Bullmore grew homesick for New Zealand and returned in 1969 to teach in Rotorua until his death in 1978, aged only 45.
In 2006, his widow Jacqueline, gifted a large collection of his works to the Tauranga Art Gallery in memory of the time he spent in Tauranga as a teacher and emerging artist.
The works are from the collections of Jacqueline Bullmore and The Tauranga Art Gallery Trust, and have been selected for the exhibition by Penelope Jackson and Bullmore's daughter, Marianna.