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Voices for the common good : Missionaries and Ministers of Parramatta Mission in the 19th and 20th centuries
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 | Voices for the Common Good 1|Page |
| VOICES FOR THE COMMON GOOD Missionaries & Ministers of Parramatta Mission in the 19th and 20th centuries: A Biographic[...]Elizabeth de Réland Voices for the Common Good 2|Page |
| Dedicated to all the ‘voices for the common good.’ Parramatta Mission acknowledges the Burramattagal people of the Darug nation, traditional custodians of the lands on which we gather, and p[...], present and emerging. Not for profit. © Parramatta Mission (2021)[...]ok poster design: Thomas Morgan. Amendment: The online version of this book was amended in 2023 t[...]minor corrections and additional information. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Conclusion……72 Voices for the Common Good 4|Page |
| [...]ntroduction One day, while standing in front of the Ministers Board in the Walter Lawry Vestry at Leigh Memorial Church, it occurred to me that I only knew about one third of the ‘faces’ for all the names etched in gold before me – let alone the stories behind all the names and faces. That realisation began a search for photos or any available images and information about each of the ministers in question – with the aim of creating a collection of short biographies[...]ts.’ There are an impressive 91 names listed on the Board – the large number being due to the fact that the record goes back 206 years to 1815 and the arrival of first Wesleyan missionary to NSW, Samuel Leigh – and – that until later in the 20th century, ministers did not stay in any one location for more than two to three years. It was the old Methodist way to move men on fairly quickly i[...]congregations, invigorated. Although permitted by the Church to return for repeat appointments at any given location, only 8 of the 91 Parramatta ministers actually did so. This relatively fast turnover explains both the high numbers on the Board and the repetition of certain names. Another phenomenon at Parramatta until the late 20th century, was the Methodist Church’s practice of sending pre-retirement men – or – past or pending Presidents of the Conference to the prestigious Macquarie Street site. These minister[...]ted as ‘second’ or ‘assistant’ ministers. The appointment of Gloster Udy in 1951 was a radical[...]by Leigh Memorial standards, exceptionally young for a superintendent. However, after decades of senior men and recent, post-war shifts in society – the leadership of the Parramatta Church, represented by Senior Trustee,[...]specifically requesting a younger man to shore up the existing congregation and grow its young people’s ministry. Happily for all involved, the request was in line with the contemporary objectives of the Methodist Church in Australia – particularly in[...]ry ministry directions and its acknowledgement of the statistical departure of many young people and families from its congregations during the first half of the 20th century. Yet another striking fact about this collection of ministers – and the most obvious – is that it is overwhelmingly mono-cultural and male dominated. Of the 91 Ministers of the Word who served at Parramatta Mission between 181[...]e Stanton and Rhonda White have comprised half of the ‘Transitional Ministry Team’ exploring a potential alliance of the Parramatta Mission and Northmead-Centenary congregations. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| While the Methodist Church had routinely utilised women in[...]ed trained ‘Deaconesses’ – it was only with the coming of the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977 that the ordination of women became implicit within the foundational covenant of the new Church: the Basis of Union (and ratified by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly in 1990).1 The inclusion of women at all levels of ministry – and within the administrative and operational aspects of the UCA is now automatic. Nonetheless, in terms of the long history of the Mission and its relative dearth of female ministers – it has been the wives of ministers, a plethora of female leaders and multiple, strong lay women for over 200 years that have been its mainstay. Stori[...]sacrifice by such women are not hard to find. In the early era, there was Ann Turner, wife of Rev Nath[...]he escaped cannibals in New Zealand and traversed the high seas on leaky sailing ships with her husband[...]l in 1894 and concertedly raised funds to assuage the huge debt incurred by the building of the new Church. Catherine Tapp (sister of Rev John Watsford) taught at the Parramatta Wesleyan Sunday School for a remarkable 50+ years. Ethel Hynes, wife of minister Eli Hynes, was a passionate advocate for Parramatta’s civic and Methodist history and a founding member of the Methodist Church of Australasia Historical Societ[...]more women, facilitated a significant portion of the Mission’s debt recovery and community care-related property acquisitions of the 20th century. Ivy Gray and a cohort of Parramatta Methodist women cooked meals for soldiers at Parramatta’s ‘Soldiers Hut’ canteen during the Second World War. Joy Udy, wife of Dr Gloster Udy, gave what was likely the first sermon by a woman from the Leigh Memorial pulpit during a ‘Women’s Service’ in 1975. Enid Kerr was foundational to the start-up of Life Line Parramatta. Carol Morris was the first supervisor of Hope Hostel. Audrey Hicks, Olive Wright and Vera Blain ran the Mission’s community Coffee Shop. Margaret Duncan and Jo Goodin were among the pioneers at Wesley Lodge Motel. Janet Dawson facilitated the establishment of the Westmead congregation’s motto, ‘Sharing the Hospitality of Jesus Christ’ 1 ‘Why Does the Uniting Church in Australia Ordain Women to the Ministry of the Word,’ https://ctm.uca.edu.au/lay-ministries/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/07/UCA-ASC-1990-Why-Does-the- Uniting-Church-in-Australia-Ordain-Women-to-the-Ministry-of-the-Word-booklet.pdf Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Putland, Faye Gillett (Gray) and Dame Mary Cook. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| and many adjunct community programs. Veitinia Waqabaca was the first Fijian- born, female, Australian-trained Minister in the UCA and simultaneously led three Parramatta Missi[...]ation florists over two centuries have beautified the sanctuaries of the Mission’s churches while making broader contributions. Suguta Rogoimuri of the Leigh Fijian congregation, commenced the congregation’s landmark ‘Bula Feeding Ministr[...]ly knitting and crocheting a large volume of rugs for Mission and Uniting women’s programs – and those assisting people sleeping rough on the streets of Parramatta or otherwise seriously disa[...]lay and ordained women, while impressive, is only the start. Joining them are hundreds of others who ha[...]eers or honorary custodians of their roles. Until the mid- to-late 20th century, many were known only b[...]Mrs Samuel Leigh, Mrs James Carruthers – as was the social practice. Yet within this depersonalisation, anonymity and/or struggle for rightful identity – the payment of the large debt on Leigh Memorial Church, the start-up of Parramatta Regional Mission, the maintenance and bolstering of children’s, youth and women’s ministry, and the hard yards of every project for two centuries – would have been nothing without[...]gratefully recognises all women contributors from the inception of the Mission until the present day. The men that comprise all but one biographical entry[...]tory of commitment, sacrifice and tenacity. Until the late 1800s, most of the Mission’s ministers were born in the United Kingdom. They came as fresh, twenty-someth[...]issionaries – embarking on perilous journeys to the ends of the earth in the hope of saving souls and finding fresh personal o[...]surprising number lived long lives, especially in the context of the era – a number to 80 years or more. Most died f[...]e died, there was a second and sometimes a third. The second or third wife Voices for the Common Good 8|Page |
| ended up raising the accumulated progeny of all her husband’s marriages. In the case of Rev Ralph Mansfield’s second wife, Lucy, that amounted to 17 children! Of the 19th and early 20th century lists, most also comp[...]es a combination of two or more. Samuel Leigh was the first Wesleyan missionary to Aotearoa New Zealand[...]ted valuable early work in Fiji. In acknowledging the ministers who have served at Parramatta Mission, it is also important to acknowledge the many ‘supply’ ministers and ‘ministers in association’ (or those within the Methodist Church known as ‘supernumeraries’)[...]ical retirements and continued to make impacts on the life and work of the Church beyond the official end of their careers. Biographies of thr[...]n this collection, however many more exist within the Mission’s history – including Arthur Brawn in the mid-to- late 20th century and more recently, Clive and Mary Pearson in the 2010s. Local (lay) preachers, chaplains and pastors in the Mission’s history have included Jordan Sparks,[...]nton, and Greg Woolnough, are previous members of the Leigh Fijian and Leigh Memorial congregations who became Ministers of the Word within the Uniting Church. Rev Dr David Manton served as Moderator for the NSW-ACT Synod in 1998-2000. Others are currently training for the ministry. Hopefully, there will be opportunities within a future project to explore the contributions of these men and women, and many ot[...]support capacities. It should be noted that while the biographies contained in this book are of varying lengths – the size and detail of each in no way confers greater[...]s have much simpler profiles. Similarly, based on the proclivities of a particular time and place, some ministers were the subject of multiple press articles and lengthy ne[...]r much easier or much harder to track. These and Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]iful but less reliable). Moreover, as information for this book has been primarily sourced from the Mission’s Archival Collection, in addition to ‘Trove’ (the digitised newspapers resource of the National Library of Australia), and in the case of photos, some wonderful 19th century Methodist ‘Conference Albums’ – details available for each minister have varied widely. Due to the inherent challenges in writing and interpreting