Mr Martin, an artist, died earlier this month after a brief battle with illness.

He served multiple terms as a councillor during the 1990s, with a three-year stint as mayor from 1994 to 1996.  

His 1990s council colleagues Henry Meskauskas and Ray Fairweather both recalled a man who loved art and his community. 

Retired councillor Mr Fairweather said he could still clearly remember the night Mr Martin was elected as mayor. 

“I do recall the night he was elected, he was over the moon,” Mr Fairweather said. 

“He was telling me outside Town Hall, ‘I can’t believe I’m the mayor of Maitland.’”

Mr Meskauskas said he served “many years” as Mr Martin’s deputy mayor. 

“He was a person who involved himself in the community,” Mr Meskauskas said.

“Libraries and galleries were his two main interests. He could speak on those two things for hours.”

A popular artist, Mr Martin exhibited art throughout both Australia and Germany where he spent much of his time.

“He was an artist who spent a fair bit of his time over in Germany,” Mr Fairweather said.  

“That’s John – a lot of his life was centred away from the spotlight doing the thing he enjoyed.”

Outside of council, Mr Martin’s aptitude saw him lecture at multiple universities, including Wollongong and Newcastle. 

His artwork was seen around the world, with Berlin a popular haunt for him, with the city hosting multiple exhibitions of his over the last decade.