Joseph Coles Kirby (10 June 1837 – 1 August 1924) was an English flour miller who migrated to Sydney, Australia in 1854. In 1864, Kirby was ordained in the Congregational Churches and then ministered to rural and city congregations 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 , establishe ...

and

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 ...

and supported or led many causes for social reform such as the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

and raising the age of consent to 16 in Australia.

Early life

Kirby was born on 10 June 1837 at Castle Mills, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, England to John and Mary (née Coles) Kirby. Educated at

Sibford School Sibford School is a British co-educational independent school in Sibford Ferris, west of Banbury in north Oxfordshire, linked with the Religious Society of Friends. The school has both day and boarding pupils between the ages of 3 and 18. It i ...

, a Quaker boarding school in Oxfordshire, the young Kirby inherited his mothers concern for social reform which would shape his later life. At 13 he entered his father's flour-milling business but always loved reading and had a passion for self-improvement.John Garrett, 'Kirby, Joseph Coles (1837–1924)', ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 35-3

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Migration to Sydney

The family migrated to Sydney in 1954 when his father's business went bankrupt but the 17-year-old Kirby was able to find work at another flour-mill in Sydney. It was in Sydney that he joined the Pitt Street Uniting Church, Pitt Street Congregational Church where the members at that time included David Jones (founder of

David Jones Limited David Jones Pty Limited, trading as David Jones (colloquially DJs), is an Australian High-End department store, owned since 2014 by South African retail group Woolworths Holdings Limited. David Jones was founded in 1838 by David Jones, a Welsh ...

John Fairfax John Fairfax (24 October 1804 – 16 June 1877) was an English-born journalist, company director, politician, librarian and newspaper owner, known for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern-day Australia. Early life Fairfax was bo ...

and Rev. John West. Here Kirby criticised the dominant social groups in New South Wales and advocated total abstinence.

Ministry

Early Ministry in Queensland

Kirby received his ministerial training from Rev. B. Quaife and was called as assistant minister at Ipswich, Queensland in 1863. In 1864 he was ordained and became a Congregational Minister at Dalby in Queensland. It was here in Dalby that he married Margaretta Hall.

Ministry in New South Wales

From 1871 to 1877, Kirby was the pastor of the Congregational Church in

Woollahra, New South Wales Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woolla ...

. During this time he was active within the community, supporting the Public Schools League's campaign for free, compulsory secular education and campaigning for the

. Kirby took over the church extension work of the Congregational Union of New South Wales in 1877 and was chairman of the Union in for two years in 1879-80. As chairman he attacked academicism in the ministry and advocated stronger central initiative in home missions and acceptance of land from the government to build new churches.

Ministry in South Australia

In 1880 he was called to the Port Adelaide Congregational Church after the previous minister died of tuberculosis. Kirby started the Young Christians' Union, the Young Men's Christian Society here and, through his assiduous work campaigning and ministry, was able to bring his denomination solidly behind

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

Women's Suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

and social reform. While still the minister of the Port Adelaide church, Kirby became secretary of the Social Purity Society in 1882 and spent time in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and Sydney advocating temperance and

. In 1885 he won ecumenical support in a campaign to raise the age of consent in Australia from 13 to 16. In 1886 and 1906 Kirby was the chairman of the Congregational Union of South Australia and from 1910 to 1913 was the chairman of the Congregation Union of Australia and New Zealand. In 1891 he had been an Australian representative at the first International Congregational Council in London. During this trip he travelled Europe and India.

Final Years

In 1915 Kirby was the leader in the successful campaign for 6 o'clock closing of hotel bars. Kirby also supported religious instruction in state schools and helped persuade the South Australian Congregational Union to abandon its insistence upon purely secular instruction. Later, he promoted Aboriginal protection and was an advocate of an Aboriginal reserve in Arnhem land. Although deeply devoted to the Bible and opposing any criticism of it, Kirby was open minded towards Darwinism and

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior o ...

. Kirby died 1 August 1924 in

Semaphore, South Australia Semaphore is a northwestern suburb of Adelaide in the Australian state of South Australia. It is located on the Gulf St Vincent coastline of the Lefevre Peninsula about from the Adelaide city centre. History Semaphore was first surveyed for ...

, survived by two sons and three daughters. Since 1986, the Port Dock Brewery Hotel in Port Adelaide has produced an ale named ''Old Preacher'', in memory of Kirby, who successfully campaigned for the original hotel to be closed down in 1909.Port Dock Brewery Hotel website (archive copy)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirby, Joseph Coles Australian suffragists History of South Australia English emigrants to Australia People from Buckingham 1837 births 1924 deaths People educated at Sibford School Male feminists Australian flour millers and merchants Australian temperance activists