recent history – and the similar challenges which exist in ‘fluid’ organisational situations – biographies for Parramatta Mission’s ministers of the 21st century and the 2021 ‘Transitional Ministry Team’ are gratefully acknowledged but best left for a future volume. Finally, it should be noted that all but 6 photos/images for the 91 Parramatta Mission ministers listed on the Ministers Board between 1815 and 2021 have been found and reproduced in this book. The goal was to secure 100% – however, that proved ‘a bridge too far’ for this project. What has been achieved is however, gratifying, and due in no small part to the Methodist Church in Australasia’s love affair with portraiture and the new art of photography in the mid-to-late 19th century. This ensured that photo[...]ed and organised into albums and framed mementos. The Church’s dedication to such visual (in addition[...]t of many others undertaking similar research. As for the elusive images – it is possible that a couple d[...]ht. Nonetheless, being able to finally look into the lives and faces of all those included in these pa[...]eir courage and faithfulness, are obvious – and the stuff of lasting inspiration. In the case of those who have departed this earth, it is[...]es brimming with possibility, lives dwindling. As the final book in a year of books produced in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the opening of Parramatta Mission’s first Chapel and Sunday School in 1821 – and the 30th anniversaries of the Leigh Fijian and Westmead (Queens Road) congregat[...]Thanks to all – Elizabeth de Réland, 2021. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Uniting Church in Australia Ministers of the Word Who Served in this Church: 1815 – 2021[...]1839: Daniel Draper 1840 – 1842: John McKenny Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| Voices for the Common Good 12 | P a g e |
| [...]Bayliss Kelly 2018 – 2021: Amelia Koh-Butler Voices for the Common Good 13 | P a g e |
| [...], then Uniting Church, Parramatta (opened 1885). Voices for the Common Good 14 | P a g e |
| [...](1785–1852) arrived in Sydney via the Hebe in 1815 as first Wes[...]assisting Mrs Macquarie and others in the establishment of the Colonial Auxiliary Bible Society. After securing official support for an itinerant ministry on horseback and free passage throughout the new ‘Parramatta Circuit,’ Leigh and laymen Samuel Lees facilitated the building of Australia’s[...]ow missionaries. Writing surrepticious reports to the Wesleyan authorities in London and openly acquies[...]ren while maintaining a heroic reputation amongst the Wesleyan faithful. After marrying his wife Cather[...]dedicated his time to evangelising and enriching the efforts of the Parramatta Wesleyan Sunday School. Following the sudden death of his wife in 1831, Leigh returned[...]as a missionary to the South Seas in 1818. Travelling to Sydney as chaplain on the convict shi[...]s departure for Aotearoa, became solely responsible for the consolidation of the Wesleyan ca[...]his wife funded the construction of the first Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]ear his name with Wesleyan authorities. Following the untimely death of his wife in Cornwall in 1825, L[...]n south-west England until 1843, when he accepted the role of General Superintendent of the Wesleyan mission in Aotearoa. He retired from tha[...]1855) was appointed by the London Committee as Wesleyan missionary to the “black[...]ions with the Darug, and soon adopted an Aboriginal youth (the son of Aboriginal[...]‘Thomas Walker Coke’ at the Parramatta[...]people, before dying suddenly at the age of 20. Ultimately, Walker’s mission to the Darug and association with the ‘Native Institution’ was deemed an abject fai[...]Cordelia Hassall, and, after being suspended from the ministry over his commercial dealings and complex political involvements, became superintendent at the Female Orphan School, alongside his wife. Later a[...]her political interference, Walker opted to leave the ministry, purchase land on the O’Connell Plains near Bathurst, run large herds[...]uct pastoral outreach with local settler families for the remainder of his life. He died in 1855, aged 55, with his will stipulating the destruction of all his personal papers/manuscript[...]Eliza had passed away 20 years before, in 1835. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]nal-and-european- annual-meeting-days-1814-1837. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]ey via Hobart in the autumn of 1820. Carvosso[...]he began writing for the pioneering socio-religious, sometimes controversial local publication, the Australian Magaz[...]authorities and the Wesleyan Committee in London. Accused of[...]friends, including Walter Lawry, regularly raised the ire of Chief Parson Samuel Marsden and their own senior colleague, Samuel Leigh. Known for his booming Cornish preaching voice, Carvosso was[...]nd class meetings, and provided useful groundwork for Methodism within the brutal prison system of Van Diemen’s Land. The Carvossos and their children returned to England[...]carpenter by trade before entering the Wesleyan ministry. After one year at the Parramatta Chapel[...]v Samuel Leigh at the landmark Whangaroa[...]further five years in the thick of Maori-European tensions in the region, an exhausted White[...]Eliza Leigh, and in 1830, was appointed Chair of the Wesleyan Mission based in Hokianga. During the remainder of his career, White established missions in the country and through astute leadership, assisted the Maori in Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]rsonal misconduct, resulted in his dismissal from the Wesleyan ministry in 1838. Choosing to remain in Aotearoa for the rest of his life, White continued in business (mo[...]s a regular intermediary between Maori groups and the colonial leadership. When he passed away in 1875, aged 83, his headstone was inscribed with the lyrics of the hymn, ‘Rock of Ages.’ White was survived by h[...]White was active in widowhood, including becoming the respected head of the Ladies Christian Association of New Zealand. Ral[...]880) served at the first Wesleyan Chapel in Parramatta in[...]he arrived in the colony in 1821, accompanied[...]This included the establishment of class meetings[...]after becoming a key player in the harsh battle o[...]eyan missionaries, local Anglican authorities and the London Committee during the early 1820s, Mansfield ultimately opted to resign from the ministry in 1828 and pursue a career in journalism. An editor-writer for the Australian Magazine, Sydney Gazette, Colonist and[...]ed career, he was also a founding board member of the Australian Gas Company and had multiple other com[...]81, survived by his second wife Lucy Shelley and the surviving children of the 17 produced in both his marriages. His first wife[...]owes had tragically lost 5 of her 7 babies within the first 8 years of her marriage. She passed away, aged 33, at thethe children of Mansfield’s second marriage to Lucy, 6 of the 10 survived to adulthood (3 sons and 3 daughters:[...]sfield, became well respected Sydney architects. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]4 4 The Australian Magazine – or Compendium of Religiou[...]yan missionaries: Lawry, Carvosso and Mansfield. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]4) arrived in Sydney via Hobart on the Clydesdale as the new General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Mission in NSW in 1822. H[...]ful tenure in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) where he founded the Matara Methodist School. Six month[...]led in Windsor. Lydia’s older sister Jemima was the deserted wife of emancipist lawyer, Edward Eagar,[...]g Walter Lawry), Erskine became superintendent at the new Parramatta Chapel. There, he worked with key missionaries of the period including Leigh, Carvosso, White and Mansfield. By the census of 1828, Erskine and his family were resid[...]Leigh Erskine’ after Rev Leigh’s wife. Sadly, the little girl died from whooping cough at three weeks of age. After fulfilling various posts in the Parramatta Circuit, Erskine purchased land and bu[...]illa’ in an area close to Sydney in 1831 (later the suburb of ‘Erskineville’ – named in his hon[...]skine died in 1834, aged 53. His wife Lydia lived for another 38 years, as did 3 of the couple’s 7 children. Nathaniel Turner: 1827, 1[...]born and raised in Cheshire, England – the son of a fa[...]Turner entered the Wesleyan ministry at a[...]o take over the ‘Wesleydale’ Wesleyan[...]forced to flee in 1827 after the site was sa[...]k in Parramatta – where he also sadly conducted the funeral of his 10 month old son, George. In all,[...]– born in various states and countries. Between the 1830s and 1850s, the Turners moved frequently, serving in New Zealand, Van Diemen’s Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]uth Australia. Turner was stationed at Parramatta for a final time in 1850-51, between the tenures of Benjamin Chapman and Henry Gaud. Considered a venerable, senior churchman by the end of his life, he retired to Queensland in the mid-1850s and died while recovering from surgery for kidney stones at North Quay, Brisbane, in 1864. H[...]66) was raised in the Church of England, but converted to[...]Diemen’s Land and the completion of further[...]Hutchinson became the colony’s first English-born, locally ordained Wesleyan minister in 1826. Receiving his holy commission in the presence of Revs Erskine, Leigh, Thomas and Mansfield at the Macquarie Street Chapel, Sydney, 33 year-old Hutc[...]r of Parramatta’s Francis Oakes. Officiating at the couple’s wedding was Samuel Marsden, with speci[...]e they set about improving Christian prospects in the islands. With his time in Tonga cut short by illn[...]before transferring back to Van Diemen’s Land. For fear of his health, he rejected a transfer to the bleak Macquarie Harbour gaol in 1831 and chose instead to resign from the Wesleyan ministry. In 1832, both he and his wife[...]r women’s gaol in Launceston from 1851 to 1854. The Hutchinsons had 12 children, but only 4 survived[...]dhood. Poor postnatal and child care practices in the period, including inadequate hygiene, early weani[...]nlight, led to exceptionally high mortality rates for babies – both in family homes and government in[...]tchinson died in 1866, aged 74. 5 J. G. Turner, The pioneer missionary: life of the Rev. Nathaniel Turner, missionary in New Zealand,[...]by his son (London: Wesleyan Conference, 1872). Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]d, as head chaplain at the notorious Macquarie Harbour[...]nd subsequently became the first chaplain of the Port Arthur gaol in 18[...]Captain Horton to establish a Wesleyan School for boys (Horton College)[...]re-locating to Sydney. There, he ultimately held the role of president of the Australasian Wesleyan Conference and while comple[...]ablish Newington College (another Wesleyan school for boys located in modern-day Silverwater). He became the school’s first President in 1863. Described as[...](artist unknown, c. 1855 – pictured) is held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia. William[...]Methodism in 1814. Selected as a missionary to the South Seas in 1826, Schofield’s first appointment was to the harsh penal settlement at Macq[...]en’s Land, where he remained for four years. Following Macquarie Harbour, the Wesleyan Conference wanted to[...]ans fund was created in her husband’s name, and the impressive Schofield Hall (1886) was built at the Methodist Ladies College, Burwood. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]4 – 1835 Rev William Simpson served at the Parramatta Chapel for two years (1834 and 1835), immediately prior to the arrival of Rev Daniel Draper. Simpson had[...]d Launceston in Tasmania, and also worked for a time in Victoria. Daniel Draper: 1835 – 1839[...]Hampshire, England in 1810. He was raised in the Church of Engla[...]Draper was selected as a candidate for the Wesleyan minist[...]happy start – Sarah and the couple’s baby son[...]1838 and were interred in the grave of Catherine[...]nd compelling preacher. During his tenure at both the first and second Wesleyan Chapels in Parramatta (Macquarie Hall pictured, next page), the local congregation increased and flourished – with crowds for Sunday services regularly spilling onto the footpath. ‘Revival’ was also in the air during Draper’s tenure, with loud and enthu[...]1866, Draper and his wife Elizabeth, died during the infamous sinking of the SS London in the Bay of Biscay– a renowned shipping disaster that claimed mass casualties. The boat was carrying a cargo of railway iron and coal that could not withstand the challenges of a violent storm. Following the sinking of the ship, and others like it, new laws were enacted to enforce cargo limits (based on the ‘plimsoll’ or ‘waterline’) – and to rei[...]er to prevent future tragedies. Also dying aboard the London was John Woolley, first principal of the University of Sydney, the family of Henry Samuel Chapman (MP/Attorney-General for Victoria), and John Debenham, son of the founder of Debenham’s department store, London. As the ship went down, survivors heard Draper praying with the terrified passengers and reassuring them, as othe[...]ling them that they would need it more than her. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]7 6 The second Parramatta Wesleyan Chapel – Macquarie H[...]wspaper clipping: Deaths of Rev and Mrs Draper in the sinking of the London, 1866 https://victoriancollections.net.au/items/5c1c658721ea7e18c0142964 Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]began preaching at the age of 19. Commencing with an ‘unofficial’[...]o Sydney and spent the remainder of his career[...]es between 1840 and 1843) and generally improving the independence, administrative quality and public respectability of the denomination in NSW. The Parramatta revival alone brought multiple convert[...]0) as an event of great significance. McKenny was the first minister after Daniel Draper to serve at Pa[...], was appointed supernumerary in 1847 and died in the same year at his grand Victorian residence in Sta[...]Edward Sweetman (1793–1856) was shipwrecked in the Cape de Verde Islands on[...]Australia as a missionary in 1835. In preparation for a fresh journey, he condu[...]Sarah in London, in 1836 (the couple met and fell in love[...]d conducting chaplaincies/bible study programs at the ‘Female Factory’ and other Parramatta institutions. In 1846, the couple moved to Melbourne and established small b[...]le Brighton, Geelong and Fitzroy, which increased the denomination’s acceptance in the colony. In 1850, he was briefly posted to Launceston, Van Diemen’s Land, before returning to the familiarity of Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]. By 1854, with his health rapidly deteriorating, the couple and their children returned to England, where Sweetman officially retired from the ministry in 1855. He died at his home in Devon, i[...]leyan conversion rates, the denomination’s growing representation in civic[...]prosperity relating to the NSW Gold Rush. During his two[...]weddings, and also served at the nearby rural locations[...]Kissing Point and Dundas. In 1855, he represented the Wesleyan Church at a large British and Foreign Bi[...]s and his wife made a second journey to Tonga via the John Wesley – and on their return, Adams became[...]s born in Yorkshire, the son of a Wesleyan minister. He was[...]candidate in 1843. After studying at the Theological College[...]ons and President of the Conference in 1872. Described[...]on a mission trip in the Hawkesbury in 1881, aged 62. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]In addition to being elected President of the Methodist Conference in 1867, Gaud was a member of the Newington College Council with[...]career. Held in high esteem by the Wesleyan leadership and a valued[...]Gaud died at his Parramatta residence in the Spring of 1882. Thomas Angwin: 1855[...]tenure at Parramatta’s ‘Macquarie Hall’ at the peak of thethe conversion of 16 year old future minister, Confer[...]ent and author, James Carruthers. After moving to the Central West and serving three successful years as the first Wesleyan minister at Mudgee, Angwin died at[...]in 1867, aged just 35. He was highly regarded in the town as a person of simple and faithful character, who had energetically facilitated the building of Mudgee’s first Wesleyan Church – an effort that earned him the respect of all residents and clergy in the region, regardless of their denomination. Followi[...]d admirers in Mudgee was erected in his memory at the town’s Wesleyan Church in Mortimer Street. It s[...]denominational and economic prosperity in the town. In 1858, he[...]appointments to Goulburn and York Street, Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| Sydney. Known as the ‘Prince of Preachers’ prior to the development of an incurable throat condition, Curnow displayed dual journalistic prowess through his work for the Christian Advocate and the Wesleyan Record in the 1860s and 70s. After becoming a supernumerary in 1877 and serving for another nine years, he resigned from the Wesleyan ministry after securing the role of editor of the Sydney Morning Herald in 1886 – a job that he would hold for the next 15 years. Considered a cultured, cautious, u[...]y and productive widowhood, tirelessly advocating for improvements to women’s and children’s rights, including via free kindergartens for impoverished children in the inner-city. She co-founded the highly regarded Women’s Literary Society, the Women’s College at the University of Sydney and the Optimists’ Club of NSW. Stephen Rabone: 1857[...]missionary at the age of 22 and quickly offered himself for overseas service. In 1834,[...]John Thomas), the couple was shipwrecked in the Cape de Verde[...], they sailed for Hobart in 1835, and from there to Tonga, where they spent 17 years. The mission was c[...]missionaries in the Islands after their parents[...]dney in 1850. For over ten years, Rabone’s powerful preaching voi[...]ing at Parramatta in 1857. He became President of the Australasian Conference in 1861, President of Newington College in 1864, and in the late 1860s, undertook a return voyage to the Friendly Islands in the company of fellow Pacific missionary, Rev James Watkin. Rabone was also Chair of the first Newington College Council in 1866 and continued to energetically serve his denomination until the end of his life. Considered an insightful mentor[...]isters, he died suddenly aged 61 while walking to the Wesleyan Chapel in Redfern where he was due to pr[...]survived by his wife Sarah and all his children. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Presbyterian and Anglican ministers of the period – and one famed Geologist – the Wesleyans’ Rev William C[...]impacted or actively profiting from the Gold Rush in the Central West. Working in t[...]in town life and governance. He was President of the NSW Conference in 1877 and 1890. When he died in[...]an ascendancy and influence in the town. He was second minister to Rev William Keyna[...]1862, then served independently until the arrival of Rev James Watkin in[...]number of Methodist records of the mid to late 19th century – with his[...]in Cornwall, England – the son of a sea captain – and was educated at a private school before training for the Wesleyan ministry. Appoi[...]y in 1854, he arrived in the company of William Curnow and other[...]Surrey Hills. A co-editor of the popular Christian Advoca[...]ter, Joseph Fletcher, in the 1860s and 70s, his superior Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]ts. On his return to Sydney in 1878, he served at the Bourke Street Chapel and was elected President of the NSW and Queensland Conference in 1880. In the early 1880s he was Secretary of Foreign Missions[...]s President of Newington College and in 1890 held the position of President of the General Conference of the Australasian Wesleyan Church. Kelynack succumbed[...]Manchester, England at the very start of the 19th century, Watkin qualified for the ministry and was immediately dispatched to the Friendly Islands (Tong[...]faultless acquisition of the Tongan language – a fact readily acknowledged and praised by the Tongans themselves). While in the Islands, he wrote to the Wesleyan authorities in London appealing for more personnel for Fiji, which was, at the time, an un- Christianised country suffering a sp[...]a surge in support from missionary authorities in the UK and an eventual improvement in conditions for the Fijian people. Returning to Sydney in 1839, Watki[...]re he commenced a fifteen year ministry involving the establishment of chapels and mission-stations amo[...]ps, and a concerted effort at peacemaking between the various parties. In the process, he became a nuanced interventionist-diplomat between the colonial government and indigenous interests. Mov[...]d Parramatta. In 1862 he was elected President of the Wesleyan Conference, and was installed as a super[...]fiery” and impassioned preacher and a generous, good-humoured man with firm principles, ‘Father Watkin’ passed away at his home in Ashfield as the oldest minister in Australia. High-ranking Method[...]ors and Wilkinson – officiated at his funeral. