Bendigo Honors Museum Founder With Century-Old Ceremony

When Russell Jack dedicated his life to preserving Chinese Australian heritage in Bendigo, he never imagined the community would honor him with a ceremony unseen in the region for over a century.

The founder of Bendigo's Golden Dragon Museum will be farewelled on August 29 with a traditional Cantonese white mourning lion ceremony. It's the first public funeral of its kind in regional Victoria in more than 100 years.

Jack, who died on August 11, established the Golden Dragon Museum to ensure traditions brought by Chinese Australians to the goldfields weren't forgotten. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993 for his service to preserving Bendigo's Chinese heritage and culture.

His daughter Anita traveled to Hong Kong to receive the gift of the white mourning lion from celebrated dragon maker Hui Ka Hung. Unlike the colorful celebration dragons that star in Bendigo's famous Easter Festival, the white mourning lion represents respect, filial piety, and solemn farewell.

The ceremony will begin with a private family blessing at the Golden Dragon Museum Elders' Room. The mourning lion will then accompany Jack to Ulumbarra Theatre for a state funeral at 11am, before traveling to Bendigo Cemetery where the public can participate in the final rites.

Why This Inspires

The Jack family is opening this deeply personal ceremony to the entire Bendigo community. Anita says her father spent his life sharing Chinese culture with others, so it's fitting they share this moment too.

Attendees will be invited to light joss sticks in Jack's memory. Following Cantonese custom, mourners will receive a coin and sweet as they leave, a symbolic gesture helping them "leave the sadness behind and return safely to everyday life."

The gift also carries a message of gratitude. "Thank you for standing with him," Anita said. "Thank you for supporting the traditions he spent his life protecting, and thank you for helping carry those traditions into another generation."

Chinese funeral traditions were once common on the Central Victorian goldfields. Bendigo Cemetery still has an historic Chinese Burning Tower from that era. While the city's celebratory dragons survived through Easter traditions, many mourning rituals gradually disappeared from public view.

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll said Russell loved Bendigo and Bendigo loved him back. Former Premier Jacinta Allan, a Bendigo native, said Jack "played a giant role in shaping" the city.

Now the white mourning lion will bow before Russell one final time, connecting today's community with ancestors who arrived over 170 years ago.