Launceston Wesleyan Methodists Contributions
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Launceston Wesleyan Methodists 1832 – 1849 Contributions, Commerce, Conscience by Anne Valeria Bailey Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania October 2008 This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 and later. Anne Valeria Bailey, October 2008 This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree in any tertiary institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due acknowledgment is made in the text of the thesis. Anne Valeria Bailey, October 2008 ii Abstract This thesis argues that the Launceston Wesleyan Methodists 1832-49 were a highly unusual global group. With an elite component, they went far beyond the normal range of colonial Wesleyan Methodist establishments. They have slipped through the net as regards their rightful place in history. What is being rescued from obscurity is this Society, which passed through initial missionary and strategising moves to community involvement, consecration of wealth, status, commercial success, banking involvement and then finally political involvement. It is argued that, in the short time frame designated, it was unusual for a first generation Wesleyan Methodist group to have achieved so much. The thesis is presented in two parts. For an understanding of the Launceston Wesleyan Methodists, the first part lays out the background of the formation of the Wesleyan Methodist Society, showing the varied influences that came to bear on John Wesley’s patchwork of developing theology, as well as Wesley’s evangelical economic principles. These economic principles are shown to have altered in the early nineteenth century with the rise of the Wesleyan Methodist middle class man. With the rise of evangelical international missionary enterprise, Wesleyan men of commerce understood that they had to consecrate their wealth to fund missionary endeavours of the Society. The Wesleyan Methodist mission trajectory to the South Seas is discussed with the failed early colonial missions of Sydney and Hobart. The second part details successful missionary endeavours towards the developing merchant town of Launceston. These endeavours began with the coming of Philip Oakden in 1833, and the forming of an elite within the Society who were prepared to shoulder financial responsibility. The Wesleyan Methodist spirit of egalitarianism in a penal situation is discussed, with a demographic study as well as a discussion of the global shift in liturgy. The Wesleyan Methodist conscience is explained through an examination of a particular spiritual diary. The acquisition of status is explained through land and property ownership, jury list membership and involvement in philanthropic and civic activities. With the establishment of iii status, the thesis makes a strong case for the Launceston Wesleyan Methodist contribution to banking, and this is verified with a banking table. Emphasis is given to the extraordinary involvement of Philip Oakden in the establishment of the second tier imperial bank, The Union Bank of Australia (the predecessor to the ANZ Bank). Political involvement for the Wesleyan Methodists in the 1840s is charted giving regard to the Teetotal Society and some growing resentments which led to the formation of the London Agency and Anti-Transportation Leagues, both of which had considerable Wesleyan Methodist input. The thesis contributes to the body of knowledge regarding world- wide Wesleyan Methodist establishments before 1850. It is the first time that a group of Australian colonial Wesleyan Methodists has been examined in such detail for their contributions and achievements. The thesis concludes that the Launceston Wesleyan Methodists, 1832-49 were an outstanding group who far surpassed normal Wesleyan Methodist establishments. iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors for their ongoing advice and support. Firstly Professor Michael Bennett, my associate supervisor for his initial readiness to see and envisage the possibilities of the topic. To Dr. Stefan Petrow my supervisor, for his always prompt replies to an offshore student, and the time and thought he gave to the project. His detailed knowledge of Tasmanian history was invaluable. To both Professor Bennett and Dr. Petrow I extend my thanks for facilitating the funding I received from the University of Tasmania under the Graduate Research Support Scheme. This enabled one visit to Hobart for research and another to the Mitchell Library in Sydney. I would like to thank Professor Michael Roe for his helpful comments regarding the thesis and to Dr. Richard Ely for supplying some pertinent references. I found the Archives Office of Tasmania