The small town of Kununurra, in far north Western Australia, is facing an unusual social dilemma — where to bury its dead when the cemetery closes.

Despite being the Kimberley's newest town, gazetted in 1961, its cemetery is almost full.

Part of the site, on the corner of Barringtonia Avenue and Hidden Valley Road, sits on a bed of rock, meaning graves can not be dug to the required depth.

Another portion floods regularly and can not be used for burials, while the region's annual monsoonal deluge adds complexity to the remaining plots.

Coffin could not sink into ground

Kununurra resident Keith Wright, 83, said he remembered going to a funeral at the end of the dry season some years ago.

He said he watched as his friend's coffin refused to sink.

"It kept bobbing up," Mr Wright said.

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