AC/DC: BON SCOTT's Grave Is One Of Australia's Most Treasured Cultural Icons

Tim Clarke of The Daily Telegraph has issued the following report:

The gravesite of Bon Scott, the legendary lead singer of veteran rockers AC/DC, has become one of Australia's most treasured cultural icons.

More than 26 years after Scott's death, the National Trust of Australia has decreed his grave in Fremantle cemetery important enough to be included on the the list of classified heritage places.

The listing, traditionally reserved for heritage buildings and homes, confirms the cultural importance of the site, which is one of the most visited sites in Fremantle, attracting thousands of fans every year. [Check out photos of the gravesite at this location. More pictures: Photo#1, Photo#2, Photo#3.]

Kim Haynes, the National Trust's WA heritage officer, said Scott's place in the annals of Australian and international music meant his final resting place deserved recognition.

"Normally people associate heritage with buildings, and this was a way of recognising the social values of a place. Heritage is about what we value," Mr Haynes said.

"This is very much a modern day pilgrimage for many, many people, and (the grave) is the end of pilgrimage for many people around the world."

Mr Haynes said Scott's memorial was similar in stature to another famous lead singer whose grave had become iconic and much visited.

"We were able to make a very clear association with the phenomena of Jim Morrison's grave," Mr Haynes said.

"For that particular form and style of music, AC/DC were very significant in bringing that kind of music to the world."

The heritage listing comes as WA fans continue their campaign to have a statue to honour Scott, an effort backed by Fremantle's mayor Peter Tagliaferri.

Scott was born in Kirriemuir, Scotland, but emigrated to Australia at the age of 6.

Growing up in Perth, Scott first learned drums and bagpipes in a local Scots pipe band, dropping out of school at 15 and spending short spells in Fremantle prison and the Australian army.

He joined AC/DC in September 1974 and, aided by regular appearances on ABC TV's "Countdown", the band became one of the most popular and successful acts in Australia, and then across the world.

Scott was found dead in a friend's car in the early hours of February 19th, 1980, after a night of heavy drinking in London's Camden Town. He was 33.