The Poor Parsons: Presbyterian Clergy in Colonial Queensland

An examination of the Presbyterian ministry in colonial Queensland is a revealing exercise. It tells something of the nature of a very significant class in colonial society, the clergy, who acted as the “public intellectuals” of their age. It aids the assessment of the extent to which the Presbyterian Church remained an immigrant Scottish institution. It also provides some insights into the causes of the differences of style observable in Presbyterianism from state to state, suggesting a relationship to differences over Church union in the 1970s.