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Abilene Christian University Digital Commons @ ACU Stone-Campbell Books Stone-Campbell Resources 1950 The iH story of Churches of Christ in South Australia 1846-1959 H. R. Taylor Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.acu.edu/crs_books Part of the Australian Studies Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, and the Missions and World Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Taylor, H. R., "The iH story of Churches of Christ in South Australia 1846-1959" (1950). Stone-Campbell Books. 389. http://digitalcommons.acu.edu/crs_books/389 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Stone-Campbell Resources at Digital Commons @ ACU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Stone-Campbell Books by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ ACU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE HISTORY OF CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA 1846 -1959 T . J . GORE , M .A . The History of Churches of Christ m South Australia 1846-1959 H. R. TAYLOR, E.D., B.A. Publi shed by The Chur ch es of Ch rist Evangelistic Union In cor porat ed Sout h Australia Regi s t er ed in Australia for tr a nsmis sion by post as a book Wh olly set up a nd printed in Australia by Sharples Printers Ltd ., 98 Hindl ey Street, Adelaide South Australia FOREWORD At the General Conference in September, 1957, it was decided to have a complete history of South Australian Churches of Christ prepared for publication, and the writer was asked, by virtue of his long and wide experience in the affairs of the church, to undertake the task. In a previous publication, "The Story of a Century", he had recorded the main lines of growth of the Restoration Movement in the State from 1846 to 1946. The present purpose is to add a brief history of each local congregation so far as data can be obtained, biographical skete;hes of representative men of the churches, and contributions of churchmen in public affairs, chie1ly on social questions as they were debated in the legislativ e chambers. The writer's views on present trends in the life of the Church are also given. The compiler claims that he has done nothing more than make an honest attempt to give a fair picture of the beginning and development of a religious movement which, although represented as yet by only a few thousand people, has contributed not a little to the moral, social and spiritual welfare of various communities and to the State as a whole, perhaps beyond what its numerical strength might suggest. Main sources of material: Data supplied by the secretaries of churches and obtained from official records; "The British Millennial Harbinger"; "The Australian Christia n Pioneer"; "The Australian Christian Watchman"; "The Australian Christian"; "Jubilee History of Churches of Christ"; "Early Recollections" by Sir Joseph Verco; "The South Australian Register" and "Observer"; "The Adver­ tiser"; Hansard records of Parliamentary Debates; and the South Australian Archives through the courteous at­ tention of Mr. J. McLelland and his staff, whose help has been invaluable. Other acknowledgements appear with historical references. INTRODUCTION Churches of Christ in South Australia form a small part of a great religious movement which began in the early years of the nineteenth century, and which numbers today over two millions of people. Its main strength is found in the United States of Ameri ca, but it is also represented in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia , and less known in other parts of the world. This reformation lays claim to be a "movement"-a move­ ment back to New Testament princip les, which has cha r­ acterised religious reformations throughout the Christian era, and a movement forward, guided by the Spirit of God, towards the ultimate union of all who call themselves Christi ans. Having no credal statement as such , Churches of Christ are built on the fundamental, basic truth expressed in the words of the Apostle Peter, "Thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God", in reply to his Master's question, "Who say ye that I am?" Acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and personal Saviour, open confession of this faith, repentance , and submission to the ordinan ce of immersion into the name of the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit, are all that are required of a person seeking sa lvation and ad­ mission to the church. The churc h accepts the New Testament doctrine of the p1iesthood of all believers, convinced that any Christian has a direct, vital relationship with the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, and that any Christ ian may fulfil whatever priestly functions have a place in the New Testament church. Patterned on the organisa­ tion of this church, Chur ches of Christ appoint evangelists, pastors or elders and deacons. Ev ery congregat ion contro ls its own affairs. General con ferences are held annually for the purpose of free discussion by delegates from the churches on matters of common interest pertaining to the kingdom of God and of making recommendations to the const itutiv e churches for co-operative activities. From the New Testament it is gathered that the early Christi ans met on the first day of the week to "break bre ad". This practice is supported by church history and tradition. The sacr ed ordinance has the central place in THE HISTORY OF CH U RCHES OF C HRIST IN S.A. TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE- General History Chapter L-The Beginning of the Movement IL-The Franklin Street Church Re-Organised III.-Ameri ca n Evangelists IV.-The Pioneer Spirit V.-Co-operative Evangelism VL-Rapid Progress in Evangelism VIL-The Church Faces Difficult Conditions VIII.-Re cent Evangelistic Activities IX.-Training Evangelists in South Australia X.-Th e Evangelistic Union Established XL-Instrumental Music in the Churches XII.-Annivers ar y T eas and Public Meetings XIIL-Other Union Concerns XIV.-Preachers Vindicated XV.-"Arise and Build!" XVL-Overseas Missions XVU.-Winning Youth for Christ XVTIL-Christian Endeavour Soci eties XIX.-So cial Services XX .-Christian Rest Home XXL-Abori gines Missions XXII.-Wornen's Work PART TWO-A Brief Account of the Churches Chapter L-The City Churches IL-Th e Suburban Churches IIL-The Rural Churches IV.-The Barrier Church V.-Defunct Churches PART THREE-Biographical Sketches of Representative Men PART FOUR-Churchmen in Public Affairs PART FIVE-Present Trends ru o , '-- PART ONE GENERAL HISTORY --::-- I The Beginning of the Movement N THE spring of 1845 a young man, Thomas Magarey I landed at McLaren 's Wharf, Port Adelaide, from Nelson, New Zealand, to settle in South Australia. Seeds of the Restoration Movement in Australia were first sown by this godly Irish business man. He was born on February 25, 1825, in the north of Ireland, but spent most of his youth in the English county of Lancashire. With his elder brother he migr ated to New Zealand in 1841, settling in the Nelson distri ct. H ere he came under the influence of the teaching of Thomas Jackson, who arrived in the village of Nelson in 1843, bringing with him a knowledge of the principles which were slowly being accepted in various parts of the old country. Thom as Ja ckson was of the stuff of which relig­ ious r eformers are made. Writing to the editor of a British periodical, "The Christ ian Messenger", in August, 1844, he said: "When I arrived there was not one Christian Disciple to be found in th is part of the island, and I am much per­ secuted for assuming such a name. It is with great pleasure th at I have to im part the gratifying intelligence that I have tried to plant in this small place a congregation according to the apostolic order . On March 2, 1844 ; I preached the same gospel that Peter did at Jerusalem on the Day of Pente cost . I h ave baptized the house of Thomas Butler, and this makes us five in number ." Another letter , dated January 4, 1846, from the three elders of the infant church, including Thomas Jackson, in­ formed the British brethren that the number of disciples in Nelson had in creased to sixteen . The letter continues: "This does no t include one brother who left some time ago for South Australia, who, we hope, may be useful in promoting the truth as it is in Jesus." Thus Thomas Magarey was linked with the cause in our sister dominion over a century ago. The minds of the colonists in the land where Thomas B THE HISTORY OF CHURCHES OF CHRIST IN S.A. Magarey chose to make his permanent home were open to new religious ideas. There was a love of independence and a desire for freedom of thought untramelled by custom and State interference. The wide open spaces of virgin land may also have had something to do with the development of this freedom of the spirit. Shiploads of German settlers, seek­ ing religious liberty, had arrived within the first few years of the colony's history. One group was established near the city, creating the village of Klemzig , named after the Ger­ man town from whi ch Pastor Kavel had led his flock to the land where freedom of conscience was promised. Another German group settled in the Mount Lofty ranges at Hahn­ dorf, to which Captain Hahn, of the ship which brought them out, gave his name.

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