Programme
Stories in Stone 2025 - Programme Outline*
Saturday 16 August 2025, 9am – 4pmHamilton Town Hall, Brisbane - corner of Rossiter Parade and Racecourse Road
(See below this outline for extended details of each presentation.)
Session 1: Heritage Care and Headstones (9:15 - 10:35)
- Kalila Matthews
‘Bringing Community to Life Among the Graves: Social Media Engagement, Community, and Cemetery Care’
- Lisa Herbert
a) ‘A case study: the benefits of students taking part in cemetery and grave cleanups’
b) 'Repairing the vandalism: a case study'
Tea break - 20 minutes
Session 2: Cemeteries in History (10:55 - 12:30)
- Kelly Burstow
‘South Brisbane Cemetery: Uncovering the Layers of Cemetery History’
- Kay Duke
‘Unique Information from Cemetery research’
- Lisa Herbert
‘The search for the missing Wolston Park patients: what happened to the cemeteries and remains?’
Lunch break - 45 minutes
Session 3: Art and Interpretation in Cemeteries (1:15 - 2:15)
- Rebecca Lush
‘Cemeteries Reimagined: Interpreting Cemeteries as Heritage Places’
- Leah Cotterell and Narelle McCoy
‘Stardust, Wish Me Luck, and other stories: Live performance in cemeteries’
Tea break - 20 minutes
Session 4: Managing our Cemeteries: Past, Present and Future (2:35 - 4:00)
- Jenny Clark
‘Why BCC has so Many Cemeteries’
- Ben Kelly
‘The Next 100 Years’
Stories in Stone 2025 - Presentation Details
Kalila Matthews
'Sharing Stories Beyond the Graves: How Social Media Engages Communities in Cemetery Care and History'
This presentation will explore how social media can foster community engagement and preserve cemetery heritage. Drawing on my volunteer work at South Brisbane Cemetery, I will share how platforms like TikTok and Instagram have helped educate people of all ages about grave cleaning, cemetery history, and unique grave types. I will also highlight how my content has encouraged more people to participate in grave cleaning events and other activities. The talk will focus on: Personal Experience: My journey as a volunteer cleaning graves and connecting with others through Guardian Angels Days; Social Media Impact: How my videos and posts inspire participation in grave cleaning and spark interest in cemetery heritage; Community Engagement: Stories and quotes from viewers and participants who were motivated to engage with cemetery preservation efforts.
Lisa Herbert
‘A case study: the benefits of students taking part in cemetery and grave cleanups’
This presentation will discuss Iona College's cemetery volunteer program and the impacts it's had on students and their families.
'Repairing the vandalism: a case study Heritage Care and Headstones'
When 143 graves were vandalised at the Drayton & Toowoomba Cemetery in August 2024, an extraordinary community project emerged. The Headstone Healing Project brought together like-minded people who wanted to 'make things right'. This 15-minute presentation will outline the lessons learned when approaching such an enormous undertaking.
Kelly Burstow
‘South Brisbane Cemetery: Uncovering the Layers of Cemetery History’
Further details to come.
Kay Duke
‘Unique Information from Cemetery research’
Kay is the author of the True Crime book The Mail Train Murders, published in 2024 about Herbert Kopit, who murdered two men and maimed another on the Bundaberg-Brisbane mail train in 1936. Her extensive research for this publication led Kay to the Balmoral Cemetery in Brisbane, and her presentation today will detail how that experience helped her to unearth new clues and piece together more of the complex story behind the shocking crime.
Lisa Herbert
'The search for the missing Wolston Park patients: what happened to the cemeteries and remains?'
My years-long search for the location of the remains of thousands of patients of the Brisbane Mental Asylum has been a fascinating and frustrating journey. The asylum's three cemeteries no longer exist. So where are the bodies? My half-hour presentation will explore the hospital's burial and exhumation practices, government policy of the day, and an exciting development that may see these missing patients acknowledged and the former cemeteries archeologically examined.
Rebecca Lush
‘Cemeteries Reimagined: Interpreting Cemeteries as Heritage Places’
This talk will explore the concept of cemeteries as dynamic heritage sites. In recent decades, a number of cemeteries worldwide have moved to offer innovative interpretations that engage broader, more diverse audiences. While cemeteries have traditionally hosted occasional community activities, there has been a more concerted effort in recent years to introduce interactive, educational, and culturally rich programmes aimed at raising awareness and de-stigmatising death. I will draw on three key examples -Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in New York, and Highgate Cemetery in London - to explore their modern offerings. Through guided tours, art installations, themed events, and community outreach programmes, these cemeteries are engaging visitors in unexpected ways, fostering deeper connections to both history and contemporary issues. This paper argues that cemeteries are increasingly becoming spaces of cultural discovery, offering fresh perspectives on history, architecture, and community. These evolving practices not only help preserve the past but also reframe cemeteries as relevant and inclusive spaces, drawing new audiences and redefining how we interact with heritage in the 21st century.
Dr Leah Cotterell and Narelle McCoy
'Stardust, Wish Me Luck, and other stories: Live performance in cemeteries'
Live performance in cemeteries is relatively rare, but acceptance for the idea has been building momentum, possibly because it aligns with the growing influence of Death-Positivity. From the soothing pleasures of Jazz and Classical concerts, to esoteric public art with political and philosophical intent, a sprinkling of cemeteries have been activated by performance in the UK, the US, and Australia. This presentation will share insights drawn from public performances of story and song at the South Brisbane Cemetery in 2023-24. As performance spaces, cemeteries have great potential for performers seeking to elicit emotion, reflection and aesthetic delight. From the social history literally laying in the ground, to telescopic reflections on death, a wide span of content can be enlivened through the dynamism of drama, dance, spoken word, music and singing in a cemetery. By comprehending how an audience is likely to respond to the cemetery space, performers can leverage reflective moods to dramatically focus the impact of their performance.
In “Whistling Past the Graveyard” the cemetery proved to be the ideal context for the exploration of humanistic perspectives on death by Leah and Narelle, two accomplished singer-performers drawing on their academic research and memoir writing. The performance was very warmly received and reviewed. By presenting their engaging performance in the cemetery, Leah and Nard created a safe cultural space for conversation about end-of-life care, death and mourning rituals.
Jenny Clark
‘Why BCC has so Many Cemeteries’
Further details to come.
Ben Kelly
‘The Next 100 Years’
Cemeteries are vital cultural and historical spaces, but managing them is becoming increasingly complex. This session explores the growing challenges facing cemetery management in Queensland and across Australia, from ageing infrastructure and inconsistent legislation to the rising cost of new burial space and public debate over council funding priorities.
We’ll examine how cemeteries are currently run, the pressures on historic sites, and the tension between preserving heritage and ensuring public safety. With burial space running out and cremation rates rising, we’ll also look at key statistics shaping future planning.
Looking ahead, the session will explore innovative approaches including renewable tenure, green burials, and alternative revenue models. We’ll also highlight Project Cultivate, which is breathing new life into historic cemeteries through native grass restoration.
This talk invites open discussion on the future of public and private cemeteries, and whether our communities are ready for change.
* Conference programme may be subject to change
