Funeral services in Temuka began in 1878 with G.W. Rutland and J. Blythe. In 1883, Joseph Beri, an Italian cabinetmaker, started a furniture and funeral business on King Street. In 1895, his wife, Florence Beri, took over the business, selling furniture and prams as well as providing funeral services. She later hired Leonard Scrimshaw in 1899. By 1901, both were trained in embalming and had bought a horse-drawn hearse. At that time, there were two undertakers in Temuka.

In 1905, Leonard Scrimshaw opened his own business. After a fire, he moved to a new King Street location in 1924 and in 1929, he converted a car into a hearse.

Other funeral directors also worked in the area. Stan Erwood, who trained with Scrimshaw, began working from home in 1932. He rented a hearse at first and bought his own in 1938. In 1943, he bought the Beri business.

When Scrimshaw retired in 1945, his employee Bill Galbraith took over. The business later merged with Stan Erwood’s when he retired in 1964. Bill and Donald Galbraith then carried out most funerals in the town. In 1966, they stopped making their own caskets and focused more on supporting families.

Eion McKinnon bought the business from Donald Galbraith, who stayed on until retiring in 2003 after 50 years. The business was trading as RW Galbraith & Son and Donald run the business from behind his furniture shop in the centre of town. Eion bought a building at 26
King Street (previously a vet clinic) and converted it into a funeral home, which is the current site of Galbraith Funeral Services.

In 2025, Betts Funeral Services, located in the neighbouring town of Timaru and owned by Julian Donaldson and Mitch Ireton, purchased Galbraith and Geraldine Funeral Services from Eion. Craig Wilson has been the recognisable face of Galbraith and Geraldine Funeral Services since 2019, and continues to manage the companies, supported by the team at Betts.