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]8 8 Ministers of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference, Sydney, 1861 (including 15 past Superintendents of the Parramatta Church: Revs Rabone, Turner, Schofield[...]uthers). Parramatta Mission Archival Collection. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]he had been a Wesleyan minister for just three years. His role was to support the more senior Rev Watkin at the busy ‘Macquarie Hall[...]hapel, particularly in the face of Watkin’s widespread Parramatta Circuit[...]Parramatta to Liverpool, Castlereagh and the Hills per week). He al[...]nd hospitality to both the local community and the students of Newington[...]appointed superintendent to the Beechworth Circuit, Victoria – following a care[...]and and Victoria. While at Creswick, Victoria, at the turn of the century, he played a key role in the landmark coming together of the various Methodist sects, including Bible Christians, to form the united ‘Methodist Church of Australasia’ in 1[...]He quickly became a devoted servant of the Wesleyan Ch[...]appointments included the Hawkesbury,[...], Bathurst, the Hunter, Geelong, Wollongong,[...]resident of the Methodist Conference in 1875 and[...]g donations for the Wesleyan Theological[...]appointed Chaplain to the military of NSW, including the navy. Wilkinson considered the role a genuine career high point and demonstrated an abiding respect for those Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]uding via his hosting of ‘parade services’ at the Methodist Centenary Hall in Sydney. In retirement[...]cards to hospitals and asylums, gave presents to the blind and was a regular hospital visitor – incl[...]such as leprosy. His funeral in 1900 was held at the Stanmore Wesleyan Church, with Wilkinson being de[...]Following initial training at the Richmond[...]arrived in Australia aboard the Damascus in 1864 in the company of four, fellow[...]Manning and Brentnall. Of the five men,[...]s within the Methodist Church in Australia,[...]th 1886 and 1905 he was installed as President of the NSW Conference and held key positions as District Chairman (various Circuits), Secretary of the Centennial Thanksgiving Fund and General Secretary of the Methodist Church Sustenation and Home Missionary Society. Under his leadership, the Thanksgiving Fund raised nearly £20,000. Returni[...]1900 with his young English wife, Sellors guided the Leigh Memorial congregation through a series of m[...]al events including Australian Federation (1901), the death of Queen Victoria (1901) and Methodist Union (1902), and represented the NSW Church at international events including a British Methodist Conference at the turn of the century. Known for his “striking personality” – and as a dynam[...]A notebook used by Sellors in 1877-79 is held in the collection of the Port Macquarie Museum. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]ially spent time on the Victorian goldfields seeking his fortune[...]decided to forego his prior plans and train for the Wesleyan ministry.[...]wral, Mudgee, Grafton, Camden, Glebe, Windsor and the Lower Hawkesbury. During his Parramatta appointment, he served at the second Chapel, Macquarie Hall (between the ministries of Richard Sellors and James Phillips)[...]was a time of high optimism and civic engagement for Parramatta’s Wesleyans. Recalled as a popular a[...]Germany and England). One of his poems, titled ‘The Christmas Night’ was published in the Hawkesbury Advocate, Windsor, on 29 December 1899[...]. Its final verse read, And as unto Almighty God, the chant ascended, With blessed news for mortals, thus it ended, “Peace to the world, and hope for stricken mortals, To each, through Bethlehem’s Babe, is op’d the portal of bliss once more! The world shall be restored, For God to man, through Christ doth saving help afford!” In the same newspaper article, it was noted that “Mrs Swift has at all times proved herself an ardent worker for the Church, and has consequently been of great assistance to her worthy husband in ministering the Christian doctrine, she having on occasions stepped into the breach, and taken the service, rather than see the congregation depart unsatisfied.”9 Installed as a supernumerary in 1906 after a solid 43 year career in the Church – and living out his retirement in coast[...]ps://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/66368171 Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]easured boyhood memories of meeting senior men in the Church at Liverpool – som[...]NSW, where he unofficially attended the first Australasian Wesleyan Conference of 1855. Phillips entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1862 and married his wife An[...]William Hill: 1871 – 1873 The most readily available record of a Wesleyan Minis[...]liam Hill” in 19th century Australia is that of the unfortunate Rev William Hill wh[...]a pastoral visitation in 1869. The case caused a sensation and was reported in almost every newssheet in the country. However, a booklet tit[...]liam Hills’ were registered as ministers within the Conference’s Australian ranks – including the Rev William Hill (1832–1899) who was appointed[...]a before a transfer to Tonga in 1859–60. During the remainder of his career, he worked in various loc[...]a eulogy noting Hill’s multiple contributions. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]long serving ministers. A supernumerary for 20 years and a[...]was also a pioneer missionary to the Manning- Macleay and Clarence river regions of the NSW North Coast[...]pictured below, c. 1900). There, among the river communiti[...]ously travelled the rivers and backroads of his Circuits[...]and East Maitland, Bourne retired to Lindfield at the age of 80 and pursued his long-term interests in the arts and nature/gardening. Following his passing, President of thethe Methodist Church. Bourne was survived by his wife[...]/story/4364380/macleay-river-historical-society/ Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Rev Jabez Waterhouse (1821–1891) was the eldest son of renowned[...]1839 when he commenced his appointment as the first General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Missions in Australia and Polynesia. At the age of 23, Jabez returned to England to attend the Richmond Theological College[...]ppointment in Van Diemen’s Land – after which the first local Wesleyan Conference of 1855 appointed[...]rom “Mr. Waterhouse” was read to a meeting of the Wesleyan Missionary Society in Sydney. Among other observations, it noted the challenges of serving in remote locations, including Tonga. Becoming an expert on the topic, Waterhouse would use some of his retirement to write a book titled, The Secession and the Persecution in Tonga (1886). Among the many roles that testified to his skills as a leader and administrator, he was Secretary of the Conference, Treasurer of the Wesleyan Church Sustenation Society and President of the Conference – all in 1876. He was also a long term supporter of the Board of Missions, sometimes deputising for Rev Dr George Brown. At the Methodist Conference of 1879, he moved a motion permitting general members to sit in the gallery during proceedings, while reserving the right of select delegates to hold closed door mee[...]Parramatta tenure came at a time when the congregation was outgrowing[...]in 1878. Trustee, Mr. Manton, described the minister as a person of “[...]s. On leaving Parramatta, he returned to Bathurst for a second tenure. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]8) was ordained into the Wesleyan ministry in 1847 and arrived in NSW in 1849. He served the Wesleyan Church for 35 years and was appointed President of thethe Wesleyan Foreign Mis[...]hter and her family in Broken Hill. At the time of his death he was the oldest Methodist minister in NSW and a[...]re, England, in 1827 and heard a call from God at the age of 18. He trained to become a preacher and was accepted into the Wesleyan ministry by the British Conference in 1856. Migrating to Australi[...]a, Parramatta, Tamworth (where he was Chairman of the District) and Wollongong (where he ultimately bought a home). At Parramatta, he served at the second Chapel, ‘Macquarie Hall’ (exterior and[...]nd retiring in 1886. When he passed away in 1902, the Methodist described his pastoral efforts and prea[...]by 2 daughters and 1 son, who was a librarian at the Parramatta School of Arts. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Local Preacher, and ultimately trained for the Wesleyan ministry. The English Conference of 1858 endorsed Martin and sent him to the mission field in Australia,[...]n Rabone, President of the NSW Conference. He sub[...]le. In 1873 he also became a long- term editor of the Wesleyan newspaper, the Advocate and later, the Methodist. He was installed as President of the Wesleyan Conference in 1882. During his time at P[...]sions regarding a possible new Wesleyan Church on the Macquarie Street site to accommodate its growing congregation and Sunday School – by then numbering in the many hundreds. As a man, Martin was gifted, intel[...]dious – enjoying subjects as diverse as poetry, the classics, philosophy, history and science. In an[...]hat one could be a committed Christian and uphold the benefits of scientific discovery and open enquiry[...]civic circles. Among multiple other engagements, the Sydney Morning Herald reported in 1895 that he had conducted an instructive lecture at the Wesleyan Centenary Hall on the topic, ‘The Microscope and its Revelations.’ Another lecture had focussed on the mysteries of the Sun, while yet another had been titled, ‘The Moon and Her Scenery.’ Martin died after a short illness in 1901. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Parramatta – including as Chairman of the District in[...]throughout the mid to late 19th century who specialised in the spiritual nurture of remote, rural[...]conversations regarding the building of a larger church on the Macquarie Street site[...]