‘Things sort of get mushy’: inside Australia’s cryonics facility where ‘patients’ pay to be frozen
News Source
•Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:00:40 GMT
📰 What Happened
Australia's only cryonics facility sits in a shed in Holbrook, New South Wales. Inside, seven bodies are stored head-down in liquid nitrogen at -196C.
People paid more than $200,000 before they died, hoping to be brought back to life one day. The company behind it, Southern Cryonics, calls them 'patients'.
Experts say bringing frozen people back is just a dream and will probably never work. The company's chair puts the chance at about 10% in 250 years.
🔍 The Backstory
Cryonics started in the United States in the 1960s and has stayed controversial ever since. About 1,000 people are frozen worldwide today.
Southern Cryonics opened in 2023 and is one of only six such facilities on Earth. It chose Holbrook because it is safe from floods and earthquakes and sits midway between Sydney and Melbourne.
Patients stay frozen until science can revive them, or until the company goes out of business. Their contract allows the body to be disposed of in that case.
🎯 Why It Matters
It raises a big question for everyone: is it right to spend huge sums to cheat death? It also shows how far some people will go for a second chance at life.
Australia's only cryonics facility sits in a shed in Holbrook, New South Wales. Inside, seven bodies are stored head-down in liquid nitrogen at -196C.
People paid more than $200,000 before they died, hoping to be brought back to life one day. The company behind it, Southern Cryonics, calls them 'patients'.
Experts say bringing frozen people back is just a dream and will probably never work. The company's chair puts the chance at about 10% in 250 years.
Cryonics started in the United States in the 1960s and has stayed controversial ever since. About 1,000 people are frozen worldwide today.
Southern Cryonics opened in 2023 and is one of only six such facilities on Earth. It chose Holbrook because it is safe from floods and earthquakes and sits midway between Sydney and Melbourne.
Patients stay frozen until science can revive them, or until the company goes out of business. Their contract allows the body to be disposed of in that case.
It raises a big question for everyone: is it right to spend huge sums to cheat death? It also shows how far some people will go for a second chance at life.