For the 37 years spanning 1930 to 1967, a man named Arthur Stace walked the streets of Sydney ... and wrote on them; one word, always the same word, in yellow chalk in large, elegant copperplate.

That word was “Eternity.”

He worked before dawn, alone and in secret, travelling to a different neighbourhood every day. For decades this divine prank mystified the people of Sydney. The scrawls were an enigma. People grew up with them. Columnists wrote about them. Street sweepers swept around them. Artists like the late, great Martin Sharp were inspired by them.

Before his conversion to Christianity in 1930, Arthur was a derelict alcoholic and living on the edge. Then one day at a Baptist Church he heard a noted give-em-Hell preacher shout to the congregation: “I wish I could shout ‘Eternity’ through the streets of Sydney.” He repeated himself and kept shouting “Eternity, Eternity.” The words rang in Arthur’s head as he left the church. He began to cry, bent down and wrote it for the first time. He knew what he had to do.

Eternity at REMO

REMORANDOM founder Remo Giuffré also remembers coming across Arthur’s Eternity chalkings from time to time in the Haymarket area of Sydney, and he recalls the aura of mystery that was evoked. And Martin Sharp recalls his first brush with Arthur Stace’s Eternity. Indeed, Martin incorporated references to Arthur’s Eternity in a number of works over the years.

So when Remo approached Martin with the idea in 1990, it wasn’t hard to convince him that HE should be the one to create an Eternity design for the then physical REMO General Store in tribute to Arthur Stace. The huge five-metre canvas adorned the REMO Crown Street Window during November 1990 (jogging memories, triggering smiles, stopping traffic, even causing some accidents).

Customer souvenirs for the homage included: limited edition prints, T Shirts, postcards, etc. REMO was never one to miss a good merchandising opportunity.

This was such a happy marriage for all concerned. Aside from Martin’s mesmerising image, Eternity dovetailed perfectly with one of REMO’s primary philosophies: the theme of anti-disposability “Buy it once and own it forever.”, and a belief in the universal importance and value of commitment, perseverance and, most of all ... passion.

And to quote Roy Williams and Elizabeth Myers from Chapter 20 of their book Mr Eternity from 2017: “Remo Giuffré was the man most responsible for rekindling interest in Arthur Stace.”

Awareness of Mr Eternity has continued to increase since the turn of the century. As a tribute to Arthur Stace, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was lit up with the word "Eternity" as part of the celebrations for the beginning of the year 2000 Sydney New Year's Eve celebrations as well as part of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Both very special moments.
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Images

1. "Mr Eternity" Arthur Stace
2. Martin Sharp's Eternity Story
3. Martin Sharp with his Eternity Over Haymarket
4. Martin's original scrawl for the REMO window
5. Eternity mural at REMO
6. Eternity mural in REMO store in 1992
7. Eternity at REMO limited edition print
8. Martin Sharp in REMO boardroom signing the prints
9. Sydney Harbour Bridge, NYE 2000
10. Remo at Martin's funeral service in December 2013
11. Remo at Mr Eternity book launch, 23 November 2017
12. Remo at Written in Chalk movie premiere, 24 August 2022
13. Eternity and Eternity at REMO merchandise HERE