– 1884 In the early 1860s, English-born and[...]1903) commenced his career in the Wesleyan mini[...]after which he served for a further 38 years[...]Personally trained for his theological career by the venerable Rev Joseph Oram and then via classes at the Horton College in Tasmania, Clifton was nonethele[...]orator with many ‘country’ skills (including the capacity to handle a bullock team). At Parramatta, he was present for the official ‘Laying of Foundation Stones’ ceremony for Leigh Memorial Church – and for a portion of its 1884-5 construction. He passed away in Enfield at the age of 68 after a valuable career and a long and[...]married, and was survived by his second wife and the daughter of his first marriage. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]pointment was to the Parramatta Circuit, where he presided over the construction and grand opening of[...]impressive career in both education and the Church, Prescott[...]nd Headmaster of the Wesleyan Ladies College (later the MLC School) in Burwood in 1886, and President and[...]898. Holding additional positions as President of the Methodist Conference and President of the Theological College at Stanmore, he primarily ser[...]n after 31 years of service, albeit staying on as the College’s ‘honorary Chaplain’ until his death in 1943. On his retirement from the College, Rev Burton (incumbent President of the Methodist Conference), hailed the popular and venerated Prescott “a scholar, a ge[...]– where he was Chairman of the District. During his time at Parramatta, Pincombe[...]befriended Rev Woolls Rutledge and experienced the excitement of the opening and early days of the new Leigh Memorial Church. Settling in North Sydney in the later years of his life, his final appointment wa[...]n 1910 and was survived by his wife Jane and his Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]ted Sydney Passore Pincombe (1888–1929), became the Australian representative for the Royal Typewriter Company (USA) and operated his o[...]iter business called ‘Sydney Pincombe Ltd’ in the centre of Sydney. Sydney was also a founding memb[...]Charles Olden migrated to Australia at the age of 24. After a few years in Queensland,[...]al and finally, Parramatta. A leader of the ‘Social Purity Society,’ which opposed the regulation of prostitution and other behaviours considered degrading to religious standards of the day, Olden was an influential speaker and a staunch moral advocate. In the final year of his Parramatta tenure in 1888, he f[...]id. After a brief but intense illness, he died at the ‘Leigh House’ parsonage at Macquarie Street,[...]den’s Leigh Memorial funeral. Sadly, he was not the first resident of Macquarie Street and surrounds to succumb to typhoid – with the old convict drain running through the Parramatta Wesleyan property the likely source of additional town infections (rife[...]eated sewage and periodically stagnant water). By the end of the 19th century, the drain was considered a major town “nuisance”[...]began efforts to have it sealed. However, despite the best efforts of many, the matter remained unresolved for decades and caused further outbreaks and deaths. One of the drain’s other victims was Jabez Lavors (co-buil[...]wn McCallum (1854–1934) entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1882 at the age of 28. During his long career[...]ev Olden and Rev Parkinson during the first four years of the new Leigh Memorial Church, which[...]. Held in high regard by his old parishioners and the leadership of the Methodist Church, McCallum was long retired, 80 and a widower, when he died at the Camden residence of his daughter, Mrs. Furner, in 1934. The President of the Conference, Rev Bembrick, attended the funeral. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Serving at Parramatta within a few years of the opening of Leigh Memorial Churc[...]succeeded Rev William McCallum in the Parramatta Circuit and was foll[...]tta, he appears to have served single-handedly at the church during 1890. James Wins[...]Born in Peterhead on the eastern-most point of the Scottish coast, Re[...]Racecourse to proclaim the sin of gambling and[...]been accepted into the ministry at the age of 22. His Aus[...]Centenary Hall and the Lyceum, Sydney – and at Parramatta in 1894-6, h[...]ectured to, and pastorally supported, students of the Leigh Theological College and enjoyed the love and respect of friends of all ages throughou[...]1938, and was survived by his wife and children. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]city Circuits and serving as Chairman of the Armidale Dis[...]President of the NSW Methodist Conference[...]Australia at the British Methodist Conference of 1908 and became President of the General Conf[...]as conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of[...]1914. Serving at Parramatta in the final years th of the 19 century, he ran a successful campaign to have the Parramatta Wesleyan Church re-named ‘Leigh Memo[...]joined Rev Woolls Rutledge in a diligent campaign for Methodist Union, which was realised in 1902. Known for his powerful preaching style, his inauguration of the Ladies Church Aid movement and his conservative,[...]itish imperial precepts, Carruthers was editor of the Methodist for 17 years, an avid opinion writer in the religious and secular press, and the author of books such as Memories of an Australian Ministry (1922), Lights in the Southern Sky (1924) and The History of Scotland (1926). He advocated, but did[...]n his visionary efforts to bring about a union of the Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian Church[...]10 children. His two wives pre-deceased him. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Australia and achieved the positions of President of the SA Conference (1885),[...]his early retirement, he was strongly attached to the new Strathfield Circuit and settled in the suburb in a house called ‘Tip Trees,’ designed by his architect son, Alfred. Newman drove the action to build the Carrington Avenue Methodist Church in Strathfield, which opened in 1908. Funding for the project was enabled by a parishioner’s bequest[...]benefactor, Ebenezer Vickery). Newman’s son was the architect for the new Strathfield Church and a number of other Methodist Churches of the era, including those at Croyden, Auburn, Young, M[...]). A memorial window to Newman was consecrated in the Strathfield Church following his death in 1911 an[...]at of Samuel Leigh and Walter Lawry, by donors of the Church’s new electric lights (c. 1912). Credite[...]l involvements in contemporary Temperance groups, the Young Men’s Christian Association and the Young Women’s Christmas Association, Newman was[...]e was survived by his second wife, Elizabeth, and the 10 children of his two marriages. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]dedicated Primitive Methodist family in the Hunter region of NSW, he entered the Methodist ministry in his[...]Bowral. His brief time in the Parramatta Circuit was focussed at the North Parramatta Church an[...]Methodist Union. After becoming President of the Conference in 1907, and af[...]ircuit work, he retired to Homebush and was 80 at the time of his passing. As a long- time friend of Re[...]e of his final speaking engagements was welcoming the Woodhouses to the Singleton Church in the year before his death. Penman was survived by his wife, two daughters and three sons – all the sons being graduates. One, L.E. Penman, became Pr[...]and grew up in the Parkes and Cobar regions. He entered the ministry at 23[...]of service in the state, his NSW Circuits[...]1922, he was invited to give the Fernley Lecture in South Australia – becoming only the second Methodist minister after Rev Fitchett to receive the honour. His time of service at Parramatta coincided with a period of significant prosperity and popularity for the denomination – and one that brought about a cha[...]d in 1943, aged 81, he received multiple tributes for both his career achievements and his contributions to the field of young people’s ministry – including as a long term editor of the Sunday School page in the Methodist. He was survived by his wife and children. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]t appointed to the Lower Hawkesbury Circuit in[...]was also a devoted President of the NSW Christian[...]ng interest in the movement. During his time at Parramatta, he held the simultaneous roles of Secretary of the NSW Conference and Home[...]end, Rev Henry Howard, who had simultaneously led the North Parramatta Methodist congregation between 1[...]t facilitated many, positive interactions between the two churches and their Christian Endeavour groups[...]an of two Sydney Districts, and then President of the Methodist Conference in the difficult wartime year of 1915. It was a challenging period for the leadership of the Church, especially as pacifist/anti-conscription voices within its ranks strained to be heard over a dominant chorus of British-centric jingoism. Following the war, Woodhouse continued with Circuit work before retiring to Woodford in the Blue Mountains. After a period of ill-health in 1[...]was survived by his wife and son. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Rev Joseph Walker was welcomed to Parramatta at the same time as Rev Branch. The two men shared the responsibilities there for two years, after which Walker[...]appointment, Walker was Superintendent of the Shoalhaven District – and a Secretary of the NSW Methodist Synod. Both[...]enthusiastically involved in the Christian Endeavour and Su[...]tian Endeavour meetings in the Shoalhaven alone. Walker was also a dedicated President of thethe eulogies on his passing. He was survived by his w[...]regular contributor of articles to the Methodist, Australian Christian[...]J. Harding: 1912 – 1914 The son of a renowned English-born Wesleyan missionary to the Pacific and New Zealand, Rev Alfred Harding serve[...]ly at a time of rising international tensions and the outbreak of war. After a 44 year career in which[...]out on a long, interstate holiday. On his return Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]n 1948, survived by his second wife and children. The first Mrs. Harding had passed away suddenly at the couple’s Yass parsonage in 1904 during her husb[...]many other Circuits, Holmes was the Leigh Memorial minister for most of WWI and simultaneously served as Methodist Army Chaplain to thethe Cumberland Argus ‘War Book’ (1920) (produced to commemorate the men of the Parramatta region who served and died in the Great War). Among the many administrative posit[...]is career, he was a Secretary, then President, of the NSW Methodist Conference in 1920. In 1928, he dev[...]at Parramatta during the First World War as second[...]School and graduated from the University of Sydney[...]he was accepted into the ministry and entered the theological seminary at Newington College for two years. Upon grad[...]a Methodist minister for 25 years in multiple Circuits including the Murray-Darling, Coro[...]had taken leave from the ministry to travel extensively throughout the UK and Europe – effectively completing what was known in the Victorian era as a Grand Tour. Fleming was a well-educated and sensitive minister, who was also remembered for his dedication, patriotism and leadership within the Masonic Lodge. He died aged 50 at the Methodist Church of Mortdale parsonage after an i[...]He was survived by his wife and three children. