[41] Lucas An Evangelical History Review, no. 5, March 1989.

Book Reviews

Raymond Nobbs, et.al.

You Are God's Building: A History of St. Paul's Church, Wahroonga, 1862-1987 (First Anglican Church on Sydney's Upper North Shore), Printed for the authors at the Macarthur Press, Parramatta, 1987. h.b. 195pp+ Appendices and Index.

This is a handsome book in several ways. It is luxurious in its space and use of photographs. It is striking in its packaging. It performs an important task, in telling the story of a Christian congregation and its context across a lengthy period of time. And the latter is its strong point. There is much need for specific studies of this type, which see the church in dynamic relationship with its time, making concrete for the reader the effects of the wider events which have been too much the fare of Australian historiography in this century. Individual case studies throw up new sidelights, new themes for consideration, as the recent prosopographical study by Michael Roe has amply demonstrated. After all, there is only so much that can be done with convicts and bushrangers.

At the same time, it is a book under tension. There are a number of annoying facets about it. The same luxuriance of space can give the feeling of rambling loosejointedness which can be transferred (not always fairly) to the narrative. Some of this is a reaction to the width of the page, disconcerting to those used to the smaller pages of academic journals. In other places, there are unfortunate (or else rather clever!) juxtapositions of text and photos - such as that between page 56, which describes R.B.S. Hammond in full flight against the demon drink, and page 57, a full-page illustration of the Hornsby Hotel. And then, one used to diving for the footnotes to trace a point for further reference will be frustrated - there are none. Quite rightly, it could be argued that the book was perhaps not primarily intended for scholarly circulation. All the same (and this is a general point for the writing of local histories rather than a criticism of these authors) the introduction of sweeping statements relating the particular to the general [eg. pp.4-5] undermines confidence in the narrative when not supported by references. While the increasing recognition of local history in Universities and Colleges has given that form a status more commensurate with its value, it also demands greater attention to conventions of verification and the like.

This book expresses the tension between what local history has been and what it is becoming. It has, for instance, the problem generic to this sortof story. Characterization suffers as a parade of names and faces are introduced without (in some places) sufficiently focused detail or (in others) the pace of narrative that will establish the figures firmly in the reader's mind. In opting for a whole congregation focus, there are seldom the points of focus that can act as entrypoints to the mass of fine detail about [p.26ff] meeting times and the planting of ornamental trees. On occasion, it tends towards the older models of local history [eg. c.pp.80-1], becoming commemorative in its concentration. As a personal preference, the local could have been more tightly woven into wider diocesan, city, and even global events. The tracing of the relations between church and Barker College, for instance, could have been used as an entry point for reflections on the relationship between locale and the development of lines of

[42] Lucas An Evangelical History Review, no. 5, March 1989.

social influence Stuart Braga's work on Barker suggests this Another candidate lor greater expansion lies with the figure of Norman Selfe, a participator on all levels of State life, political and otherwise The relative lack of such interconnections causes something of a telescoping of time. The section on "Lay Activity" (pp. 138-9) moves blithely from the early 1930s through to the 1950s without taking account of the massive changes in community religious life across this period. If there were no such changes at this level in the life of this particular congregation, a discussion of the reasons why could have added another dimension to this otherwise rich book. The same approach also restricts the range of the book. A wider treatment of the ecumenical movement [c.ppl52-3], instead of a bare statement of its presence, would have ' been interesting. How, for instance, docs this relate to wider theological trends, and how docs § it continue into the present? These are questions that are not asked within YAGB, but which could have been fruitful in the answering.

But then, one cannot criticise a 'local' history for being too local. This is a history for and about a congregation, and perhaps it should not be criticised for what it does not set out to do. On its own level, it provides a good many interesting insights into the nature and function of congregational life. The description of the struggles between J.H.Cardew and the church board [pp.92-3] really breathes with the more irksome realities of community life. Anyone who has ever served on a church board will know the scenario, and perhaps smile a little ruefully when they read it. Likewise, and on the up side, pages 122 onwards present, in Kenneth Pain, the 'Christian gentleman' that church members occasionally have the honour of being touched by , one who lives and teaches by example the practical beauty of the Christian life. Again, we all know this man, though we give him different names A reason for this increased facility is that, as the book progresses, the sources (oral and written) get better. And at this level, local church history has both the advantages of proximity, yielding plenty of oral source material, and temporal distance, providing perspective This is not to take anything away from the authors. They have done the leg-work required to transform oral experience into historical narrative, and they are careful not to let belongingness blind them to the truth. They are prepared to talk about the argumentative deacon, the backslidden pillar of the church, the failure of outreaches into an increasingly materialist world But at the same time, YAGB projects the joys and fulfilments of the life of a community, and it is on this level, of 'loving one another' that it succeeds most

Mark Hutchinson

School of History,

UNSW

[37] Lucas An Evangelical History Review, no. 5, March 1989.

