George Davidson (1855 – 15 July 1936) was a Presbyterian minister in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
from 1898 to 1928.
History
The Rev. Dr Davidson was born at
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
, Scotland in 1855, the son of George Davidson, a mechanical engineer, and was educated at Dundee's West End Academy. After four years' employment at the office of a local jute factory, he enrolled at
St Andrew's University
(Aien aristeuein)
, motto_lang = grc
, mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best
, established =
, type = Public research university
Ancient university
, endowment ...
in Fife, graduating MA in 1879, and prepared for the ministry at the Theological Hall of the United Presbyterian Church,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. He would receive his Doctorate of Divinity in 1910. His first posting was to the Allars United Presbyterian Church,
Hawick
Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one of ...
, where he remained for 13 years.
Davidson answered a call from the Flinders Street, Adelaide church (founded 1865) in 1897 to succeed Rev. James Lyall, and with his wife and two sons arrived in Adelaide by the liner ''Ormuz'' on 28 February 1898. and served there from 1898 to 1928. These were the two pastorates of his 44 years' ministerial career.
He served as Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia from 1914 to 1916 and was three times Moderator of the South Australian Assembly.
:The Flinders Street Presbyterian Church was Adelaide's first, and Chalmer's Church and St Andrew's were later offshoots. Rev.
Ralph Drummond
Ralph Drummond (1792 – 26 April 1872) was the first minister of a Presbyterian Church in South Australia.
Life
Drummond was born in Stirling, Scotland and studied literature at Glasgow University and theology under George Lawson at the Divinity ...
was, in 1839, Adelaide's first Presbyterian minister, at first conducting services at his home in
Angas Street
Angas Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map of the
Mount Barker). A church and school were built on
Gouger Street
Gouger Street is a major street in the centre of Adelaide, South Australia.Map of the
James Lyall in 1857, and Davidson was the third incumbent. So the church had only three ministers in a span of 90 years.
:The Flinders Street church was aligned with the United Presbyterian Church, one of three Presbyterian denominations in Adelaide. The others ( Free Presbyterian Church and
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
) merged in 1865 to form Chalmers Church, which the Flinders Street church joined in 1929 as Scots Church. The Flinders Street property was sold in 1956, with the funds and much of the material used to upgrade the Scots Church at the North Terrace -
Pulteney Street
Pulteney Street is a main road which runs north-south through the middle of the eastern half of the Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It runs north-south from North Terrace, through Hindmarsh and Hurtle Squares, to South ...
corner.
He resigned from the South Australian Presbytery in December 1928, on account of failing health. He died at home and after a brief ceremony his remains were buried in the Mitcham Cemetery.
Other interests
Davidson was an occasional bowls player and golfer.
He was a teetotaler and temperance advocate.
Family
Davidson's wife, Jessie Wannen Davidson (c. 1855 – 19 July 1937), was born in
Arbroath
Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902.
It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen.
The ...
; they were married in Scotland on 9 April 1884. They had two sons:
*D. M. Davidson (Sydney)
*J. L. Davidson (Melbourne).
They had a home at 22 Gurney road
Dulwich
Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...