after death in your preferred manner.

Talking about death often teaches us how to live, it can also ease your mind.

You can contact Tree of Life Funerals https://www.treeoflifefunerals.com.au/ to find out more, or Walawaani Way and go on a guided tour of their beautiful grounds.
https://www.walawaaniway.com/

11/06/2026

Did you know that a few hours of planning could spare the people close to you enormous, avoidable pain, confusion, and heartache? That end of life planning isn’t about death at all? It’s about living on your own terms, right up until the very end and then being cared for after death in your preferred manner.

Contact Tree of Life Funerals to find out more about this in the Eurobodalla. email: [email protected]

See the link below for the full article:

Understand your end of life planning options, from advance care directives to wills, and why it matters for you and those close to you.

09/06/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1FmWPt9qYn/

☘️ Only the Irish looked at death and decided the appropriate response was to throw a party. The Irish wake isn't a failure to grieve properly. It's a sophisticated cultural technology for processing loss that the rest of the world is only beginning to understand. You gather everyone who loved the person, you put them in a room together, you tell every story you can remember about the deceased, and you laugh until you cry and cry until you laugh and by morning something has shifted that couldn't have shifted any other way.

The tradition goes back centuries, rooted in a pre-Christian Irish relationship with death that treated the transition between worlds as something to be marked with ceremony, music, storytelling, and community. The body was never left alone. The family was never left alone. The community showed up and stayed, not out of obligation but out of a genuine understanding that grief shared is grief made survivable. That wisdom crossed every ocean the Irish crossed and showed up in Irish-American communities where wakes became legendary for exactly the same reasons.

What gets missed in the outside perception of the Irish wake is the profound respect underneath the laughter. The stories being told aren't trivializing the person who died. They're refusing to let that person be reduced to their absence. Every laugh in that room is an act of love. Drop a comment if your family still does it this way and follow The Irish Remembered for more. 🕯️☘️