Peter Bentley

Australian Religious Studies: A Bibliography of Post-Graduate Theses, 1922-1986, NCRC, Sydney, 1968, p.b., vii+93pp+index, $6.50 posted IPO Box 98, Leichardt, 2040], or $5.00 from Peter Bentley at the EH A AGM.

One of the perennial problems of the researcher is keeping track of developments in one's field, particularly when it comes to the reading of theses. The Union List of theses (put out by the University of Tasmania), is useful, but always at least two years behind the current output, and inevitably has entries for a particular year spread between a number of volumes as the library records from widespread institutions dribble in through the mass of university and college red tape. For this reason, many among us have in the past received with joy field-specific productions like Hogan's work on theses in Australian history, and now applaud Peter Bentley's Australian Religious Studies: A Bibliography of Post-Graduate Theses, 1922-1986. Such volumes are emminently useful, and (having had occasion to work on similar tasks myself) a testimony to the perseverance of those involved in what can be a boring and tiresome job.

This particular production is handsomely presented, a British racing green soft-back with 93 pages covering 661 theses divided into 15 major, and numerous minor, thematic divisions. Like its predecessors in this field, Bentley's theses are all individually numbered, allowing indexing between chapters. The end of each section lists other theses of sim ilar import by either section or individual reference number, allowing ready access to the whole of the works on a thematic basis. As a further help, the finer subdivisions are indexed at the beginning of each chapter, and an author's index is included at the end of the book. It takes very little time to get used to the idiosyncrasies of the system, making it particularly 'user-friendly'. Not having covered the field entirely, myself, it is difficult to criticize the work on its completeness, and I am not sure that it would be useful to do so, for two reasons. First, bibliographies are always starting points when it comes to research, and any researcher that does not also keep an eye on footnotes and current publications is not worth his salt. Secondly, bibliographies are a given: since nobody wants to do them, and they appear so infrequently, one takes what one can get. Very seldom is any work complete, as the comparison of any professional journal's listings with the Union List's records will show.

What can be said is that this work is easy to use, and so jump-off points are immediately apparent, A quick look at my own area of interest, history of immigration, had me reaching for pen and catalogue card, and then following the trail of related theses at the end of the section into a variety of other discoveries, about the study of nineteenth century Congregationalism in particular. It also demonstrates the (understandable) riches of work available in Catholic and Anglican studies, and the regrettable poverty of work in traditions which, like pentecostalism, have been present in Australia for decades. All in all, a handy aid to the study of religion in Australia.

Mark Hutchinson

UNSW

[44] Lucas An Evangelical History Review, no. 5, March 1989.

1. Robert Humphreys and Rowland Ward

Religious Bodies in Australia, Second Edition, Melbourne 1988, pp.xii+311 Copies available from the authors at 358 Mountain Highway, Wantirna, 3152, for $ 19.95, postage paid

2. Ian Gillman

Many Faiths, One Nation. A Guide to the Major Faiths and Denominations in Australia, Collins, Australia, 1988, pp.xv+416. $19.95

(Gillman's book was reviewed by Rowland Ward in Lucas. No.3, June 1988, pp.28-30. This review compares Gillman with Humphreys and Ward).

It is gratifying that demand has justified a second edition of Humphreys' and Ward's valuable resource so soon after the publication of the first (November 1986) and in our bicentennial year. It is also gratifying that a work of this size and usefulness has been compiled by two busy Presbyterian ministers. It is further gratifying that one of the co-authors, Rowland Ward, is a member of the Evangelical History Association. Rowland is to publish yet another book this year, The Bush Still Burns: The Presbyterian and Reformed Faith in Australia 1788-1988. A bicentennial history of Australian Presbyterianism is much needed, and it is indispensable that someone of Rowland's great industry should essay such an endeavour.

