Benjamin Carvosso (29 September 1789 – 2 October 1854) was the first
Wesleyan
Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...
Minister to preach in
Australia in 1820. He built/started the
Hobart Wesleyan Church (in
Hobart,
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, which is an exact replica of the church in
Mousehole
Mousehole (; kw, Porthenys) is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies ...
,
Penzance,
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
(except that it is larger in size). The church still owns a clock that he left as a present on his departure.
Carvosso was son of
William Carvosso, born near Mousehole, in
Mount's Bay
Mount's Bay ( kw, Baya an Garrek) is a large, sweeping bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom, stretching from the Lizard Point to Gwennap Head. In the north of the bay, near Marazion, is St Michael's Mount; the origin ...
, on 11 March 1750, first a fisherman, then a farmer, and afterwards for sixty years a most active class leader and local preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist connection, who died at Dowstal, in the parish of
Mylor, on 13 Oct. 1834. The son was born in
Gluvias
St Gluvias is a settlement in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is now a suburb on the northern edge of Penryn which is northwest of Falmouth. Until 1 April 2021 there was civil parish was called St Gluvias which doesn't include ...
parish, Cornwall, on 29 September 1789, and, although brought up by very pious parents, was not converted until his twenty-second year.
He was admitted as a probationer by the Wesleyan conference in 1814, and, after labouring for five years as a minister in England, offered himself as a missionary. He arrived in
Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...
in 1820, being the second minister of the Wesleyan denomination sent to the Australian colonies, and on 18 Aug. introduced Methodism into that island by a public service in Hobart Town. It was not long before he proceeded to
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, where, in the towns of
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
,
Sydney, and
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
, he passed the next five years of his ministration.
He had a high sense of the importance of the press as a means of promoting religion, and in conjunction with his brethren commenced in 1820 the publication of the ‘''Australian Magazine'',’ the first of its class seen in the colony. In 1825 he removed to Hobart Town; here his labours were arduous; in the pulpit, the prison, the prayer meeting, the class meeting, and the family, he was constantly engaged. Returning to his native land in 1830 he continued in the full discharge of his ministerial duties in various parts of England throughout the remainder of his life.
He died at
Tuckingmill, Cornwall, on 2 October 1854.
Works
* ''The Great Efficacy of Simple Faith, a Memoir of William Carvosso'' 1835, many editions.
* ''Drunkenness the Enemy of Britain arrested by the Hand of God'' 1840
* ''An Account of Miss Deborah B. Carvosso'' 1840
* ''Attractive Piety, or Memorials of William B. Carvosso'' 1844, several editions.
References
;Attribution
*
External links
Australian Dictionary of Biography
*
ttp://www.oxforddnb.com/index/101004831/ Oxford Dictionary of National BiographyNational Library of Australia, Book: The faithful pastor: a memoir of the Rev. Benjamin Carvosso
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carvosso, Benjamin
1789 births
1854 deaths
People from Mousehole
Australian Methodist ministers
Cornish Methodists
Australian people of Cornish descent
British emigrants to Australia
19th-century Australian Methodist ministers