Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria
Encyclopedia
The Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria, also known as the Free Church of Australia Felix, was an Australia
n Presbyterian denomination
founded in Melbourne
, Victoria
in 1846 as a result of the Disruption of 1843
in the Church of Scotland
.
The first Presbyterian minister in Melbourne, Victoria
, James Forbes
and one of his three elders at Scots' Church, Melbourne
adhered to the position also adopted by those who withdrew from the 'Synod of Australian in connection with the Established Church of Scotland' and formed the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia
in New South Wales
on 10 October 1846. Forbes and his elder withdrew from the Presbytery of Melbourne of the Synod and organised a distinct body on similar lines to the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia, although spelling out the constitution afresh rather than simply adhering to the existing constitution. There was no difference of principle between the two bodies.
Forbes gave up his handsome stipend (£200 from the government plus £150 from the congregation), the church, school and manse he had erected, and commenced afresh. He issued his Protest on 29 October 1846 and submitted it to the Presbytery of Melbourne on 17 November, the date of the organising meeting of what the minutes call The Free Presbyterian Church of Australia Felix. The first service was held in the Mechanics' Hall (where the Athenaeum
now stands) on 22 November 1846 with about 200 people crowding the building.
The building of John Knox
Free Presbyterian Church, Swanston Street
was opened 8 May 1848 on the corner with Little Lonsdale Street
and with frontage to that street. The John Knox School began in the building on 3 July 1848 with T.J. Everist as teacher. Within a year there were 120 students and an adjoining brick building came into use in August 1850. The congregation erected a two-storey manse next door to the church in Swanston Street late in 1850. The Rev William Miller
was inducted as the next minister 1851-1865 (not to be confused with a contemporary Rev William B. Miller). The church was reconstructed in 1863 and re-opened by Rev William McIntyre
26 July of that year. Since 1879 it has housed the Church of Christ
congregation.
Additional educational facilities were also provided. Chalmers Free Church School began on 4 June 1850 under George McMaster, an experienced Scottish teacher, using purpose-built leased premises at what is now 257 Spring Street between Lonsdale and Little Lonsdale Streets. It was a small co-educational school but Forbes had a vision for a college for boys which would provide ‘teachers for our common schools’ and be ‘the first step towards the training of a Colonial ministry from among the Colonial youth.’ He personally sought and obtained the assistance of Miss Mure of Warriston in Edinburgh, to guarantee the salary of a rector and so make the project viable. Forbes, W.M.Bell and John McDonnell bore the initial financial responsibility. When McMaster transferred to the Knox Free Presbyterian School in October he was replaced by George Knox until May 1851. At that point the students were transferred to Knox and the Chalmers' premises stood empty waiting for the arrival of the rector from Scotland. The Academy opened in the Chalmers premises 6 October 1851 with Robert Lawson (1826–69) as rector. The Academy moved to the south-west corner of Spring and Little Collins Streets in 1852, and the Chalmers’ premises were let to an unrelated minister, Rev. William B. Miller. The school moved to East Melbourne in 1854 where it soon adopted the name Scotch College. Forbes died shortly before the opening. Of recent years Scotch College
, now located in Hawthorn, has rediscovered its founder. In 2002 the first stage of the impressive buildings of the James Forbes Academy (drama/music) was opened.
Forbes sought to obtain additional ministers for the Free Church. He apparently offended the Irish Church by some critical remarks on some individual Irish ministers who had not stood with him in 1846, so assistance came chiefly from the Free Church of Scotland
. Thomas Hastie came from Tasmania
in January 1847 and was settled at Buninyong
and The Leigh, while Rev J.Z. Huie became minister at Geelong in the same year. Schools were established in both parishes. There was little other help until the explosion of population following the discovery of gold
in 1851, the year of Forbes' death.
The three ministers and Henrie Bell, elder at John Knox, formed the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church on 9 June 1847. Forbes showed himself an efficient administrator. He not only wrote the Fundamental Act of the Synod (which was adopted also by the Free Presbyterian Church of South Australia upon its formation 9 May 1854) but he drew up rules for the guidance of the church.
Forbes' death plus the revolution caused by the Gold Rush meant his careful positions were modified to facilitate union into the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in 1859. His strong stance against receiving state aid on an indiscriminate basis was modified in 1853. Those bent on union expelled anti-unionists in 1857 so there were two Free Presbyterian Synods until the majority joined in forming the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in 1859. The remaining Synod did not obtain recognition in Scotland and divided again in 1864, some joining the union in 1867 and the rest continuing the Free Presbyterian Church on the original footing.