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| the year of mourning and reconciliation following the First World War, and during what was the peak of the Spanish Flu pandemic in Austral[...]Victoria, where he graduated from the University of Melbourne at the precocious age of 14, Bromilow had married his wife Harriet in 1879 and sailed immediately for Fiji – where he served for 10 years as a Wesleyan missionary. After a brief[...]Victoria, Bromilow and his wife then travelled in the company of Rev Dr George Brown and a large retinu[...]achers to British New Guinea in 1891. As Chair of the District there for 17 years, he established multiple chapels, school[...]his time in New Guinea, Bromilow also translated the New Testament into the Dobuan language – an effort that earned him his Doctorate from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland – and ultimately led to the production of books containing what are now consi[...]lonizer-centric’ ethnographical observations of the Papuan culture. Bromilow, his family and their Papuan assistants returned to Australia via the SS Wimmera in 1908 (pictured below). In 1911, he was elected President of the Methodist Conference. During his career, he serve[...]anmore and Strathfield until his death in 1929 at the age of 71. Bromilow was survived by his wife and daughter. Among the many books written by him are Vocabulary of Engli[...]an and Samoan (1904), Some Manners and Customs of the Dobuans of S. E. Papua (1910), Dobuan (Papua) Bel[...](1929). A biography of Bromilow was published by the Methodist Church in 1960.11[...]12 11 W. Chaseling, A Boy from Geelong – The Adventures of William Bromilow (Methodist Oversea[...]eligious-and-social/rev-william-edward-bromilow/ Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Rev W Mills Robson served at Parramatta during the church’s landmark c[...]n NSW before assuming the role of Captain-Chaplain in the 46th Battalion of the AIF during the First World War. Post-war, his career in the Methodist Church was[...]le, key committees of the Church and focussed on improving its mid-century outlook to include the unique needs of children and young people. In the early 1930s, he served as a membership and fundraising campaign director for the Methodist Church in NSW, and in the aftermath of WWII, worked diligently as a Chaplain/Rehabilitation officer at the Concord Rehabilitation Hospital. For most of his life, Robson was also a writer, and in the decades following his war service, contributed a number of articles to the Methodist and other publications, including many that utilised anecdotes from his time in the armed forces. A popular and approachable minister, Robson won the respect of congregations wherever he went. On his[...]Rev Henry Andrews passed away suddenly on the platform of Roseville Rai[...]nmore. He was Chairman of the Armidale, Parramatta and ‘Second Sydney’ Districts and Chair of the 1928 Methodist Conference.[...]a sought after leader and treasured friend, with the Methodist hailing him “one of the best known and best loved Ministers of our Church.” His funeral at Waverley included representatives of the ‘Lodge Eastern’ and ‘Lodge Parramatta St. John,’ in addition to key leaders of the Methodist Church in NSW. Andrews was survived by his wife and children. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]ay: 1925 – 1927 The second Parramatta Wesleyan minister to pass[...]his parishioners and the townspeople and masonic[...]long after his passing. Known for his staunch Method[...]tenacious one. At the age of 17, he had sailed with his Wesleyan[...]where he served in the Maori Wars before entering the Wesleyan ministry in 1896. After working in Christchurch for a time, he travelled to NSW, where he was Secretary of the Central Methodist Mission between 1906 and 1910. Murray then re-entered the active ministry, serving in locations including G[...]ta in 1925. During his career, he was responsible for the building or expansion of a number of Methodist ch[...]y and Brunswick Heads. Struggling with his health for most of 1927 and forced to return to his family h[...]aged 65 years. Rev George Percival had deputised for Murray at Parramatta during his long absence. As Grand Chaplain of the NSW Loyal Orange Protestant Lodge, Murray was aff[...]eral and procession from Leigh Memorial Church to the train station and then Rookwood cemetery. He was[...]ict Secretary and Chairman, a long term leader of the Methodist Young People’s Department and served diligently on the Board and Council of the Methodist Ladies College at Burwood for nearly 30 years. As a preac[...]survived by his wife and daughters. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Church during the Great Depression, Rev Eli[...]coal-mining communities in the Hunter region[...]strongly with the predominantly working[...]opulations of the town and was anecdotally known as a[...]founding member of the Methodist Church[...]regularly led bespoke history tours of the old town, kno[...]its to St. John’s cemetery, Parramatta Park and the old Wesleyan Burial Ground in North Parramatta. Records concerning the life and times of the Leigh Memorial congregation during the 1930s are scarce, however the impacts of the First World War and the Great Depression depleted numbers, increased chur[...]nity hardship. More broadly, there were delays in the completion of civic projects and pressing issues with practical resources for the town. During Hynes’s tenure, the Leigh Memorial trustees sold off a large portion of land at the rear of the Church to Parramatta Council. In the future, this land would become a part of ‘Civic[...]Rev Herbert Sommerville served at Parramatta in the era immediately following the Great Depression and preceding the Second World War. He was present for Parramatta’s inauguration as a “city” in 19[...]during a period in which the Leigh Memorial trustees were struggling to ‘balance the books’ post- Depre[...]ng term Secretary of the Sydney District. He was[...]skills and a high-level capacity for record-keeping. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]– 1942 Rev T Manning Taylor was the son of renowned 19th century Methodist evangelist, Rev W G Taylor. Born in the Manning River district of NSW (henc[...]a BA degree before being called to the ministry in 1904. Appointed first t[...]Singleton and Parramatta. Appointed President of the Methodist Conference in 1942 (following in the footsteps of his father), Taylor became a vigorou[...]Leigh Memorial Methodist Church and membership of the ‘Ministers Fraternal’ at Parramatta during WW[...]ylor’s activism in local women’s groups (inc. the Ladies Church Aid and the Parramatta ‘Soldiers Hut’) – helped to boost morale during the conflict and establish a healthy war-time relationship between the congregation and the city’s other denominations and civic leadership[...]ers were dispatched by the NSW Conference to commence a new Circuit in the ‘Far West’ of NSW, an area[...]primarily stationed at Cobar. After the Far West Circuit was e[...]ved as missionaries in the challenging frontier of Papua New Guinea. By 1931, he was back in Australia and stationed at the Tweed Heads and Coolangatta Circuit on the NSW-OLD border, followed by Southport, Brisbane. Between 1942 and 1944, he was at Parramatta overseeing the congregation’s war effort and managing a variet[...]942 – not long after he and his wife arrived in the city – Mrs Ann Holland passed away at the Leigh Memorial parsonage while recovering from a[...]attack. Despite his loss, Holland remained active for the remainder of his appointment, and was instrumental in rallying patriotic prayer and practical support for the war effort, including during the Fall of Singapore and the Dunkirk landings. At the conclusion of his time at Parramatta, Holland became Chairman of the North Coast District, and in 1946, took up a superintendency at Bowral. He was President of the Conference in 1954. At the time of his passing, aged 85, Holland had been li[...]Beach. He was survived by 7 of his 10 children. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]erved at Parramatta in the latter stages of World War II and the early period of post-war recovery. Depleted by the war years, the congregation was nonet[...]Junee and Lakemba – and was Chairman of the Western District in 1921. Having been raised in the country, he retained a[...]strong supporter of Methodist Sunday Schools and the Methodist boys’ Order of Knights. In 1944-5, in[...]Chair, Peacock was involved in early negotiations for the purchase of land for the building of a Westmead Church. Albert Putland: 1[...]nd finally, Westmead & Parramatta. His efforts in the Parramatta Circuit focussed[...]raising (via ‘Faith in Action’ campaigns) – for much- needed improvements to[...]ta (ultimately resulting in Wesley Hall, 1957 and the Fellowship Centre, 1964) – and the provision of a Methodist Church for Westmead. While Chairman of the District, he regularly led services and meetings at the old Westmead Hall at Cotswold Street (a forerunner to the consecrated Church of 1962) – and astutely ment[...]amateur carpenter, he made a small glass cabinet for Leigh Memorial Church and a pulpit and baptismal font for Westmead. He and his wife Jessie and daughters Jean and Dorothy – were the final residents at the old ‘Leigh House’ parsonage prior to its 1955 demolition (to make way for the construction of Epworth House). Two stained glass[...]by their daughters in 1952 and 1970 respectively, the windows depict Jesus in his father Joseph’s workshop, and Dorcas, the devout seamstress from theVoices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]served as a parson in the Glen Davis oilfields and received his BA at the University of Sydney before enlisting in WWII. During the conflict, he served as a Chaplain at the infamous B[...]served in the war and had respected careers in the Methodist, then Uniting Churches. After the war, Udy obtained his MA at the University[...]doctoral qualifications in the USA between[...]Parramatta via Europe in 1951, the Church was in need of a young, dynamic minister to manage the morale and direction of the congregation at a critical mid-century juncture.