Artist Graves

Monday, 10 May 2004

JUDY TIERNEY: He may look the most unlikely connoisseur of fine art, but Col Fullagar is just
that, and he not only reveres Australia's artists, but their graves as well.

COL FULLAGAR: I developed a great love for Australian art, and as part of my research in trying
to get to know the artists and understand the background of the artists, I invariably would try and
find out where they were buried.

JUDY TIERNEY: This unusual hobby has taken Col Fullagar to cemeteries across the country, in
search of more than a thousand graves he's identified as those of artists whose work and
reputation live on.

This roving bikie's latest nationwide search has brought him to Tasmania where, as he does in all
states, he draws on local knowledge for clues.

His first stop in Tasmania, to plan his search, is a visit to Nevin Hurst's gallery in Hobart.

JUDY TIERNEY: Col Fullagar is keen to track down the gravesite of one of Australia's greatest
artists, Tom Roberts, who died in 1931.

NEVIN HURST: Now, this is a Tom Roberts of Kilmore. Kilmore is in the Longford district. He'd
married a lady from there, one of the Boyes family. You know all about that because of the grave,
don't you?

COL FULLAGAR: Well, yes. He died in Victoria. It was quite unusual for those days. He was
cremated and the ashes were returned and he was buried in the family plot.

JUDY TIERNEY: A visit to Tom Roberts' gravesite is something of a pilgrimage for Col Fullagar.
The artist was and is famous for his depictions of the Australian way of life and for his painting of
the opening of the first parliament in 1901.

COL FULLAGAR: You can't say to people we should look after the graves of our artists without
actually sort of documenting where they are. So I see my role is to do the documentation of
where the graves are, make that as widely known as possible so if people want to pay their
respects to an artist or get some inspiration from the last resting place, they can do so.

JOHN MILLWOOD, ART COLLECTOR: Col, this is my gallery.

COL FULLAGAR: You're kidding me. This is fantastic.

JOHN MILLWOOD: There may be something of interest over here to show you.

JUDY TIERNEY: In Launceston, Col Fullagar meets John Millwood, whose collection of colonial
art is one of the largest in the State.

JOHN MILLWOOD: Mostly artists in the period that I have been collecting were convicts and
many of them died paupers and would be in unmarked graves, so I have no idea where and I've
never really thought about it until Col raised it today.
JUDY TIERNEY: Finally, this is the moment Col Fullagar has been waiting for - in a tiny cemetery
on a northern Tasmanian farming property, the very spot where Tom Roberts's ashes are placed.

COL FULLAGAR: I mean, I have such a love and respect for the art and the artists that it's quite a
humbling feeling. Yeah, it's just, you just feel closer to them, in a way.

You sort of understand them a little bit more. I don't know how you describe that, but it's a funny
feeling.

Vocabulary

Reveres = greatly respects and admires

invariably = always
hobby = activity pursued for pleasure and not money
nationwide = across the country; all over the nation
clues = information that helps you find the answer to a problem
role = function; job

unlikely connoisseur
A connoisseur is someone who knows a lot about a certain area such as arts or food.
She's a connoisseur of fine wine.
An unlikely connoisseur doesnt look like someone you would expect to know a lot
about art.

graves
A grave is a place where a person is buried.
I want a tree planted on my grave.
A gravestone is a stone that shows where a person is buried.
Another name for a gravestone is a headstone.

cemeteries
A cemetery is a graveyard, a place where many people are buried.

whose
The possessive form of who.
Be careful not to confuse this with who's, the short form of who is.
more information: who's whose
live on
continue to exist
The writer is dead, but his work lives on in the minds of his readers.

roving bikie's
travelling motorcyclist's

brought
The past participle of the verb bring.
more information: bring

draws on
makes use of
It's best to draw on as many sources as possible when researching something.
more information: draw on

gravesite
site or place of a grave

cremated
If a body is cremated, it is burnt as part of a funeral ceremony.
Some people prefer to be cremated rather than buried.

ashes
the remains of the body after burning
His ashes were scattered in the sea.

family plot
A family plot is the place in a grave yard where other members of the family are buried.

something of a pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey to a sacred place.
Most Muslims try to make a pilgrimage to Mecca.
To say that a visit to the grave is something of a pilgrimage means its like a pilgrimage.

was and is
was in the past and is still now
depictions
A depiction is a representation in a drawing, painting or film.
His depictions of violence caused controversy.

first parliament in 1901

Australia changed from being a group of British colonies to an independent country in
1901.
This is know as Federation.

documenting
recording
You can use a digital camera to document your child's development.
The act of documenting is called documentation.
The documentation of that period is not very good.
more information: ion suffix

pay their respects

To pay your respects is to show respect to a person by visiting their grave or going to
their funeral.
We went to the cemetery to pay our respects.

last resting place

grave; place where a body is buried

convicts
In Australia, the word convicts refers to prisoners who, during the seventeen and eighteen
hundreds, were sent to Australia as punishment for their crimes.

paupers
very poor people

unmarked graves
not marked, having no sign; without headstones

the very spot

the exact place
On this very spot the battle was fought.
humbling feeling
A humbling feeling is a feeling of being humble.
Humble means ordinary or not very important.