The authors claim that their book is still 'the only comprehensive guide to religious beliefs and practices in Australia'. It is undoubtedly far more detailed and comprehensive than Tess van Sommers' Religions in Australia (1966). The claim may be now be disputed, however, by Ian Gillman who has edited Many Faiths. One Nation A Guide to the Major Faiths and Denominations in Australia, (partly funded by the the Australian Bicentennial Authority). Certainly the two reference books demand comparison, even to the extent of costing the same

Both purport to present informed, objective accounts of the history, beliefs, and practices (worship and polity) and membership of the religious groups discussed. Inevitably the starting point of the respective authors colours the objectivity. Humphreys and Ward are conservative evangelicals. They have invited information from practitioners of the beliefs they portray, but they have retained a firm authorial control over every word in their book and accept responsibility for it The price one pays for this approach is that sometimes the nomenclature will sound a little foreign to practitioners who are usually 'pernickety' about such things: it is unusual, for example, to refer to an Anglican clergyman as a 'parson' or to speak of the Archdiocese of Sydney. Gillman's complexion, by contrast, is liberal. He has allowed great liberty to his contributors and has deliberately restrained his editorial interventions. The result is that some entries are accounts of solid scholarly authority, while others verge on propaganda.

A second contrast, also arising from their theological stance, is in the organisation of each Gillman's treatment is chronological: he treats (or has his contributors treat) each of the groups he identifies as 'major' in the order of its arrival date in Australia. This avoids invidious

[45] Lucas An Evangelical History Review, no. 5, March 1989.

comparisons, no doubt, but it loses something of the impact made possible in Humphreys' and Ward's arrangement: they group religious bodies together according to an affinity of beliefs or theological tenets. Humphreys and Ward are primarily interested in the prepositional aspect of religion, whereas Gillman is more interested in the sociological implications of religious practice.

A third contrast is in the scope or coverage of each. Gillman commences his book with a valuable essay of 56 pages, entitled 'Religion in Australian Life — an Exploration' in which he is far more concerned than Humphreys and Ward to view religion in its interaction with Australian culture and society. This is followed by a section of 300 pages on the 32 'major' faiths and denominations, which, consistent with his definition of religion, includes rationalism and humanism. Then in section three a further 14 groups are treated by the editor in the space of a dozen pages. The division between 'major' and the implied 'minor' groups cannot avoid being thought invidious or, at the least, arbitrary. Humphreys and Ward settle down immediately to the promised task of surveying one religious body after another beginning with the Greek Orthodox and do not stop until over 200 groups later they reach witchcraft at which point they call it a day. The coverage is far more comprehensive than Gillman, and it will therefore prove more useful to those who require an encyclopaedic approach to the hundreds of religious groups in Australia, some of which are supported by only a handful of people. Humphreys and Ward are at pains to assess the size of the membership of each body. They tell us that almost 50% of their book is taken up with the treatment of non-Christian religions to which less than 2% of the Australian population adhere.

A fourth contrast operating on the selection of material is a perceived difference in the targeted market: Humphreys and Ward are concerned partly to meet the need of committed Christians for reliable information on the host of religions and cults which they encounter these days so that they can be better equipped for evangelism. The tone of Gillman is more ecumenical: its purpose is to foster understanding between the many faiths so as to strengthen the oneness of our nation

Humphreys and Ward is well indexed as befits a work of reference. There are four indexes: principal persons, principal publications, beliefs and practices, and religious bodies. The fourth is not as helpful as it might be as it does not include the first reference to each of the religious groups listed in the table of contents. Since these are so numerous, it is not always easy to find the main entry on little-known groups whose beliefs are unknown to the searcher and who does not know where it will fit into the authors' schema. I had a terrible time hunting down S wedenborgianism and ended up looking for it in the principal persons index whereupon I learned that it is entry number one in the 27th grouping of religions, namely, the 'Psychical Family' This presupposes a familiarity with the table of contents or the nature of Swedenborgianism which only the authors can reasonably be expected to have. Far simpler '—st to put 'Swedenborgianism' in the religious bodies index and be done with it! The second ' is very useful for someone who wants to research a specific group: the group can be

[46] Lucas An Evangelical History Review, no. 5, March 1989.

studied from its own point of view when its publications are consulted. Gillman also usually; lists theofficial publications of each of his major religious groups. Itis not done systematically j for all of them, but it is easier to find. Gillman has it over Humphreys and Ward, too, in that bibliographical information is given for each of the major groups. The one extensive index in; Gillman is probably easier to use, too, with main entries highlighted in bold type.

Both Religious Bodies in Australia and Many Faiths, One Nation are mines of information. There is more ore (or at least more varied ore) in Humphreys and Ward, but whether it is rid ore must be left to the reader to determine. It is good that we have both.

