Company Background
In 1801, Thomas Allison opened his funeral business in Camberwell, London. His son, John Allison, moved to Melbourne later in 1860 and carried on his family’s business. The tradition has been passed on from generation to generation, and now the business is in the sixth generation’s hand.
In the early 1900's, our firm became known for our embalming skills. We carried out the first burial at Fawkner cemetery, Melbourne, for the daughter of a local family. Her burial had to be delayed as the new cemetery would not be ready for six months. However, her family wanted her to be view her on the day of the funeral. Her body needed to be comprehensively embalmed to meet fulfill their wishes. Our skill in this area helped to make the firm's name widespread. Over time, we have gained a reputation for all areas of funeral service.
The former Managing Director, Rob Allison, helped established schools for funeral directors and embalmers. In 1942, Rob had married his wife Vera (nee Andrews) and in so doing John Allison Monkhouse (Melbourne) and TJ Andrews (Sydney) became part of the same business. In the 1960s, he opened the only crematorium in the Australian capital, Canberra. In 1978, he was chosen by the Prime Minister’s Department to arrange the service for the long-serving Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies. As a result, the protocol for State funerals was established. In 1993, Rob also assisted in the repatriation and funeral services for Australia's first Unknown Soldier.
Clive Allison is the current Managing Director and has introduced support and training services for grief counselors for hospitals and bereavement groups, as well as memorial services for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Christmas. He also manufactured coffins in Thailand. Importantly, he assisted in the recovery effort in Thailand over two years.
As a whole, our firm has repatriated deceased persons to many countries in recent times, including Bosnia, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Denmark, England, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Gilbert Islands, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
John Allison/Monkhouse offers you:
- Internationally recognised reputation required for the repatriation of a deceased person anywhere in the world.
- A highly individualised funeral service through our personalised photo montages, online funeral notices and bereavement counselling amongst others.
- Personalised service by staffs who are fluent in several languages such as Thai, English, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Cambodian, Lao, Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
- Professional education and training in Loss & Grief.
- Bereavement Support.