People could spend their afterlife as part of an underwater cemetery memorial dive site on Queensland’s Gold Coast, with the council proposing a submerged resting place for burial urns in the city’s Broadwater.

The idea is based on the Neptune Memorial Reef in Florida in the United States and it is hoped the ocean-bed cemetery would attract diving tourism.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate told Channel 7 that people’s ashes could be mixed with environmentally-friendly materials to create a dive precinct.

“Major cities in Australia and the world are running out of spaces to bury people,” he said.

In time to come, if people want to dive, say hello, they can do so and have a bit of fun with it.”

He said the precinct could be positioned about 2 nautical miles off the spit, near a proposed underwater dive pyramid.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people – they said we’re a coastal city, 60 kilometres of coast … so many people during the day, they go ‘Gee I wish I was in the ocean’,” he said.

“This way you can have your wish granted forever.”

Gold Coast Councillor Dawn Crichlow has backed the idea.

“Water’s very peaceful – look how many people scatter ashes on the Broadwater or in the ocean – people love that,” Cr Crichlow said.

However she suggested it could be placed in the more protected Broadwater, around Wavebreak Island.

“You could use it as a dive site as well – everybody would be happy,” she said.

-ABC