Heath Ledger cremated and celebrated in Perth

Heath Ledger’s body was cremated in a private ceremony in Perth, Australia on Saturday afteroon.

A public memorial at Penrhos College was attended by hundreds of mourners, including Heath’s ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams and members of his family, in the morning before the family and Michelle moved onto the intimate funeral at Fremantle Cemetery.

The service at the cemetery’s small chapel was attended by just 10 people and included a reading by of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 (’Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’) by Michelle. However, after the hour-long ceremony, the group opened up again for a wake at the Indiana Tea House on nearby Cottesloe Beach, Heath’s favourite beach.

At least 50 people attending the invite-only event and were spotted drinking on the restaurant’s patio through the late afternoon until, at sunset, a large group of mourners ran into the ocean. Michelle was dragged into the water by Heath’s sister Kate while Heath’s father Kim Ledger cheered support from the restaurant’s balcony.

An onlooker told Us Weekly: “Everyone in the water started slapping the water and shouting, ‘Heath,’ in kind of mass relief that the stress of the occasion was behind them.”

“[One person added:] ‘The sun goes down on our love. But it will never go down on Heathy.’”

Heath died as the result of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs last month and is survived by his parents, sister Kate and two year old daughter with Michelle, Matilda.