As we approach the headstone of Peter Jackson’s grave, we glimpse a flash of red at its base. Getting closer, we see that it’s a pair of boxing gloves. They are brand-new Fila gloves that retail for around A$80, so someone has spent a bit of money.
The gloves pay tribute to the late 19th-century Australian boxing champion and have been placed just below an inscription taken from Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra: “This was a man.” Above the inscription is a white marble bust of Jackson. One might expect a depiction of him with arms aloft, victorious in the ring. Instead, he is in a three-piece suit. The image was likely modelled on a calling card he had made in London in 1895.