to be always helpful and courteous and cooperative in digital photography projects. As well, I would like to thank the staff of the Tasmaniana Library for permission to use original heritage photographs and acknowledge their always pleasant approach. Emilia Ward of the Special/Rare Collections of the University of Tasmania gave me considerable assistance, as did the Document Delivery Services and Maryanne Gustus at Flexible Library Services in Launceston. Their prompt services were appreciated. I would like to acknowledge the assistance of the staff at the Joint Theological Library in Melbourne (now the Dalton McCaughey Library), and also the staff of the Sugden Library, Queens College, University of Melbourne. I appreciated the ongoing interest of the staff of the Uniting Church of Australia Archives, and I would also like to acknowledge the helpful comments of Dr. Gareth Lloyd and Dr. Peter Nockles of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester. I am grateful to my son James for his endless borrowing of books from the Baillieu Library, University of Melbourne on my behalf, and to my daughter Lucienne for her touching faith in my abilities. As well I would v like to thank the Baillieu Library for their provision of the outline base maps. To my husband Robin Bailey, the greatest thanks of all for his never ending support and encouragement. I am indebted to him for assuming the domestic load for three years and for never faltering in his belief in the project. vi Contents Chapter Page Abstract iii Acknowledgments v Contents vii List of Tables viii List of Illustrations and Maps ix Maps xi Abbreviations xv Part 1 Introduction 2 1 Background 23 2 Wesleyan Methodist Plantings in Sydney, 75 New South Wales and Hobart, Van Diemen’s Land Part 2 3 Launceston Development 119 4 Composition, Consolidation, Consecration 162 of Wealth, Independence and Outreach 5 Status, Commercial Interests, Banking 217 6 Background to Spiritual Diary Writing, The 290 Spiritual Diary of One Launceston Wesleyan Methodist 7 Temperance, and Political Pressure, 330 Further Philanthropy 8 Simmering Resentments, Rights, Political 362 Agitation and Anti-Transportation Conclusion 411 Biographical Appendix 421 Bibliography 441 vii List of Tables and Studies Table Page Demographic Study of the Egalitarian Spirit of 168–170 Wesleyan Methodist Society. Table 1 Land Transactions of Wesleyan Methodists 222–3 1830-1850. Table 2 Wesleyan Methodist Involvement with Van 256–8 Diemen’s Land Banks to 1840. Table 3 Mature Political Achievement. 410 viii Lists of Illustrations and Maps Title Description & Source Page Australia Map xi Van Diemen’s Land Map xii (Tasmania) Bass Strait Map xiii North East Tasmania Map xiv John Wesley Stipple Line Engraving after John Jackson. 1 National Portrait Gallery, London. Wesleyan Chapel and Engraving taken from Rev. William Moister, A 179 Mission Premises, History of Wesleyan Missions in all Parts of Launceston, Tasmania the World, from their Commencement to the Present Time , (London, 1871), p. 304. Plan of the Wesleyan Printed by Henry Dowling, Launceston; 195 Methodist Launceston Records of Tasmanian Methodist Church, Circuit, 1839 Archives Office of Tasmania. Portrait of Philip Original in hands of family descendant, copy 234 Oakden, circa 1840. in Archives Office of Tasmania. Photograph of Henry Photographic Image Collection, Archives 238 Reed, 1 January 1870. Office of Tasmania. Photograph of John Tasmaniana Library Heritage Image 242 Gleadow Collection Croyden House, S.J. Butlin, Australia and New Zealand 255 Launceston. Site of Bank , (London, 1961), p. 22. First Union Bank. Prospectus of the ANZ Bank Group Archives, Melbourne. 280 Union Bank of Australia. Union Bank of Launceston Examiner , April 1838. 285 Australia Advertisement. Henry Jennings circa Royal Historical Society of Victoria. 301 1880. ix Title Description & Source Page Photograph of Isaac Tasmaniana Library Heritage Image 336 Sherwin Collection John Crookes Tasmaniana Library Heritage Image 353 Collection. Photograph of from Yvonne A. Phillips, Bartley of Kerry 399 Theodore Bartley Lodge, a Portrait of a Pioneer in Van Diemen’s Land, 1987. Quarterly Ticket 1875 Records of Tasmanian Methodist Church, 429 for John Gleadow Archives Office of Tasmania. x Swan River Colony ( Perth ) (Settlement Port Jackson (Sydney) (Settlement 1788) Adelaide (Settlement 1836) Port Phillip (Melbourne ) Van Diemen’s Land (Settlement (Tasmania) 1835) (Settlement 1803) General Map of Australia xi Bass Strait King Flinders Island Island Circular Head Launceston Macquarie Harbour Hobart Port Arthur Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) xii Melbourne or Port Phillip Bass Strait Van Diemen’s Land, Bass Strait