Stories in Stone is an annual not-for-profit community conference that presents some of the knowledge, experience and perspectives of the many wonderful people involved in caring for and researching historical cemeteries to the public of Queensland.
The inaugural 'Stories in Stone' conference took place at the Commissariat Store in Brisbane in March 2024 and was successful enough to create demand for another one, and so an organising committee was formed later that year.
The second Stories in Stone event was held in August 2025 at the Hamilton Town Hall, Brisbane, with an attendance of around 90 people. The success of this conference firmly established the capacity for Stories in Stone to be held as an annual event.
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| Stories in Stone, Commissariat Store, March 2024. (C Dawson) |
The 2025 organising committee were:
Jenny Clark - President
Jenny is the vice-president of the Friends of Balmoral Cemetery, a highly-active community organisation. As a longtime cemetery volunteer she engages in cleaning bees, tours and restoration projects at the Balmoral Cemetery. Jess Parker - Treasurer
Jess is a history researcher who is currently completing a Bachelor of Historical Inquiry and Practice with the University of New England. She has a passion for historic cemeteries and a keen fascination with the stories of their residents. She has presented numerous public talks for The Royal Historical Society of Queensland and Brisbane History Group (including the inaugural Stories in Stone conference) and has had articles published in the Queensland History Journal. Chris Dawson - Secretary
Chris is a member of the Professional Historians Association (Queensland), a director of Brisbane Living Heritage, and has extensive experience with Public History in cemeteries. He co-founded the Friends of South Brisbane Cemetery (Inc.) in 2017 and has guided hundreds of tours in different cemeteries, had several articles on cemetery history published in journals and books, established research libraries, and organised dozens of community cleaning bees in South Brisbane Cemetery. Chris was the co-recipient of the prestigious John Oxley Library Award in 2021.