Early congregations of the Free Presbyterian Church included John Knox Melbourne, Chalmers' East Melbourne, South Yarra (Punt Road), Richmond (Bridge Road), Brighton, St Andrew's Carlton, Geelong (Little Malop Street), Geelong Gaelic, Myers Street), Bellarine, Batesford, Ballarat (Sturt Street), Bendigo (St Andrew's), Hamilton, Burnbank, Beaufort, Gippsland (Sale).
Ironically, the three parishes that ultimately continued the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria and united with the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia in 1953 (East St Kilda, Geelong (Myers Street) and Hamilton
/Branxholme) had all benefited from state-aid. The property of these three centres has been sold of recent years and new centres established. They are, Melbourne: Knox, Wantirna 1987; Geelong: Coppards Road, Newcomb 1991; Melbourne: Narre Warren 1990; Glen Huntly 1990-2009, All Nations, Mulgrave 2009 which includes a large Southern Sudanese congregation.
Reference: Rowland S. Ward, The Bush Still Burns (Wantirna 1989); also Presbyterian Leaders in Nineteenth Century Australia (Wantirna 1993)
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Presbyterian denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
founded in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
in 1846 as a result of the Disruption of 1843
Disruption of 1843
The Disruption of 1843 was a schism within the established Church of Scotland, in which 450 ministers of the Church broke away, over the issue of the Church's relationship with the State, to form the Free Church of Scotland...
in the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
.
The first Presbyterian minister in Melbourne, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, James Forbes
James Forbes (minister)
James Forbes was a Scottish-Australian Presbyterian minister and educator. He was the first Christian minister to settle in Melbourne, holding the first Presbyterian service there in 1838...
and one of his three elders at Scots' Church, Melbourne
Scots' Church, Melbourne
The Scots' Church, a Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia, was the first Presbyterian Church to be built in the Port Phillip District . It is located in Collins Street and is a congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Australia...
adhered to the position also adopted by those who withdrew from the 'Synod of Australian in connection with the Established Church of Scotland' and formed the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia
Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia
The Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia is a Presbyterian denomination which was formed in Sydney on 10 October 1846 by three ministers and a ruling elder...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
on 10 October 1846. Forbes and his elder withdrew from the Presbytery of Melbourne of the Synod and organised a distinct body on similar lines to the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia, although spelling out the constitution afresh rather than simply adhering to the existing constitution. There was no difference of principle between the two bodies.
Forbes gave up his handsome stipend (£200 from the government plus £150 from the congregation), the church, school and manse he had erected, and commenced afresh. He issued his Protest on 29 October 1846 and submitted it to the Presbytery of Melbourne on 17 November, the date of the organising meeting of what the minutes call The Free Presbyterian Church of Australia Felix. The first service was held in the Mechanics' Hall (where the Athenaeum
Athenaeum, Melbourne
The Athenaeum or Melbourne Athenaeum is one of the oldest public institutions in Victoria, Australia, founded in 1839. The first President was Captain William Lonsdale, the first Patron was the Superintendent of Port Philip, Charles La Trobe and the first books were donated by Vice-President Henry...
now stands) on 22 November 1846 with about 200 people crowding the building.
The building of John Knox
John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
Free Presbyterian Church, Swanston Street
Swanston Street, Melbourne
Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Australia. It is historically one of the main streets of central Melbourne, laid out in 1837 as part of the Hoddle Grid, the layout of major streets that makes up the central business district...
was opened 8 May 1848 on the corner with Little Lonsdale Street
Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Little Lonsdale Street is located in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. A part of the Hoddle Grid, it runs roughly east-west. North of Lonsdale Street and south of La Trobe Street, Little Lonsdale Street's eastern end intersects with Spring Street while its western end intersects with...
and with frontage to that street. The John Knox School began in the building on 3 July 1848 with T.J. Everist as teacher. Within a year there were 120 students and an adjoining brick building came into use in August 1850. The congregation erected a two-storey manse next door to the church in Swanston Street late in 1850. The Rev William Miller
William Miller (minister)
William Miller/ar was a minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria who served the John Knox Church, cnr Little Lonsdale and Swanston Streets, Melbourne 1851-64, and was the first Chairman of the council of Scotch College in Melbourne....
was inducted as the next minister 1851-1865 (not to be confused with a contemporary Rev William B. Miller). The church was reconstructed in 1863 and re-opened by Rev William McIntyre
William McIntyre (minister)
William McIntyre was a Scottish-Australian Presbyterian minister and educator.-Background:William McIntyre was the 5th son and 7th child of Duncan McIntyre and Catherine Kennedy, who were sheep farmers in the parish of Kilmonivaig, Scotland near Spean Bridge. He was proficient in Latin and Greek...
