1909, 129 p.
This book was written to celebrate the golden anniversary of the creation of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in 1859, combining the Synod of Victoria, the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria and the Synod of the United Presbyterian Church of Victoria. There was one section of the United Presbyterians who didn’t join until after 1870, but in terms of golden jubilees, 1859 was the date. (Mind you, the earlier book I read about Presbyterianism in Victoria dated the coming together of different strands of Presbyterianism to 1867 instead.)
Written as a celebration publication, the text is laid out quite beautifully, with red margins and decorated inhabited initials to mark the start of each chapter. Stewart has used a planting metaphor to organize his chapters, which are titled ‘Seed’ ‘Stem’ ‘Branching’ ‘Pruning and Grafting’ etc.
As this book goes up to 1909, it covers the Charles Strong controversy of the 1880s, which of course had not occurred when Sutherland published his earlier history of the Presbyterian Church in 1877. Charles Strong, who had been the pastor of Scot’s Church in Melbourne (probably the premier Presbyterian church in Melbourne)became the first minister of the Australian Church in 1885 after being charged with promulgating unsound and heretical doctrine and resigning his position from Scots Church. I think that if I’d been alive at the time, I would have been attracted to the Australian Church.
The Australian Church at the eastern end of Flinders Street (near Spring Street). It seated 1200 and opened in 1887 but the Church shifted to more economical premises in 1922. The Australian Church was finally dissolved in 1957. From the Australasian Sketcher. SLV http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/258170
The book has several plates showing prominent churchmen, mainly of the past but with some contemporary men (in 1909) as well. So many beards! There are few mentions of women, but there is a section on the Presbyterian Mission Womens Union, famous for its cookbook. I only now realize that I always called it the PWMU rather than PMWU.
The book is curiously silent about the 1890s depression. Perhaps in 1909 it was too soon to discuss such things.
The Resident Judge of Port Phillip 