Charles Elliot Fox (26 September 1878 – 28 October 1977) was an Anglican

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

and teacher in

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

Career

Fox was born in

Stalbridge Stalbridge () is a small town and civil parish in Dorset, England, situated in the Blackmore Vale, near the border with Somerset. In the 2011 census the civil parish—which includes the hamlets of Stalbridge Weston, and Thornhill—had 1,160 ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, England, and educated in New Zealand, graduating

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

from

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in 1901. He received a degree in

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

from St John's College, Auckland in 1902, joined the Anglican

Melanesian Mission The Melanesian Mission is an Anglican missionary agency supporting the work of local Anglican churches in Melanesia. It was founded in 1849 by George Selwyn, the first Bishop of New Zealand. History Bishop Selwyn's see was focused on New Zealand. ...

in 1903 and was ordained the same year. Fox co-authored " Beliefs and Tales of San Cristobal" in 1915, which was later printed in the ''J Royal Anthropological Inst.'' Starting around 1924, Fox worked on a dictionary the

Lau language Lau (Law) is a Jukunoid language of Lau LGA, Taraba State, Nigeria. Lau speakers claim that their language is mutually intelligible with the Jukunoid language varieties spoken in Kunini, Bandawa, and Jeshi. They also live alongside the Centr ...

of Malaita and one of the Arosi language of

Makira The island of Makira (also known as San Cristobal and San Cristóbal) is the largest island of Makira-Ulawa Province in the Solomon Islands. It is third most populous island after Malaita and Guadalcanal, with a population of 55,126 as of 2020. ...

in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

,. In 1932, Fox declined the post of

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the

. In the same year he was admitted to the

Melanesian Brotherhood The Melanesian Brotherhood is an Anglican religious community of men in simple vows based primarily in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea. History The Melanesian Brotherhood was formed in 1925 by Ini Kopuria, a policeman from M ...

. In the 1974 New Year Honours, Fox was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, for humanitarian services, particularly in the Solomon Islands. He died in New Zealand in 1977, aged 99 years.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Documents by Fox
from Project Canterbury
Charles Elliot Fox Papers
MSS 18
Special Collections & Archives
UC San Diego Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Charles Elliot 1878 births 1977 deaths Anglican saints People from Stalbridge New Zealand Anglican priests New Zealand Anglican missionaries University of Auckland alumni 20th-century Christian saints English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Anglican missionaries in the Solomon Islands Missionary linguists New Zealand expatriates in the Solomon Islands