The final journey: try a trike hearse

We have all become accustomed to viewing hearses as long and black, with coachwork that harks back to an earlier, perhaps more elegant period. However it was not always this way.

One of the oldest hearses to survive lies in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and dates back to 350BC, from which time all manner of transport has been used to convey the departed to their place of burial.

In fact, the term hearse is derived from the old French 'herce', meaning harrow, and refers to the shape of a wooden framework studded with candles which was customarily fixed above the casket for the journey to the church.

Many of the ideas about the modern 'funeral car' only took firm shape with the arrival of the purpose-built horse-drawn hearses of the 19th century, but now people are beginning to dispense with recent tradition and personalising their farewells - and that's where motorcycle and trike hearses are becoming more commonplace.

We're not sure if there are any trike hearses getting around in Australia at the moment, but I'm sure a phone call to your local funeral director will provide the answer.