Thompson Funeral Directors

Thompson Funeral Directors is a funeral director and monumental mason based in Hokitika on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Established in 1894, it is one of the region's longest-running businesses and has served generations of families across Hokitika and South Westland. The company describes itself as a West Coast owned and operated firm providing a full range of professional funeral services to the Westland region. The business was originally established in 1894 and traded as Thompson and McMillan Ltd until 1913, when it was taken over by the Thompson family and became H A Thompson Ltd. It remained in the Thompson family for generations; fourth-generation funeral director Wayne Thompson and his wife Sylvia Thompson retired in 2023. To maintain West Coast ownership, the company was sold to Westland Funeral Services, and it continues to operate under the Thompson Funeral Directors name. Thompson Funeral Directors offers both burial and cremation services, with fully qualified and trained staff available to discuss and plan funeral services. The company provides professional advice and a full range of services including New Zealand and worldwide repatriations. Its cremations are carried out locally on the Coast at Westland Crematorium in Greymouth. In addition to funeral directing, the firm operates as monumental masons, crafting memorials and monuments, and it publishes funeral notices and useful information for families. The company's team includes experienced funeral directors and embalmers. Kris Holland has served as a funeral director for nearly 30 years and is also an experienced embalmer and skilled stonemason, recognised for his long-standing service as a firefighter. Tom Newman is a funeral director and embalmer who gained his New Zealand embalming qualification in 2014 and moved to New Zealand from Buckingham, England, in 2007. Today Thompson Funeral Directors remains a well-known and respected Hokitika business with a long history of serving the community, continuing to provide the professional care and attention that the Hokitika and South Westland communities have come to expect.

Thompson Funeral Directors traces its origins to 1894, when the business was first established in Hokitika on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It originally traded as Thompson and McMillan Ltd. In 1913 the company was taken over by the Thompson family and became H A Thompson Ltd, beginning a family association that would span generations. Over the following decades the firm built a reputation as a well-known and respected Hokitika business, serving families across Hokitika and South Westland. It expanded its services beyond funeral directing into monumental masonry, crafting memorials and monuments, and it operated as a full-service funeral director offering both burial and cremation. The company also provided repatriation services within New Zealand and worldwide. By the 2020s the business was led by fourth-generation funeral director Wayne Thompson and his wife Sylvia Thompson. When they retired in 2023, the company was sold to Westland Funeral Services in order to maintain West Coast ownership. The business continued to trade under the Thompson Funeral Directors name, providing the same professional care and attention that the community had come to expect. In the years following the change of ownership, the company continued to operate from Hokitika with a team that included experienced funeral directors and embalmers such as Kris Holland, who has served as a funeral director for nearly 30 years and is also an experienced embalmer and skilled stonemason, and Tom Newman, who gained his New Zealand embalming qualification in 2014. The firm's cremations are carried out locally on the Coast at Westland Crematorium in Greymouth. Today Thompson Funeral Directors remains an active funeral director and monumental mason, describing itself as a West Coast owned and operated company providing a full range of professional services to the Westland region.

• 2023

  Fourth-generation funeral director Wayne Thompson and his wife Sylvia Thompson retired; company sold to Westland Funeral Services to maintain West Coast ownership.

• 1913

  Company taken over by the Thompson family and renamed H A Thompson Ltd.

• 1894

  Business first established in Hokitika, originally trading as Thompson and McMillan Ltd.

A West Coast owned and operated funeral director and monumental mason with a long history of serving the Hokitika and South Westland communities since 1894.

• Funeral directing services

  Full range of professional funeral services for the Westland region.

• Burial and cremation

  Both burial and cremation services, with cremations carried out locally at Westland Crematorium, Greymouth.

• Repatriation services

  New Zealand and worldwide repatriations.

• Monuments and memorials

  Monumental masonry services crafting memorials and monuments.

• Funeral planning ahead

  Planning ahead services for funeral arrangements.

1. 1Thompson Funeral Directorsthompsonfd.co.nz
2. 2About | Thompson Funeral Directorsthompsonfd.co.nz
3. 3Thompson Funeral Directors - Wikidatawikidata.org