Historians from the East Gippsland Historical Society will be conducting a tour at the Bairnsdale Cemetery on Sunday, February 2, at 5pm.
The cemetery tour will take approximately 1-1.5 hours and will meander through the historic sections of the Bairnsdale Cemetery. Cemetery walks contribute to the fundraising for the society’s museum, which is located at 40 Macarthur Street,
Bairnsdale.
The museum has a large collection of local historical artefacts from the East Gippsland district, providing a fascinating look into the past. There is also a large resource of historical documents and photographs that are accessible for those interested in researching local and family history.
Society members are available to assist with research enquires. The museum is open to visitors on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and on the first Sunday of each month. Opening hours are from 10am to 3pm.
This cemetery tour will look at some of the district’s identities and stories of people who found their final resting place at the Bairnsdale Cemetery. One of the graves featured is for Walter Seehusen.
Walter was born on March 8, 1842, at Schleswig, Holstein, Germany. He was trained as a professional artistic painter and was talented in landscape painting.
Walter married Agneta Peterson at
Schlesing, Germany on September 21, 1862. Walter and Agneta had a daughter but she died at an early age.
Walter left Germany in April 1864, at the onset of the German-Danish war and emigrated to Australia. It was his intention to bring Agneta to Australia once he had established himself.
Shortly after arriving in Victoria, Walter had met and was living with Irish-born Sarah Egan and they had a son, also named Walter. The family settled in Bairnsdale and stayed in Melbourne regularly.
Walter created an Arts Union in about 1885, as well as exhibiting his work throughout the district on a regular basis. He was popular in the community and was involved in the local dramatic arts society. He was appointed the first master of arts at the Bairnsdale School of Mines in 1893, a position he retained until his death. Walter also became an associate of the Victorian Arts Academy and the Victorian Arts Society with whom he mostly exhibited paintings of bush scenes, between 1880 and 1900.
Walter wrote to his first wife in October 1878 and told her that he had been living with another woman for some years and now had a son. Walter asked her to either come and live with him or to separate. He would cover all the costs is she came to Australia and asked for her forgiveness. Agneta sailed to Australia in August 1879 arriving in Melbourne in September 1879 to join Walter and resume the relationship, as she was willing to forgive him. Two weeks later, Walter announced that he could not live with her any longer as he could not leave the other woman and his son.
Agneta applied for divorce in December 1880, which was granted by 1882. Walter then married Sarah Egan, “the other woman” in 1882 after the divorce was granted. Sarah died 10 years later in 1893.
A few years later he married for the third time to Lucy Walker, the daughter of Robert Walker of Johnsonville. Lucy was aged 22 while he was 57 years old.
Walter died on August 25, 1907, at the age of 65 years.
