• Roy Leslie Arnold (1900-1942) by Elliott Arnold.
• Report for Federal Conference--1968 by Wilkie J. Thomson.
• Financial Statement--July 1, 1966 to June 30, 1968 by Wilkie J. Thomson.

      The Melbourne Sun featured garments being modelled from a trunk that had been left unopened for years. A nightdress has the monogram of Queen Victoria on it. The granddaughter to whom the trunk had been left years ago had not bothered to open it until just recently!--Have a look in that trunk left to you!

      The Discipliana (the Disciples of Christ Historical Society journal, U.S.A.) of April, 1968, carries an editorial on The Complete Local Church Historian. It is, says the writer Marvin D. Williams, Jnr., a year-round work. He makes the following suggestions for the local church historian. "Pictures of former ministers should be kept in the church, perhaps hung together in some special honoured place. Current records of the official bodies of the church will be needed for reference by officers and ministers of the congregation. . . . Personal papers of former ministers and outstanding laymen, including letters, diaries and other manuscript material should be sent to the Society where they will be processed for use by interested researchers." The best we can do in Australia at present, is to file and preserve such Mss. in fireproof cabinets and vaults. Just over 25 years ago Dr. Claude E. Spencer commenced The Disciples of Christ Historical Society with $25. Then funds were provided by the Phillips family ($600,000) and the library was built as a memorial to Thomas W. Phillips (1835-1912). From time to, time other "memorials" are added. Gifts have ranged in size from $1 to $5000. We get excited about a $2 subscription!

      Roy Arnold was born in Port Pirie, South Australia, on August 21, 1900. Born into a Christian home, he attended Sunday School, Christian Endeavour meetings, and all church services from small boyhood. He attended the Pirie West public school and after leaving there became an ironworker in the local Broken Hill Associated Smelters, after initially working in the company's general office.

      In 1911 the local Baptist Church and the Church of Christ united as the Port Pirie Christian Church. To help in its early consolidation and expansion S. G. Griffith, the South Australian Churches of Christ State Evangelist, was asked to come and conduct a Tent Mission, a feature of Church work in those days. He came, and Roy Arnold and Frank Pillar, two bosom boy companions, were amongst the first four to make their confessions of faith, of about 80 people who did so at that Mission.

      Frank Pillar went on to become a noted metallurgist with the smelting company, and member, officer and elder of the Port Pirie and Colonel Light Churches, and later, he and Roy Arnold married two outstanding young lady members and workers in the church, Belle and Eunice Pareira.

      When the United Church dissolved in 1917, Roy Arnold became a very diligent student in the Training Class established by the preacher J. E. Shipway, and leader in all youth work in the Church, and with his older brother Arthur and Bruce Smith (Secretary of the local branch and who subsequently journeyed to Glen Iris with Roy) became one of the founders and leaders in the Y.M.C.A. in Port Pirie. After outstanding work in the Church (where the became noted as a fine young public speaker) and in the Y.M.C.A., in the middle of the 1920s Roy, with Bruce Smith and Bob Sandalls, went to the College of the Bible,

Glen Iris, for further study and training for the ministry. He proved to be a good student, student leader, tennis player and student preacher. While at Glen Iris he conducted successful ministries at Hampton and Boronia, and seemed destined to become an outstanding Church leader. After graduating from Glen Iris he married, and with his wife Eunice and later daughter Relma, conducted lengthy successful ministries at Wangaratta and Moreland in Victoria, Burwood in N.S.W., and Anne Street (Brisbane) in Queensland. After leaving Brisbane he went down to Launceston in Tasmania, and there conducted a successful year's work.

      At the commencement of his second year he became ill and went into the Launceston General Hospital and underwent an operation for appendicitis, but which unfortunately proved to be one of the very few such unsuccessful operations even in those days; and so, in 1942, at the age of 42, a very promising career was ended.