[...]erintendents at Parramatta had been senior men of the Church – often coming to the city just prior to their retirement. Among the many achievements of Udy’s first tenure were the commencement of a strong MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship) and a ‘Couples Club,’ in addition to the building of ‘Epworth House’ and a furthering of plans for a Westmead Methodist Church. After leaving Parramatta in 1955, he served as Director of the Methodist Church’s Young People’s Department and worked in the US and Queensland in the 1960s- early 1970s, before returning to Parramatt[...]ng on a 15 year second appointment that witnessed the inauguration of many, ground-breaking outreach and community programs for Parramatta Regional Mission (including Life Line and Youth Line Parramatta, Hope Hostel, Wesley Lodge Motel, the Gloster Udy Christian Centre and Upper Room, ‘Koompartoo’ and the St. Alban’s Conference Centre), he also wrote a[...]ng Upper Room booklets in Australia, establishing the Gloster Udy Villas for adults living with special needs – and providing services and facilitating upgrades at the historic Castlereagh Church site. In addition to[...]he was awarded an MBE in 1980 and an OBE in 2003 for services to the community. He died suddenly in 2003, aged 85. The longest continuously serving minister in the history of Parramatta Mission, Udy and his devoted wife Joy (d. 2003) were interred at the Castlereagh Church cemetery and survived by their only child, daughter Joy Stuart Udy. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]called ‘Padre’ by the youth at Parramatta – arrived in the city after Gloster Udy[...]s placement to work at the Methodist YPD. A family man with a youthful outlook and good people skills, Don Hall resonated[...]. He continued most of the programs/groups initiated by Udy (including the MYF and Couples Club), in addition to the Circuit’s ‘Faith in Action’ campaigns aimed[...]financially supporting repairs at Parramatta and the building of a Westmead Methodist Church. Hall die[...]storal support to ex-servicemen in the local community, and families within the congregation. He was anecdotally known for his earthy, practical nature and his approachable preaching and pastoral style. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]ovoking, topical articles to the Messenger (the Parramatta Circuit, or ‘Leigh[...]ist newsletter) and acted as the newssheet’s editor. Haewood came to Parramatta towards the end of his ministerial career, including service[...]ring their joint tenure that the much anticipated ‘Leigh Memorial Fellowship Centre’ was opened beside the Church in 1964 by Sir Garfield Barwick, Chief Justice of Australia. The new building had a glassed-in front veranda, a la[...]rtyard – which proved popular with members from the outset. David Taylor: 1966 – 1969[...]kills, Rev David Taylor was primarily responsible for the Westmead congregation and present in 1969 when the Methodist Church endowed Parramatta with the title of ‘Regional Mission’[...]‘suburban’ church to a ‘city’ mission. At the time, Taylor and Heawood were also negotiating a complex period for the Christian Churches that included vast shifts in socio-cultural standards. Globally, the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War and thethe Methodist Church and a[...]nt in Fiji. Once arrived, Fullerton set in motion the transformation of Parra[...]on’ (as designated by the Methodist Church) and established the foundations of its new community and outreach-[...]ntially expanded during the subsequent superintendency of Gloster Udy,[...]Fullerton initiated key programs such as the Leigh Memorial Coffee Lounge and School for Seniors. He Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| also sought approval from Parramatta Council for a high rise office block on the Macquarie Street site that would facilitate the machinations of the new Mission, however the proposal was twice knocked back. In 1971, he accepted the role of Principal at Queen’s College, Melbourne[...], he was a long term Minister in Association with the ‘Church of All Nations’ in Carlton, near Melb[...]llerton passed away in 2008, aged 90. A Chapel at the Church of All Nations is named in his honour. Le[...]crucial time. Not only was Taylor the assistant minister to Doug Fullerton in a phase o[...]at Parramatta – he was necessary to the maintenance of regular worship an[...]Gloster Udy (1973-88), Noble was present for the heritage festival cele[...]in Parramatta (1971), and for the start-up of landmark Mission ventures such as the Leigh Memorial Coffee Lounge, School for Seniors, the Leigh Memorial communi[...]ne Parramatta. Gloster Udy appointed him minister for the Westmead congregation at Cotswold Street during h[...]ndsay Doust served at Parramatta Regional Mission for three years as assistant minister to Rev Dr Gloster Udy. Taking responsibility for numerous children’s, youth and young adult[...]matta when it commenced in 1976. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]1971. © Parramatta Mission Archival Collection. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Gloster Udy, he primarily served as the first Uniting Church chaplain at the new Westme[...]pictured below), supply minister to the Westmead c[...]within a number of the Mission’s landmark[...]worked at Quirindi, Alice Springs and the North West[...]a call to chaplaincy within the Australian Army, Rev Bedford eventually served al[...]ministry colleagues – and congregations within the Methodist Church – for his involvement in the controversial conflict. Although the situation caused a strain on Bedford, he remained a popular and dedicated ‘padre’ among the troops and returned soldiers. After his service in Vietnam, Roy worked as a chaplain at the Repatriation Hospital, Concord, before taking up his Parramatta Mission appointment. In the later phase of his career – and in retirement – he continued to selflessly devote himself to the service of others. In 2014, Roy’s efforts were[...]ichael Gladwin’s best-selling book, Captains of the Soul: A history of Australian Army chaplains.15[...]16 15 Michael Gladwin, Captains of the Soul – A history of Australian Army chaplains ([...].au/Westmead-Hospital/About-Westmead/Our-History Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]previously served alongside Rev Alan Walker at the CMM (Central Methodist[...]ing at Parramatta after the 15 year incumbency of Gloster Udy, the Jackson era represented a continuation of certain projects and the commencement of many, fresh directions for a new decade. These occurred within an[...]expression in Sydney’s West, and alongside the increased corporatisation/expansion of the Mission’s hospitality[...]capability. High profile patrons of the Mission during the 1990s were Wallaby Captain, Nick Farr-Jones and Australian Cricket Captain, Mark Taylor. The ‘Friends of Parramatta Mission’ was also form[...]nducted multiple fundraising events in support of the Mission – including ‘The Big Jump,’ in which volunteers were sponsored to abseil from the roof of the Park Royal Hotel in Parramatta to the street below. Among other achievements in the period, the Mission commenced the Lifeline Care Project, Thelma Brown Cottage, the ‘Mission to the Poor,’ the Gloster Udy Villas, Ebbeck House, the new Westmead Church at Queens Road, plus extensions to Wesley Lodge Motel, the inauguration of the Fijian Parish of Parramatta Mission, the Urban Discipleship Unit, ‘The Kitchen’ (a forerunner to ‘Meals Plus’), and the historic ‘Harborne’ B&B. In 1992, Alan also p[...]luding late community leader Neil El-Kadomi, with the opportunity to use a room at the Mission as a temporary prayer space. This group ultimately established the first Parramatta Mosque and regularly recalled Alan’s actions as a breakthrough for interfaith cooperation in the region. In 1995-96, Alan also led a concerted heritage audit and upgrade/restoration of the Leigh Memorial Church building (including a roof restoration, internal repairs and remodelling – and the commencement of a small museum in the newly named ‘Walter Lawry Vestry’). He also i[...]ogram of heritage-related celebrations, including for the 175th anniversary of the first Parramatta Wesleyan Chapel that included a[...]r Amazing Mission. During his time at Parramatta, the thriving café/restaurant attached to Wesley Lodg[...]his retirement. His wife, Laurette – remembered for her multiple contributions, particularly in the spheres of women’s leadership, programming and[...]d continues to enjoy retirement and family life. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]ackson’s superintendency in the busy 1990s. During his Mission appointment, he was primary minister to the Westmead congregation until the arrival of Janet Dawson in 19[...]th Jeff and Joy Sanderson, in the pastorally sensitive transition of the congregation from its previous site at Cotswold S[...]its new location at Queens Road – in the heart of the Westmead medical precinct. He was also instrumental in facilitating a variety of projects adopted by the Mission in the 1990s, and a strong advocate for community and multicultural inclusion. After his tenure at Parramatta, Geoff served as Minister of the Word at Northmead Uniting Church and Team Leader in the UCA Hawkesbury Mission Zone. He currently holds the position of Chairperson-Mission Strategist of the Parramatta-Nepean Presbytery of the UCA in Western Sydney. Janet Dawson: 1995 – 20[...]he spent five years at Luddenham UC (then part of the ‘Campbelltown Regional Mission’). Inducted as the first female minister[...]serving as minister of the Westmead congregation, she also performed a chaplaincy role with staff of the Mission’s busy Commu[...], who were responsible for Mission programs including Thelma[...]evements at Westmead were many, including helping the congregation to formulate its ‘Sharing the Hospitality of Jesus Christ’ vision/motto and s[...]ty outreach focus. As part of this, Janet oversaw the installation of an Aboriginal themed artwork in the Church, participated in preliminary planning for Westmead’s successful ‘Open Door’ program a[...]rom 2002, she was Presbytery Officer, then Chair, for the Mid-North Coast of NSW – a role incorporating the tasks of minister, chairperson and secretary and[...]he is currently retired and enjoying family life. