At this year’s National Men’s Shed Awards proudly supported by Fair Dinkim Builds, the Jurien Bay Community Men’s Shed was awarded the Innovative Fundraising Activity for their unique “Rest in Reef”. That is a reef made using reef balls with a deceased person’s ashes blended into a special blend of concrete designed to withstand being immersed in the sea for hundreds of years.
Organiser of the project and M
en’s Shed member Ian Stiles said that a few years ago the widow of a past member Ron Sutherland, requested his ashes somehow be incorporated into one of the concrete reef balls.
Following the construction of an artificial offshore reef and dive trail off the coast of Jurien Bay, with support from the local Department of Parks and Wildlife, the Jurien Bay Community Men’s Shed was granted permission to install up to 100 mini-reef balls in the form of a “Rest in Reef” after a painstaking 18 months.
Once the ashes have been incorporated into the concrete and the reef ball constructed, it is then transported to the Jurien Bay Marina where it is loaded onto a specially fabricated platform fitted to the designated vessel. The relatives and friends of the deceased can hold a service on the beach on the beach opposite the dive trail, with the shed members who is an Acolyte of the Roman Catholic Church or religious person, celebrant, or other person to say a few words. From there, they can watch the reef ball be launched from the boat into position in the reef. It is then checked by a diver to ensure proper positioning and alignment within the artificial reef.
Marine growth like soft corals, molluscs, seaweed, and algae will start growing on them in a very short period, ensuring they becomes a part of the reef and marine eco system. Fish have been seen to inspect the reef balls minutes after they have landed on the seabed. A business card size stainless steel plaque is placed on a plinth atop the memorial limestone wall near the pathway leading to the old jetty and artificial reef area. A biography of the deceased person is then entered into the Rest in Reef Register, which is kept in the Jurien Bay Community Resource Centre for historical purposes, and where it can be inspected by the public.
When the first Rest if Reef ball was installed with Ron Sutherland’s ashes, his wife and two sons, watched as the reef ball was lowered into the sea. Ron’s wife Gabie said it was fitting that her late husband was the first to have his ashes incorporated into an artificial reef. “He loved spear fishing, scuba diving and fishing. He had a boat and he’d go out into his boat and his sons would join him. He loved the fish, the wildlife, the diversity of the ocean, being in the water and being a part of the ocean when he’d be scuba diving” she said.
His son, Ben Sutherland, went out for a swim around to check out his father’s new reef ball shortly after. He said “It already had some fish swimming around it and I noticed a nice baby Baldchin groper … that was one of his favourite fish to see when he went scuba diving and look at and follow around”.
The fee for the service is currently $1650 for this service, a small portion of which is paid to Reef Balls Australia, which holds the patent on the reef ball mould. The shed is the only organisation or business in Australia authorised to offer this service. The project is ongoing with an estimated lifespan of at least 20 years.
The shed’s president Geoff Bunn said “Jurien Bay Community Men’s Shed is incredibly proud to have been recognised by AMSA for our innovation in fundraising. We believe this is due recognition of the incredible vision and effort of our foundation members who first developed and constructed an artificial reef off the coast of Jurien Bay, before coming up with the concept of a Rest in Reef which would add to the new artificial reef. The Rest in Reef project creates a unique and lasting memorial site for deceased persons that have some affinity with the ocean and who take up the option of having their ashes interred in a rest in reef ball.”
The Jurien Bay Community Men’s Shed has approval for 100 Rest in Reef balls to extend their artificial reef. So far, 17 reef balls have been installed in the popular diving spot. It is becoming more popular as word of it spreads, with the shed receiving enquiries from all parts of Australia.
