The Reverend Alexander Petrie Campbell OBE (4 June 1881 - 13 December 1963) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

-born

Congregational church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

minister and chairman of the Congregational Union of Australia and New Zealand from 1937 until 1939.

Immediate family

Alex Campbell was born at

Redfern, New South Wales Redfern is an inner-city suburb of Sydney located 3 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Strawberry Hills is a locality on the border with Surry Hills. The area ...

, the second son of George Campbell, an

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-born Congregational minister. Before entering the ministry, George was a Moulder Journeyman, the occupation he gave at the time of his first marriage to Ann Hamilton. They were married in 1856, but she died without bearing any children in 1865. George went on to marry Mary Adam Petrie, Alexander's mother, in 1872. She was born in Paisley,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Both parents were 43 years of age at the time of Alex's birth. George and Mary were married for 30 years before Mary died in 1903. George died in 1915. Alex's brother George was older by just one year. He later worked as a

Chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

, living in Petersham,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

with his wife.

Early life

He was educated at

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1891–1901) and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

from where he graduated as a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1904.Alumni Sidneienses
After studying theology at Camden College,

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

, he was ordained in his father's church at Burwood. Campbell married Margaret Elizabeth Beale, daughter of piano manufacturer

Octavius Beale Octavius Charles Beale (23 February 1850 – 16 December 1930) was an Irish-born Australian piano manufacturer and a philanthropist. Beale formed a company to import sewing machines and pianos in 1879, after which he established Australia's first ...

, in 1909.

Ministry

* Minister,

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...

Congregational Church, 1905 to 1911 * Minister,

Killara Killara is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. East Killara is a separate suburb and ...

Congregational Church, 1911 to 1938 * Chairman, Congregational Union of New South Wales, 1919 * Secretary, Camden College, 1920 to 1921 * President, Camden College, 1937 to 1955 * Minister, Burwood Congregational Church, 1938 to 1944 * Moderator, Congregational Union of New South Wales, 1944 to 1951 * President, Sydney City Mission, 1946 to 1963

Later life

Campbell's deep concern for social justice led him to serve the community at large. In 1929 he was elected president of the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

of Sydney and he became vice-president of the New South Wales Society for Crippled Children which had been established during his presidency of Rotary. With a pleasant voice, Campbell was a regular speaker on radio and he was an early proponent of Australian intercommunion. Congregationalists in New South Wales "revered him as an inspiring preacher, a wise administrator and a beloved pastor". He died at

Wahroonga Wahroonga is a suburb in the North Shore (Sydney)#Upper North Shore, Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia ...

and was survived by his wife, daughter and three sons.

Honours

* Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, 1962 *

Mission Australia Mission Australia is a national Christian charity that provides a range of community services throughout Australia. It has its roots in the Brisbane Town and Country Mission (1859) and Sydney City Mission (1862), but was only officially establish ...

's Campbell House

Surry Hills, New South Wales Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surround ...

, named in his honour, 1973

Publications

* Edited the New South Wales Congregationalist * Wrote The Great Hill-Climb (1930) and A Word for the Road (1953)

References

Bibliography

* Sydney Morning Herald, Obituary (3 Dec 1963) * Birth certificate (certified copy): Alexander Campbell * Death certificate (certified copy): George Campbell * Marriage certificate (certified copy): George and Ann Campbell * Marriage certificate (copy): George and Mary Campbell * J. Garrett and L. W. Farr, Camden College (Syd, 1964) * J. Owen, The Heart of the (Syd, 1987) * P. Swain, Newington Across the Years 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999)

External links

* Geoffrey Barnes,

Campbell, Alexander Petrie (1881–1963)',

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 13, MUP, 1993, pp 352–353. * It's an Honour websit

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Alexander Petrie 1881 births 1963 deaths Australian Congregationalist ministers People educated at Newington College 20th-century Congregationalist ministers