In late 2023 I co-presented a talk about South Brisbane Cemetery at a conference organised by the Annerley Stephens History Group. Through the day I sat and listened to a particularly enjoyable array of presentations, and I thought, ‘what if there was a conference like this, but all about cemeteries instead?’
Three or four months later the first ‘Stories in Stone’ cemetery heritage conference was held in Brisbane before a sell-out audience. And now, in mid-2025, I am knee-deep in organising the second ‘Stories in Stone’ conference, this one due to be held in August 2025.
The original idea was quite a simple one, but it immediately grabbed me as a winner. I mulled it over and scribbled early plans. The aim was to involve presenters from various ‘friends of cemetery’ groups, but after explaining the concept to Stephen Sheaffe of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland (who then organised the first Stories in Stone with me), we realised that there were other experts with experience and specialist knowledge who would also make good speakers.
The six speakers we put together for the programme were Dr Jon Prangnell (on the archaeological excavations at the North Brisbane Burial Grounds), Dr Jennifer Harrison (on the convict-era burial grounds in Brisbane), Jess Parker (on the ‘clasped hand’ headstone motif), Dr Hilda MacLean (on South Sea Islander burial grounds near Logan), Jenny Clark (on World War memorial projects at Balmoral Cemetery), and myself talking about historical religious segregation in local cemeteries. John Pearn also spoke on the role of cemeteries in family and community life.
That first Stories in Stone conference took place in March 2024 at the RHSQ’s Commissariat Store and was a success. All 75 tickets were sold out, and the speakers went down really well. Some papers based on these presentations were featured in the February 2025 edition of RHSQ’s Queensland History Journal.
As soon as the conference ended there was immediate discussion of holding another one. This made sense, but as the RHSQ already had a full event schedule for 2025 (which is the bicentenary of convict Brisbane and the centenary of the Brisbane City Council), I looked to organise the next one independently. A ‘Stories in Stone’ committee was soon formed with Jenny Clark (Friends of Balmoral Cemetery) and also Jess Parker, both of whom had been presenters at the first conference. Wayne Dale from Nundah Cemetery was also involved in the early planning. We were able to secure the Hamilton Town Hall as a venue with the wonderful assistance of Brisbane Living Heritage.
Once again we sought Expressions of Interest from the ‘friends of cemetery’ groups but for various reasons there was little feedback. So the net was cast wider and we eventually put together this excellent line-up:
- Kalila Matthews – Bringing Community to Life Among the Graves: Social Media Engagement, Community, and Cemetery Care
- Lisa Herbert – A case study: the benefits of students taking part in cemetery and grave cleanups’ / Repairing the vandalism: a case study
- Kelly Burstow – Uncovering the Layers of Cemetery History
- Jennie Duke – Unique Information from Cemetery research
- Lisa Herbert – The search for the missing Wolston Park patients: what happened to the cemetery and remains?
- Rebecca Lush – Cemeteries Reimagined: Interpreting Cemeteries as Heritage Places
- Dr Leah Cotterell and Narelle McCoy – Stardust, Wish Me Luck, and other stories: Live performance in cemeteries
- Jenny Clark – Why Does the Brisbane City Council Have so Many Cemeteries?
- Ben Kelly – Managing Our Cemeteries: The Next 100 Years
So things are going well and we are already looking to the future, hoping to establish these conferences as an annual event. When it comes to old cemeteries, there is an endless supply of subject matter to explore, be it from the perspectives of history, anthropology, heritage, sociology, the Arts, religion, administration, and urban planning, to name a few.
While there is no shortage of material, there is still the challenge of involving some of the ‘friends of’ groups in future events, mainly because of the usual issues with community group politics and personalities. But hopefully Stories in Stone will become an annual fixture and everyone will have their chance to be a part of it and help to spread the word about just how utterly fascinating and precious our historical cemeteries are.
Links for ‘Stories in Stone 2025’:
Christopher Dawson 