Paintings by Australian artists, or of Australian subjects by immigrant artists - are one of the most significant components of the Geelong Gallery collection. Of the ten works acquired in the first years after establishment, Frederick McCubbin's A bush burial is significant not only for the way it was acquired through community support and public subscription, but also as an acknowledged masterpiece depicting a heroic narrative set within the Victorian landscape, by one of the first generation of Australian born painters and a member of the so-called Heidelberg group.