When Darug Elder Ian 'Bundeluk' Watson died suddenly on June 8 this year, it wasn't long before temporary floral tributes started appearing outside Springwood's Westpac Bank where the respected artist would regularly sell his work.
Springwood now has a permanent memorial to Bundeluk after a plaque in the town square was unveiled by his family at a ceremony on Saturday morning.
Family and friends paid tribute to Bundeluk at the memorial event which continued afterwards in the Springwood Presbyterian Church hall.
Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill said Bundeluk was "part of the heartbeat of this area".
"He was part of its daily rhythm, its ebb and flow.... He was one of those rare characters who seemed to get into the skin of a place," he said.
Speakers remembered all facets of Bundeluk's life - from his notorious joke-telling to his passionate interest in the Blue Mountains community to his knowledge of his Darug ancestry.
"Bundeluk had a big influence on me... I'd sit down with Bundeluk and watch him and he'd open your eyes because he was something special," said Aboriginal Elder, Uncle Wesley Marne.
Family friend, retired parish priest Father Paul Hanna, said Bundeluk was one of the few mavericks left in the world today.
"So often the Bundeluks are mercurial characters who have a lot to say to us because they have a set of lenses that look at things in a different way," he said.
An initiative of the mayor, the memorial plaque reads: "In loving memory of Ian John Watson, Bundeluk 13.5.1961-8.6.2014. Darug man, artist, teacher, kinsman, friend, may your light shine on this place as you did in life."
