A community group in Lightning Ridge, in north-west New South Wales, is seeking legal help in a last ditch attempt to retain the home of its only funeral service.

The Lightning Ridge Funeral Advisory Service was established by returned servicemen in 1980 and is located on the same lot as the former Returned Services League (RSL) sub-branch.

It was founded there because the closest undertaker was 77 kilometres away in Walgett.

The not-for-profit service is run mostly by volunteers, including opal miners, local councillors and former mayors.

After the sub-branch folded in 2012, New South Wales RSL secured the deeds to the property and have now sold the lot where the funeral service is located.

Community-funded morgue

Ormie Molyneux is a volunteer with the service.

"My uncle and a group of other men got together and decided it would be a good idea if we had [a funeral service] because of the tyranny of distance," Mr Molyneux said.

He said undertakers would have to travel from Walgett to collect bodies and prepare them for burial before returning to the town for funerals.

"There was no sealed roads and the roads were rough and no-one wanted to come out here bury people, and they probably wouldn't have got paid so they were reluctant to be here," Mr Molyneux said.

Once established, the Funeral Advisory would take bodies to the morgue in Walgett and after raising enough community funds in the early 1990s, they built their own morgue.

The morgue, out the back of Lightning Ridge Hospital's accident and emergency centre cost $46,000.

Volunteers learnt funeral skills from 'an old mate'

Volunteers with the funeral service dress and apply make-up to the deceased and do the hair of ladies.

Ian Woodcock is president of the funeral service and said the group of volunteers learnt their skills from an "old mate" who used to work for an undertaker.

He said the worth of their service to the community had not been acknowledged by the RSL state branch.

"There have been a lot of questions asked about what was happening, what was going on," he said.

"We really couldn't tell them much except the little we heard — until we had word to say the block had been sold and we had a month to shift our gear."

Mr Woodcock said the group had twice tried to buy the land but their offers were ignored.

Without the funeral service, residents of Lightning Ridge will need to look to Walgett for undertaking. ( ABC Western Plains: Ana Tovey )

"There's been no contact at all, until we heard the agent rang up and said that the building has been sold for $100,000," Mr Woodcock said.

The community group have argued the sale of the land dishonours written agreements signed by the founders of the RSL stating Funeral Advisory Service could use the sheds for as long as it was a viable service.

Mr Woodcock said 15 people had been cared for and buried so far this year by the service, which charges about $3,000 and is cheaper than commercial providers.

The Funeral Advisory Service said it would like to fight the sale in court and has lodged a legal caveat on the land blocking the sale from being processed until the dispute is settled — but it said it could not afford to pursue the legal action.

"The caveat was a stalling tactic to give us time to bring to light to the Lightning Ridge community and people in the surrounding districts just what's going on here," Mr Molyneux said.

"We're not getting a fair go and we believe the RSL should show some common courtesy and at least come and speak to us."

'Undertakers are friends'

In the past four years, Lighting Ridge resident Richard Boehm has farewelled both his parents.

He said some of the of the volunteers visited his mother during most of her final days and this made the Funeral Advisory Service very personal.

Funeral Advisory volunteer Ormie Molyneux wants the service to continue to run out of the community-built sheds. ( Kathleen Ferguson )

"The people running the business are friends with the people that have gone away and it just makes it a little bit easier to cope," he said.

He said it was easier to deal with his grief knowing his parents' funerals were being organised by members of the remote community.

"It makes you feel a lot better and it's a service to the town that we should appreciate a lot more," Mr Boehm said.

He thinks the RSL would probably reconsider selling the property if they saw what the service meant to the community and hoped the successful buyer would consider donating the land back to the Funeral Advisory Service.

The NSW branch of RSL has declined to comment.