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Florence Griffiths Buchanan (1861–1913) was a teacher and missionary in
Florence Griffiths Buchanan (1861–1913) was a teacher and missionary in Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia. She was known for her work and advocacy for the Melanesian
Melanesian is the adjectival form of Melanesia. It may refer to:
* Melanesians
* Melanesian mythology
* Melanesian languages In linguistics, Melanesian is an obsolete term referring to the Austronesian languages of Melanesia: that is, the Oceani ...
and other Asian people.
Biography
Buchanan was left permanently crippled after a riding accident in 1888. After moving to Townsville to assist Anglican Bishop,Christopher George Barlow
Christopher George Barlow (9 December 1858 – 30 August 1915) was an Anglican bishop in Australia. He was a Bishop of North Queensland and a Bishop of Goulburn.
Early life
Barlow was born in Dublin and educated at Blackrock College befor ...
(1858-1915) in his diocese for two years, Buchanan moved to Thursday Island and worked among the multi-racial communities of divers. During the 1890s she worked on Thursday Island and was ordained there as a deaconess in 1908. In the same year she went to Moa Island
Moa Island, also called Banks Island, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago that is located north of Thursday Island in the Banks Channel of Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It is also a locality within the Torres Strait ...
to conduct the St Paul's Anglican mission and teach school.
In 1911 she resigned from her position, due to ill-health, but continued to teach until her return to Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
in 1913.
She died of tuberculosis at St Helen's Methodist Hospital at South Brisbane
South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people.
Geography
The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, ...
. There is some uncertainty about her exact date of death being listed in the Queensland Death Registers as 30 December 1913, but her notices in various newspapers state she died the previous day 29 December 1913. Her funeral was held at St John's Anglican Cathedral in Brisbane on 31 December 1913 and afterwards she was buried in the Toowong Cemetery.
On 27 January 1914 at Thursday Island it was decided to raise funds to remember Buchanan who they regarded as a "splendid example of self sacrificing devotion" with a memorial window in the Quetta Cathedral
The Quetta Memorial Precinct is a heritage-listed Anglican church precinct in Douglas Street, Thursday Island, Shire of Torres, Queensland, Australia. The precinct comprises the All Souls and St Bartholomew's Cathedral Church, the Bishop's H ...
on Thursday Island and to complete a project important to her, the erection of a hospital at St Paul's Mission on Moa Island. In July 1914 the window was ordered from England. The window was dedicated at the cathedral in November 1915.
Legacy
A collection of approximately 50 letters written to Richard Griffiths of New Court,Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
by members of his family, including correspondence relating to the wardship and subsequent upbringing of Florence Griffiths Buchanan is held at the State Library of Queensland
The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contai ...
(which is built on the site of St Helen's Methodist Hospital where she died).
References
Further reading
*External links
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Florence Griffith People from Queensland Australian schoolteachers Australian Anglican missionaries 1861 births 1913 deaths People from Canterbury English emigrants to Australia 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women