Stuart Piggin

University of Wollongong

[47] Lucas An Evangelical History Review, no. 5, March 1989.

Rob Linn,

Diverse Land: A History of the Lower Murray, Lakes and Coorong, Published by Meningie Historical Society Inc., South Australia, 1988, pp.xiv+288.

In 1986 at the Australian Historical Association's annual conference at Adelaide a new phenomenon emerged on the landscape of historical writing: a number of the papers presented were commissioned, and some of the conferees present were embarking on the unchartered seas of consultancy work. The Professional Historians' Association had been created for their support. A paper which created a lot of discussion at the conference was delivered by Rob Linn, of Historical Consultants Pty. Ltd., Cherry Gardens Road, Blackwood, South Australia. He argued that the Christian commitment and convictions of the first settlers of South Australia had been underrated hitherto by historians of Australian History. In a series of photographic slides, showing the architecture and agriculture of the first settlers, he showed the still visible evidence of this influence. Now in a handsome, copiously illustrated and beautifully produced local history, partially funded by the Australian Bicentennial Authority, Linn, a member of the Evangelical History Association, has a good opportunity to explicate his thesis.

In the opening chapter he explores the motives of explorers and settlers. A prominent desire was to render the ancient, land useful through the industriousness then understood as an essential accompaniment of the Gospel. As the story proceeds, his local history brings into justified prominence the role of voluntary organisations. But the churches do not appear to have been as popular as organisations devoted to entertainment and sport! Educational institutions appear to have won the endorsement of the population, as did those devoted to the maintenance of law and order. There is a particularly fascinating section on death and destitution in a pioneering society. We read of one family who lost three of its children in separate drowning accidents. Linn depicts a violent frontier society, much of it lubricated by liquor

The only religious institution to receive sustained treatment is the Point McLeay Mission to aboriginals. Here, on 16 March 1859, George Taplin was appointed as a missionary to the Ngarrindjeri tribes by the Aborigines' Friends Association. The aboriginals had already been reduced in number from about 3,000 to 600 and from heroic "'savagery'" to "'great beggars, but otherwise harmless and inoffensive'" Taplin fought against the greed of surrounding white settlers and his own ignorance to protect the aborigines against the white man's diseases, immoral example, and lust for land. Taplin was aggressive in his assault on aboriginal culture which he condemned as barbarism:

The supposed cannibalism and infanticide, the fights, the sorcery, the initiation ceremonies, the polygamy, the mortuary rites, and lore of the elders were all abhorrent to his eyes. He saw them all as unnecessary and unchristian. He was thrilled when he persuaded a Ngarrindjera to be buried in a coffin rather than

[48] Lucas An Evangelical History Review, no. 5, March 1989.

follow the old rites, which he called 'inconvenient and stupid'; the tradition had been to mummify the bodies, a practice which caused a frightful stench as they decomposed. If he saved a young man from the initiation ceremonies of the Elders, he saw a victory over native superstition. When some of the young men shaved off their beards, he called it 'utter contempt for native customs'. By 1870, the Ngarrindjeri were so attuned to Taplin's views and methods that they simply avoided him if he tried to influence them on any of their practices (p.52). 

Yet Christian love occasionally scores victories over cultural and confessional prejudices. As he grew older, Taplin was given to explaining natural phenomena in terms of aboriginal legends; to conceding that there was a certain grandeur in aboriginal ceremonies; and to helping with the systematic recording of tribal legends and customs.

He had become far removed from the Scottish shepherd who told him 'I dinna think. . that we ought to care about their customs at a'; we ought to mak' them 'gie up such Heathenish practices.' The opposer of old Ngarrindjeri ways became their recorder for posterity (p.52).

Nevertheless, it was considered by 1913 that the Point McLeay Mission had failed. A Royal Commission on Aborigines appointed that year revealed, even if it did not conclude, that the problem was not only cultural, but fundamentally economic: the basic contention between, aboriginal and while was land, labour, and money. It is a sympathetic, but not uncritical, treatment of Taplin.

Linn dovetails his subject into the themes oi wider Australian history It is good local history. and interesting even to the non-resident. With an eye for the interesting and the significant, Linn turns economic matters such as the provision of river transport and bridges into the human drama which they undoubtedly were

Stuart Piggin

University of Wollongong

© Southern Cross College and the Evangelical History Association of Australia, 2004.