Painting, teaching and his spiritual journey have been the life of Brother Don Gallagher who will receive an official farewell this week at St Edmund's, Canberra.
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He came to the college in 1967 and somewhat reluctantly, will move to the Charingfield Christian Brothers hostel at Waverley.
A farewell mass for Brother Gallagher will be held at the school on Sunday, celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn Pat Power. He was among the first students at St Edmund's.
The son of a blacksmith, Brother Gallagher was born in Warrnambool, Victoria, in 1925. ''My brother became a priest and my sister became a nun, and that is the end of the Gallaghers,'' he said.
He was aged 14 when he began boarding school with 120 other boys - all intending to be Christian Brothers. He taught at Rose Bay, Albury, Balmain, Goulburn, Bondi and Wahroonga before moving to Canberra.
''I thought it was time to settle down,'' he said.
While at Albury he began learning to paint. A mate had suggested Brother Gallagher paint his portrait.
''I painted this portrait. It was pretty awful I remember.'' He still has it. Someone suggested he show the painting to an established painter, Jack Bennett.
He had told the young Brother Gallagher his painting was flat.
''I said the canvas is flat isn't it? What do you expect me to do? He said, 'If you knew a bit about it you would know what to do'.'' Bennett invited Brother Gallagher to his studio.
''So I jumped on my bike and headed out to North Albury to where he had his studio. He demonstrated something to me and it made sense.''
Bennett had recommended Brother Gallagher concentrate on still life because it didn't move. ''I tried that - following his advice and I got somewhere.''
He has given away all his paints and said he would not paint again.
''I will listen to music, read books and prepare to die.''
He began at St Edmund's teaching primary students. ''Then the headmaster arrived and said 'we haven't got any art teacher here. You know a bit about art don't you'. He made me art teacher on the spot.'' Until then, art had been more of a hobby, though he had had an exhibition or two. He had also painted overseas.
Of the portraits he has painted, he said perhaps his favourite was of a former auxiliary bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, John (Aloysius) Morgan. He was also Catholic Bishop to the Australian Defence Force.
Brother Gallagher said Canberra, particularly the art world, had been good to him.
''This gallery was built for me by an old boy and his mate.'' He refers to the Brother Don Gallagher Studio Gallery, built by former students of St Edmund's and officially opened in 1994 by Anita Keating, wife of then prime minister Paul Keating.
''I thought I would die here in this gallery,'' he said. Of his move to Sydney, ''I had no say in it.''
Correction This report originally said Brother Gallagher was farewelled at a mass last weekend. He will be farewelled this weekend.