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]Rev Neale Roberts graduated with his MTh at the Sydney College of Divinity in 1998. In the early-to – mid 1990s[...]Presbytery counsellor at a Blacktown Hospice for people with end-stage H[...]. Combining his work at the Mission with a role as Recreation and Leisure Activity Coordinator for Western Sydney Area Mental[...]llor and coordinator. During his association with the Mission he worked closely with Rev Don Carrington as part of the Mission’s short-lived but landmark UDU (Urban D[...]nit) – which helped to shape and direct many of the Mission’s community service priorities of the early 21st century. After leaving the Mission in 2002, Neale served as a UCA parish min[...]in at Canberra Grammar School and a chaplain with the Australian Federal Police. He has been Mentoring Coordinator for ‘Menslink,’ Canberra, since 2014 and Manager of Spiritual Support Services for Canberra Hospital and Health Services since 2015. Don Carrington: 1996 – 1999 The late Rev Don Carrington completed key work within Darwin and the Northern Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia in the early 1980s, including producing a book focussing on the initiation and development of the Aboriginal and Islander Christian[...]Church (1984) and is held at the National Library of Australia. Serving at Parramatta Mission in the final three years of Rev[...]was primarily responsible for the ‘UDU’ or Urban Disci[...]verseeing ‘City’ mission strategies to assist the homeless, hungry, mentally ill, refugees, new migrants, the marginalised – and in the 1990s, those suffering with the isolation and paranoia surrounding the HIV/AIDS crisis. Don worked with fellow Mission m[...]n a number of related programs – and as part of the broader pastoral team for the Mission at a crucial juncture. His contributions[...]stry, inc. Aboriginal and Islander relations with the wider UCA community. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]in Ireland and educated in both the UK and Australia – including completing theolog[...]Theological College, Sydney and the United Theological College, North[...]ving as a pastoral assistant in the Clontarf, Sutton and Skerries Circuit of the Methodist Church in Dublin. After moving to Australia, he worked and studied within the Anglican Church, including serv[...]Sydney. After completing his training within the Uniting Church, Trevor undertook tenures at Lake[...]uch as ‘Open Church,’ ‘Party at Five’ and the experimental ‘Church in the Pub.’ Working alongside both Alan Jackson and i[...]mith, Trevor was involved in many key programs of the era, including those pertaining to refugee, asylum seeker and migrant support – and the development of a strong ‘young adult’ ministry. He provided particular support to the Westmead and Leigh Fijian congregations during hi[...]ijian worship, c. 2000). Trevor has been minister for the Campsie Earlwood Clemton Park UCA congregation since 2014. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]5–2020 & Rev Dr Amelia Koh-Butler: 2018–2021 Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]eid: 2021 – 17 Effective from 1 July, 2021, the Parramatta Nepean Presbytery of the UCA appointed Revs Vladimir Korotkov, Suzanne Stanton, Rhonda White and Niall Reid as the ‘Transitional Ministry Team’ (TMT) for a potential ‘Parramatta City Uniting Churches’ alliance of the Parramatta Mission and Northmead-Centenary congre[...]s were put in place by Presbytery and endorsed by the Parramatta Mission Council. Rhonda and Niall were invited by Presbytery to join in the formation of the TMT. Rhonda has a Supply Ministry role at Centenary UC. Niall is Minister of the Word at Northnead UC. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]evangelist John Watsford was the son of[...]convict and coachman with the Royal[...]became the first student at Parramatta’s[...]crowd by the time he was a young adult[...]growing up immersed in the teachings of the first Parramatta Wesleyan Chapel[...]in 1838 with the open intention of[...]fe to Christ, and by 1841, had been accepted into the Wesleyan ministry. In that same year, he was witness to the famous evangelical ‘Revival’ at the new ‘Macquarie Hall’ Parramatta Chapel – during which scores of people were filled with the Holy Spirit and converted to Christianity. As a y[...]1844 and 1853 (during which time he duly learned the language and translated the New Testament into Fijian). On his return to Aust[...]n and Maitland. Watsford was elected President of the Conference in 1871 and as part of a new Church constitution, was elected first President of the ‘General’ Conference in 1878. After 50 years[...]ctoria, as a highly regarded, much- loved icon of the Methodist denomination. He died there in 1907, aged 87, and Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| was interred at the Booroonda Cemetery. Watsford’s wife Elizabeth p[...]number of his descendants entered or married into the Methodist ministry. After his death, Leigh Memorial’s Rev Henry Howard spoke in tribute to the treasured old minister, noting that ‘Father Wat[...]r noted that his example would be one to motivate the young people of Parramatta for all time. Watsford often referenced his own humbl[...]onal spiritual journeys, while always considering the greater good. An autobiography, Glorious Gospel Triumphs was p[...]gins, I have long been urged to write the story of my life and work in Fiji and[...]ve weight with me. They have said that the facts in my possession were not my own, and that[...]ssed Lord. This greatly influenced me, for I only wish to live to glorify God and to do good to others.18 A plaster bust of Watsford was plac[...]ial Church, Parramatta. Sculptor & date unknown. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]es (1844–1925) spent the 12 years of his retirement back in his home town[...]914 and 1925. Entering the ministry in 1858, Jones served at Seymour, Hay,[...]Deniliquin, Crookwell, Adelong, Nowra, the Wesley Church (Sydney)[...]Chairman of four successive Districts: the Riverina, Illawarra, G[...]nsiderable feat. Known for 57 years as a preacher of “evangelical[...]elong affinity with children, especially those in the public school system – Jones contributed widely to the Wesleyan cause and continued to undertake ‘supp[...]o had a slight Scottish accent – to which Jones good humouredly replied that it must be due to his clo[...]n with a lot of Scots! Jones served his Church to the end. On the Sunday before his death, he conducted a service at Parramatta Gaol – and on the day before he died, he was preparing a sermon for the following week at the Wentworthville Church. When he passed away at 80, he was survived by his second wife and the five children of his two marriages. A plaque in L[...]1950. © Parramatta Mission Archival Collection. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]born in Boothtown, Prospect. He was the first son an[...]he was 2, in order that he could be the first infant baptised in the grand, new Leigh[...]Booth married his wife, the popular Matron[...]1915. After their marriage, the couple served as missionaries in New Guinea for three years,[...]tland, NSW. After serving in multiple Circuits in the State over a 16 year period, Booth was sent to the Coffs Harbour & Waratah-Broadmeadow Circuit in 19[...]ng illness, Hannah Booth passed away, aged 56, at the same Newcastle General Hospital where she had tra[...]ed as a nurse. After WWII, Booth was appointed to the Centenary, North Parramatta Church, where he served until 1948. There, he enjoyed reacquainting himself with the region of his boyhood and a number of his old fri[...]nother 47 years after his wife died and as far as the research has allowed – appears to have never remarried. He passed away at 100 in 1983. It is known that in the years following his wife’s death, Booth’s mot[...]ted him while he worked. Altogether, Booth served the Church for 71 years and left a remarkable body of hand writt[...]and plaque in his memory to Parramatta Mission in the 1990s, which were subsequently displayed in Leigh Memorial Church. Voices for the Common Good[...] |
| [...]on It is fitting that this book concludes with the stories of three “Parramatta boys”: John Wats[...]Walter Lawry, chose to base himself in Parramatta for his retirement. It was his old stamping ground and he was fond of the place. Jones had an indefatigable spirit. His car[...]yanism’ in his sense of mateship and compassion for the disadvantaged. Jones was no-nonsense and brotherly. He made a difference. He was a voice for the common good. This book gratefully acknowledges Charles Jones, and all the other ‘voices for the common good’ whose names appear on the Leigh Memorial Ministers Board, plus those repres[...]‘ministry in association’ – and others from the spheres of chaplaincy, pastorship and lay contribution. A memorial address for Rev Charles T Newman, provided by friend and coll[...]an’s death in 1905, concluded with a quote from the hymn, Servant of God, Well Done (1854). An extract from the same hymn was used on a memorial plaque for Rev Charles Jones (consecrated in Leigh Memorial not long after his passing in 1925). The hymn’s words have a perennial application – including within the exciting, tense, COVID-centric, digitised, space-[...]ay at work…rest after tasks completed…rest in the love and peace of God…and they are relayed here[...]rved Leigh Memorial Church and Parramatta Mission for over two centuries:[...]hy loved employ. The battle fought, the victory won,[...]https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2934335 Voices for the Common Good[...] |
MD | |
| Voices for the common good : Missionaries and Ministers of Parramatta Mission in the 19th and 20th centuries | |
de Reland, Elizabeth., Voices for the common good : Missionaries and Ministers of Parramatta Mission in the 19th and 20th centuries (2023). Illuminate, accessed 19/04/2026, https://illuminate.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/23873