Harbour City Funeral Home

Wellington Funeral Directors with a History Dating to 1989

Harbour City Funeral Home began with a young funeral director who wanted families to have more say in how they farewelled someone. Simon Manning established the business in Kilbirnie on 1 August 1989, aged 24, using savings originally intended for a house. His parents, Don and Dorothy, helped get it started. Before the business had a full-time chapel, services were held at a local Methodist church.

They extended their services to Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt in 2003, followed by the Kāpiti Coast in 2019. Today, their funeral homes and chapels serve Wellington, the Hutt Valley and Paraparaumu, covering intimate family gatherings, larger funerals and ceremonies away from their own premises.

A change of ownership came in August 2023, when Harbour City Funeral Home joined Propel Funeral Partners and Simon stepped away from day-to-day operations. The Harbour City name continues as part of that group.

Their approach still centres on family choice. They explain the options rather than insisting on one type of farewell, and families may take part in both preparation and ceremony. Religious and secular traditions, tangihanga and different cultural practices are treated as matters for the family to guide.

The People Behind Harbour City Funeral Home

General manager Geoff Botherway began his funeral-service career in 1998. Danny Langstraat manages the Wellington branch, Brad McAneney manages Lower Hutt and Barry Gee manages Upper Hutt. Eva Rippon works as operations manager and funeral director, while Sarah-Jane Dennis manages the mortuary. Emma Dentice works on the design of personalised funeral tributes.

Their services also involve embalmers, funeral-home assistants, designers and administrators. Bereavement support and practical help are available after a funeral.

Funeral Arrangements and Immediate Assistance

Harbour City Funeral Home offers a 24-hour response for urgent funeral enquiries and transfers across its Wellington, Hutt Valley and Kāpiti service area. They attend after deaths at home, in hospital, residential care or public places, then help families make the necessary arrangements.

Funeral directors coordinate the venue, minister or celebrant, pallbearers and other participants. Ceremonies can be held in their chapels, churches, private homes, community venues or other suitable places. Families may choose a formal religious service, a secular gathering, tangihanga, a private farewell or a memorial without a conventional funeral. Music, readings, flowers, photographs and personal objects can be incorporated, and the team helps with arrangements involving former service personnel and RSA tributes.

Mortuary Care, Embalming and Viewings

After a transfer, their mortuary team handles care, preparation, dressing and presentation of the person who has died. Embalming is discussed with families and consent sought; it is not treated as compulsory for every funeral. Relatives can also take part in dressing or other preparation where arrangements allow.

Viewings are available at the funeral home by arrangement, including outside ordinary office hours. They can also arrange for a loved one to spend time at a family home or another suitable place when circumstances permit.

Burials, Natural Burials and Cremation

Harbour City Funeral Home coordinates burial arrangements at cemeteries across the region, including Mākara, Karori, Whenua Tapu, Taitā, Akatārawa, Awa Tapu and Waikanae. They discuss burial plots, headstone or plaque sections and cemetery requirements.

Natural burial is available through arrangements at Mākara and Ōtaki. These sites have specific rules: embalming is not permitted, approved untreated casket materials are required, and burial and planting follow the natural-burial programme.

For cremations, the funeral directors coordinate the chosen crematorium and the arrangements following a service. Families can retain ashes, scatter or inter them, divide them between sharing urns, or use a portion in memorial jewellery. Decorative urns and suitable containers can be arranged alongside the standard ashes container.

Chapels, Catering and Online Attendance

There are two chapel choices in Kilbirnie: a larger room seating up to 150 and a smaller chapel for around 20 people, with stained-glass windows. The Lower Hutt chapel seats up to 100, Upper Hutt around 130 and the Paraparaumu chapel up to 170. Some locations have additional overflow space and parking. Paraparaumu also has the adjoining Collins Opie Lounge. Their funeral planning information identifies a quiet space for people with sensory sensitivities.

Their chapels have audiovisual and live-streaming facilities, with recordings available for later viewing. Private streaming links allow invited relatives and friends to watch from elsewhere. Streaming for ceremonies at other venues can also be discussed.

Refreshments and catering can be arranged at the funeral homes or suitable outside venues, including gatherings involving family or church groups. Alcohol is not permitted on Harbour City's premises.

Caskets, Printed Tributes and Memorial Products

Casket choices range from simpler designs to polished timber finishes and options suitable for natural burial. They also assist with selecting headstones and plaques, including granite finishes and arrangements for a further inscription on an existing memorial.

Their in-house design work covers full-colour funeral service sheets, printed and digital thank-you cards, and hard-covered memorial books. They prepare photographic presentations, sometimes accompanied by music, and offer digital video books that can combine a slideshow with a recorded funeral service. These are separate from live-streaming itself.

The funeral team can also help write and place newspaper death notices and arrange online remembrance and tribute options.

Hearses, Family Transport and Repatriation

Their funeral vehicles include purpose-built white Chrysler hearses and a black Kia Carnival hearse option. They can arrange transport for family and friends on the funeral day, as well as the hearse journey to a cemetery or crematorium.

Domestic repatriation covers transfers within New Zealand, including inter-island arrangements. International repatriation involves coordination with airlines, embassies, overseas authorities, hospitals, coronial services and insurers where relevant. This includes bringing a person back to New Zealand or arranging transfer overseas.

Funeral Pre-Planning and the Funeral Trust

People planning ahead can record preferences for burial or cremation, the location and style of the ceremony, music, readings, transport, personal tributes and what should happen to ashes. Meetings can take place at the funeral home or, where appropriate, in the person's home. The written preferences guide future arrangements but may be changed by the person authorised to make decisions at the time.

Prepayment is a separate option through the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand's Funeral Trust. It uses a separate trustee structure rather than operating as an insurance product.

Registration, Bereavement and Community Support

Harbour City Funeral Home electronically registers deaths and checks the personal details with families before submission. They help obtain death certificates, arrange JP-certified copies where needed and assist with applications for Work and Income or ACC funeral assistance where relevant. They also supply supporting letters for compassionate airline travel arrangements.

Their bereavement service includes access to a coordinator for families wishing to talk after a funeral. Community activities include public information sessions about funeral choices, annual Christmas remembrance gatherings and a monthly bus service to Mākara Cemetery, which they began in 1992. The cemetery bus normally operates on the third Wednesday of the month.