Baptists in Australia
© David Parker Oct 1999 Rev. 16/3/3
Baptist Theological Colleges in Australia
The first Baptist theological college in Australia was not established until 1891, sixty years after the first services were held. Prior this, churches were led by laymen, lay pastors or ministers who came from Great Britain (and occasionally elsewhere). British ministers were trained at Bristol, Regent's Park, Horton/Rawdon and other colleges. After 1856, a large proportion, including some of the most able and outstanding ministers, came from Spurgeon's Pastors' College, especially to Tasmania, NSW and Queensland.
Before the establishment of theological colleges in Australia (and some Baptist Unions), some men were trained in an apprenticeship model under the guidance of a senior pastors. Ordination was often conducted by the local church. Later, most Baptist Unions set up an ministerial educational committee to supervise the training and ordination of ministers. There were plans for the first college (in Victoria) to become a federal ministerial institution, but this scheme did not eventuate, leading to the establishment of colleges in most of the states. Most of the colleges are owned and controlled by state Baptist Unions. They accept male and female students of any denomination and offer several levels of courses, mostly with a pastoral and missionary focus in ordination and non-ordination streams. Requirements for ordination additional to the college course are stipulated by the Union ministerial committees. Some colleges have established ancillary institutes specialised in world mission and evangelism.
At first study courses were basic, and practically oriented, with a focus on pastoral and biblical training. Although conditions were far from ideal, some outstanding principals such as Dr W.T. Whitley and Rev. G.H. Morling set high standards. Colleges were not authorised to grant degrees until quite recently. Previously, some students were able to take diplomas and degrees from the inter-church external examining body, the Melbourne College of Divinity (est. 1910). Similar arrangements were available later, especially for non-Victorian colleges, with the Anglican based Australian College of Theology (est. 1891) which in more recent years has catered for all denominations and the interdenominational Bible colleges. During the last twenty years, government regulations have been liberalised allowing colleges and consortia to grant a wide range of theological degrees up to doctoral level. Much theological education in Australia is now conducted in an ecumenical setting, sometimes in association with a secular university, and Bible colleges may offer the same or similar degrees as denominational theological colleges. Some graduates have been able to enjoy higher and specialised studies overseas in UK and USA, while many others have taken advanced degrees with Australian universities.
The Baptist Theological Colleges in Australia are:
Whitley College: The Baptist Theological College of
Victoria, Melbourne, Vic. (est. 1891)
http://www.whitley.unimelb.edu.au/theo/
Principal: Rev Dr Ken Manley
Previous Principals: W.T. Whitley, W.H. Holdsworth, A.J. Grigg, D.M. Himbury
Other full-time faculty (alphabetical order) M.G. Brett, P. Broughton, B.S. Brown, E.C. Burleigh, K.D. Dyer, G. Garrett, A.W. Gill, R.O. Langmead, A. Marr, M.R. Munro, G. Pound, F.D. Rees, I. Roos, B.D. Rumbold, R.J. Thompson, J.H. Watson,
Queensland Baptist College of Ministry, Brisbane,
Q. (est. 1904)
Principal: Rev Dr John Sweetman.
Previous Principals: T.J. Malyon, W. Bell, T.C. Warriner, E.G. Gibson, S.W. Nickerson
Other full-time faculty (alphabetical order) L.J. Ball, S. Ball, M.J. Davidson, J.E. Gibson, A.W. Gill, G.W. Martin, R.K. Moore, J. Pugh, C.P. Skinner, G.W. Sunstrom, D.A. Swincer
Morling College: The Baptist Theological College of
NSW, Sydney, NSW (est. 1916)
http://www.morling.nsw.edu.au/
Principal: Rev. Ross Clifford
Previous Principals: A. Gordon, G.H. Morling, E. Roberts-Thomson, B.G. Wright, E.R. Rogers, V.J. Eldridge
Other full-time faculty (alphabetical order): N.P. Andersen, G. Chatfield, K. Clendinning, K. Connell, M.J. Davidson, J.H. Deane, V.J. Eldridge, M. Frost, E.G. Gibson, R. Kemp, J. Kime, W. Leng, K.R. Manley, S. Potts, B. Powell, J. Reid, E.R. Rogers, J.A. Thompson, R. Weir, B.G. Wright,
Other full-time faculty (alphabetical order): N.P.
Andersen, C. Chatfield, K. Clendinning, K. Connell, M.J. Davidson, J.H. Deane, V.J. Eldridge, M. Frost, E.G.
Gibson, R. Kemp, J. Kime, W. Leng, K.R. Manley, S. Potts, B. Powell, J. Reid,
E.R. Rogers, A. Sloane, J.A. Thompson, R. Weir, B.G. Wright,
Burleigh College, Adelaide, SA (est. 1952)
http://www.sabaptist.asn.au/cgi-bin/burleigh.cgi?1
Principal: Dr J.E. Helm
Previous Principals: E.C. Burleigh, G. Ball, R. Legge.
Other full-time faculty (alphabetical order): E.G. Gibson, J.E. Helm, R. Legge, K.R. Manley, D.J. Rowston, S. Spence.
The Baptist Theological College of Western
Australia, Perth, WA (est. 1963)
http://www.iinet.net.au/~bapchwa/colintro.html
Principal: Rev Dr John W. Olley
Previous Principals: G.N. Vose.
Other full-time faculty (alphabetical order): M.J. Davidson, R.K. Moore, J. W. Olley
North Queensland College of Ministries, Townsville,
Q. (est. 1985)
http://www.users.bigpond.com/NQCM/nqcm.htm
Principal: Rev Dr Bill Jackson
Previous Principals: G. Ansell, R. Bullpitt, J. Huggins
Other full-time faculty (alphabetical order)
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