26 July of that year. Since 1879 it has housed the Church of Christ
Churches of Christ in Australia
The Churches of Christ in Australia is a Christian movement in Australia. It is part of the Restoration Movement with historical influences from the United States of America and the United Kingdom....
congregation.
Additional educational facilities were also provided. Chalmers Free Church School began on 4 June 1850 under George McMaster, an experienced Scottish teacher, using purpose-built leased premises at what is now 257 Spring Street between Lonsdale and Little Lonsdale Streets. It was a small co-educational school but Forbes had a vision for a college for boys which would provide ‘teachers for our common schools’ and be ‘the first step towards the training of a Colonial ministry from among the Colonial youth.’ He personally sought and obtained the assistance of Miss Mure of Warriston in Edinburgh, to guarantee the salary of a rector and so make the project viable. Forbes, W.M.Bell and John McDonnell bore the initial financial responsibility. When McMaster transferred to the Knox Free Presbyterian School in October he was replaced by George Knox until May 1851. At that point the students were transferred to Knox and the Chalmers' premises stood empty waiting for the arrival of the rector from Scotland. The Academy opened in the Chalmers premises 6 October 1851 with Robert Lawson (1826–69) as rector. The Academy moved to the south-west corner of Spring and Little Collins Streets in 1852, and the Chalmers’ premises were let to an unrelated minister, Rev. William B. Miller. The school moved to East Melbourne in 1854 where it soon adopted the name Scotch College. Forbes died shortly before the opening. Of recent years Scotch College
Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, now located in Hawthorn, has rediscovered its founder. In 2002 the first stage of the impressive buildings of the James Forbes Academy (drama/music) was opened.
Forbes sought to obtain additional ministers for the Free Church. He apparently offended the Irish Church by some critical remarks on some individual Irish ministers who had not stood with him in 1846, so assistance came chiefly from the Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)
The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...
. Thomas Hastie came from Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
in January 1847 and was settled at Buninyong
Buninyong, Victoria
Buninyong is a place in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Midland Highway, south of Ballarat on the road to Geelong. It's known locally as the drug smuggling capital of the South West region. Local Dealers are said to import the majority of their cannabis supply from farmers in Durham Lead...
and The Leigh, while Rev J.Z. Huie became minister at Geelong in the same year. Schools were established in both parishes. There was little other help until the explosion of population following the discovery of gold
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
in 1851, the year of Forbes' death.
The three ministers and Henrie Bell, elder at John Knox, formed the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church on 9 June 1847. Forbes showed himself an efficient administrator. He not only wrote the Fundamental Act of the Synod (which was adopted also by the Free Presbyterian Church of South Australia upon its formation 9 May 1854) but he drew up rules for the guidance of the church.
Forbes' death plus the revolution caused by the Gold Rush meant his careful positions were modified to facilitate union into the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in 1859. His strong stance against receiving state aid on an indiscriminate basis was modified in 1853. Those bent on union expelled anti-unionists in 1857 so there were two Free Presbyterian Synods until the majority joined in forming the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in 1859. The remaining Synod did not obtain recognition in Scotland and divided again in 1864, some joining the union in 1867 and the rest continuing the Free Presbyterian Church on the original footing.
Early congregations of the Free Presbyterian Church included John Knox Melbourne, Chalmers' East Melbourne, South Yarra (Punt Road), Richmond (Bridge Road), Brighton, St Andrew's Carlton, Geelong (Little Malop Street), Geelong Gaelic, Myers Street), Bellarine, Batesford, Ballarat (Sturt Street), Bendigo (St Andrew's), Hamilton, Burnbank, Beaufort, Gippsland (Sale).
Ironically, the three parishes that ultimately continued the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria and united with the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia in 1953 (East St Kilda, Geelong (Myers Street) and Hamilton
Hamilton, Victoria
Hamilton is a city in western Victoria, Australia. It is located at the intersection of the Glenelg Highway and the Henty Highway...
/Branxholme) had all benefited from state-aid. The property of these three centres has been sold of recent years and new centres established. They are, Melbourne: Knox, Wantirna 1987; Geelong: Coppards Road, Newcomb 1991; Melbourne: Narre Warren 1990; Glen Huntly 1990-2009, All Nations, Mulgrave 2009 which includes a large Southern Sudanese congregation.
Reference: Rowland S. Ward, The Bush Still Burns (Wantirna 1989); also Presbyterian Leaders in Nineteenth Century Australia (Wantirna 1993)