      While in Melbourne and Sydney Roy became a frequent and well-known devotional preacher over the radio, especially with 2CH (Sydney), and through that medium, was able to reach a large audience, from whom he received many expressions of appreciation. Amongst these were some from his own immediate relations, especially in Tamworth and Albury, whom, with the exception of one cousin, he hardly knew at all and had never seen. As the result of this, although almost all of them belonged to other churches, he entertained many of them in his home in Melbourne and Sydney.

      Roy was always keen on recreation, especially tennis. Usually he won the tennis championship at the College and was a prominent performer in the tournaments conducted by the Churches of Christ Tennis Association in Melbourne. He and Miss Priscilla Ellis became a noted mixed double pair in these tournaments. He carried this achievement into his Church life and it enabled him to enter into most of the youth activities of the Church and there by his ability and nature was able to exert a great influence over the young people of the day, and over the recreation minded of the older members of the churches where he preached.

      After his death his wife became Matron at the College of the Bible, Glen Iris, and later, almost until her own quite early death, was Matron of the Y.W.C.A. Hostel at Woodville, South Australia, and so was able to carry on their work and influence amongst young people wherever they lived.

--Elliott Arnold, S.A.      

      We give thanks to God for the further opportunity to report to Federal Conference and for what the Society has been able to do over the few years of its existence. Established as a Federal Society under the Federal Executive in 1959, it has adhered to its constitution as per section 10, "Churches of Christ Historical Society" within the Federal Constitution. It is not, and was never intended to be, an opinion forming society, but is definitely a fact-finding one. Consequently it has been able to help churches and individuals with needed information.

      Membership: The membership is now 143 and includes churches and individuals all over Australia. There is a special bond of brotherhood between those who are historically minded. A get-together dinner has been held at Federal Conferences where it could be arranged. The first idea of an Australian Society came from C. R. Burdeu and he is the first to be honoured with an honorary Life Membership.

      The Digest of the Historical Society. Commenced as a roneoed news sheet in February, 1960, it became a printed four-page folder in 1964. It has now been registered at the G.P.O. as a periodical, but in doing so we are limited to the printing of 213 copies each quarter until we have a larger membership. It is essential to send free copies to various organisations and libraries. The Queensland Library has requested copies by payment. The paper carries brief histories of churches and individuals, most hitherto unpublished. The Editor always seeks MS dealing with the stories of the commencement and continuation of the various fields of work and lives of people, also committees and departments. Space is at present limited but we hope to see the journal enlarged.

      Financial. All the work of the Society has been carried out voluntarily, the main costs being printing and postage. As the membership fee, despite rising costs, is still only $1 a year, we are still dependent upon some help from the

Federal Executive. Two subsidies have been received from it since last Conference, viz., $50 in 1966 and $60 in 1967. These have been greatly needed and appreciated. Subscriptions amounted to $138, some paying a few years in advance--some are in arrears.

      Exhibitions. Exhibitions have been arranged at Federal Conferences whenever possible, and this was done at the last Conference. We seek to make these as much intra-state as possible. There are many relics, books, diaries and historical matter still lying in trunks that have not been opened for years. Somewhere there are the missing links in the chain of history of our Brotherhood, and we appeal to you to hand these to your state church archivist or historian that they may be read and preserved.

      A letter has been forwarded to all the churches to help foster the preservation of records and the histories of churches and individuals. We have asked that each church appoint a member to this task. Such records are essential for Municipal and State historians, authors, journalists and students as well as to our Brotherhood. We have also urged churches to become financial members of the Society. The deposits of minerals, etc., in the earth may enrich men materially--the results of the earth's work of the past--but the lives of men and churches are far more important to us and to posterity, spiritually.

      Obituary. Some of those who were earliest members of the Society have been called from us: F. Collins, H. A. G. Clark (Committee member), Thos. W. Smith, J. A. Wilkie, B. Pateman, J. Park (Tasmanian Committee member), V. C. Stafford and A. C. Thurrowgood.

      Committee Members. C. R. Burdeu, President; K. J. Clinton, Chairman; R. T. Pittman, R. H. Patterson, A. B. Clark, F. J. Funston, L. S. Dewberry, A. W. C. Candy, A. R. Pigdon, R. N. Gilmore, W. J. Thomson (Honorary Secretary-Treasurer and Editor of Digest); D. A. V. Thomas resigned because of Chaplaincy duties. We appreciated his work and service.

      Copies of the following letter have been sent to each State Executive with the hope that a copy will be sent to every church in each State. The Federal Executive had the letter printed for us. These have gone out with a covering letter by the Executive Secretary, E. W. Roffey. We tender our thanks to the Committee and to Mr. Roffey for the kind interest in the work of the Society.

The Australian Churches of Christ Historical Society

143 Surrey Road,      
BLACKBURN, Victoria, 3130      
Tel. 878-1649.      
17th June, 1968.      

 

      Dear Brethren,

      The Australian Churches of Christ Historical Society sends you greetings.

      The above Society was founded as a Federal institution in 1959 and since then has endeavoured to carry out the objects of the Society as outlined in the Federal Constitution.

      From time to time we are approached by comparatively young churches for information about their beginnings. We are glad to supply this if we can, but too often there is very little to be gleaned from reports in any existing church papers or periodicals. It must be remembered, too, that others, Municipalities, Historians, Students of Architecture, Economy and those writing a thesis on a town or city where our churches exist; or authors writing a book about a place and people, Journalists and such like, appeal for help and we endeavour to give it.

      It is not always possible to give the information sought because no adequate records have been kept--even minute books have sometimes been destroyed and the names of foundation members, architects and builders have been lost.

      As a Society we are concerned about this. There are some churches who ceased to make any further publication of their history after the publication of the Jubilee History of Churches of Christ in Australasia in 1903.

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      We therefore make this appeal to the Brotherhood that every church should publish a history on any of its important anniversaries. We would further appeal to each church that in doing so some of the following be listed:--

      Earliest meetings and foundation members;
      Location of meetings;
      Earliest and subsequent buildings, architects, builders, costs, etc.;
      Roll of ministers giving terms of service;
      Roll of secretaries giving terms of service;
      Important missions or special movements;
      Auxiliaries and notable leaders;
      Members prominent in Brotherhood activities;
      Where possible the histories of members who have been active;
      Each church appoint an archivist who will keep a cuttings book of events, photos, newspaper cuttings, etc. Some churches are already doing this.

      Where such books have or will be published, we would like to have two copies sent to the Federal Society. All this may lead to another such publication of history of the work as was A. B. Maston's. It will at least preserve for posterity the work of Churches of Christ in Australia.

      As you will know, the Society publishes The Digest of the Australian Churches of Christ Historical Society each quarter. The editor seeks manuscripts on churches and individuals for this. If every church became a member of the Society at $1 a year, and we ask you to do so, we would be able to enlarge our paper. These journals are sent by request to State and National libraries and are therefore thought worthy of preservation. It might be possible for you to encourage individual members of the church to become members of the Society. The payment of $1 per annum does this and the Digest is delivered quarterly. Get-together meetings and teas are held at Federal Conference time.

      May God bless your work in His Kingdom and bless each individual life. Yours in His Service,

K. J. CLINTON, Chairman.
W. J. THOMSON, Honorary Secretary-Treasurer.

      The Records of the Historical Society have been examined and are in accordance with the above statement of Receipts and Payments.

      G. K. SCAMBLER, Chartered Accountant, W. J. THOMSON, Auditor. Hon. Sec.-Treas.

      Acknowledgements: R. H. Patterson $1, H. G. Patterson $2, Mrs. E. D. Newell $1 (new), R. C. Haden $1, Blackburn Church $2, all of Victoria; Albion Church $1, Mrs. E. O'Brien $1, C. R. Burdeu $1, all of Queensland; H. Parker $1 (new), South Australia. Thank you.

      Should you be attending Federal Conference in Sydney (October 16 to 22, 1968) book for Historical Society's dinner. A display of the Society is under the care of C. Bowser, N.S.W., historian.

      A "life" of Principal A. R. Main, M.A., D.D., is being prepared. Any matter such as letters, notes or incidents relative to the late Mr. Main will be welcomed by the Editor. Please state if anything that is sent is required to be returned.