No ‘gilded path to heaven’:

The Australian ministry of William Vickars Young

by Rod Benson (May 2003) – reply to

In January 1849 the Fortitude sailed into Moreton Bay in what was then the northern region of the colony of New South Wales. On board was the Reverend Charles Stewart, who was to be the first pastor of the United Evangelical Church in Brisbane, and the first Baptist minister in what is now the state of Queensland. Thirty-five years later there were 13 Baptist ministers and they were joined by another English clergyman, William Vickars Young.

Preparations for ministry

William Young was his parents’ first child, born on September 22, 1840 at Newtown, Longville, Bucks. On the birth of their second son 14 months later, William was sent to live with his paternal grandparents, who made their living as farmers. He would never again live with his parents. We know nothing more of his childhood. He married in 1863 at the age of 23. From this year until 1867 he was a lay pastor at Swanborne. In 1867 he entered Spurgeon’s Pastors’ College in London. Others who later became Queensland Baptist ministers and who trained at Spurgeon’s College during this period were Frederick Buckingham, John Glover and the outstanding William Whale. Following graduation in 1870 Young served as a Baptist pastor in England for eleven years, first at Maidstone (in Kent) and later at New Mill Church (at Tring, Herts).

On the other side of the world, in the provincial town of Ipswich 45 kilometres west of Brisbane, members of the Ipswich Baptist Church were searching for a new pastor. Economic development in Ipswich began earnestly in the 1850s and 60s. The first coal mine was opened in 1851, a railway was built in the 1860s, and a woollen mill commenced production in 1877. The first Baptist church in Ipswich was established in June 1859 with the first service conducted by the Rev B.G. Wilson, assisted by the Rev Thomas Deacon and three laymen. Between 1859 and 1868 the fledgling church was served by six pastors in quick succession. Some of these resignations may have been forced by poverty. There was no theological training available in the Australian colonies at this time, and apparently churches frequently called incumbent pastors rather than looking to the Old World. This unsettled period was followed by the five-year ministry of the Rev T.S. Gerrard, whose declining health impacted the church and its ministry.

Following Gerrard was the six-year pastorate of the Rev John Straughen, concluding in 1881. Straughen had founded the Windsor Road Baptist Church in Brisbane. During his Ipswich pastorate the foundation stone of the present building was laid. Despite such apparent advances, the immediate material prospects (and perhaps also the spiritual vitality of the church) were tenuous. For example, in January 1878 it was noted that the church was  £23 in debt, and that most of this was owed to the pastor as stipend. Promises regarding pastoral stipends were rarely kept among Queensland Baptist churches in the nineteenth century. Weekly offerings were unusual, and payments were often made in kind (e.g. food), or an individual pastor was privately sponsored by a wealthy benefactor of the church. Members questioned whether the church was in a position to support a pastor. Into the breach stepped Brother Edwin Saunders, who assured members that the church was in a position to pay its pastor and “all future liabilities in connection with the cause of Christ in this place.”

Nevertheless Straughen tendered a letter of resignation in April 1878 (which was not accepted by the church). He explained his reasons in a letter to deacons. These reasons give some indication of the situation into which W.V. Young would soon enter – or at least the recent history of the church he would lead for seven years. Straughen was blunt, claiming that “for a considerable time past there has been a manifest want of sympathy and interest in the Lord’s work on the part of the members [with] few exceptions.” He also expressed dismay at the “non-attendance of members on the public means of grace,” neglect of the “ordinance most sacred,” low attendances at prayer meetings (frequently six attenders) and the weekly service “no better,” and vain appeals for help with the Sunday School.

By January 1880 the church was  £51 behind in paying their pastor, yet the next month he gave an organ to the church! In October 1880 it was suggested that Straughen explore bivocational ministry but he ruled this out. He was therefore asked to contact a suitable minister with a view to replacing him. He left for 12 months in the UK, returning in February 1882 to Parramatta where he pastored until 1897. There followed a 13-month pastoral vacancy at Ipswich, ending with the induction of the Rev C. Padley, commended and sent out from England by the Rev Charles Haddon Spurgeon (as were many nineteenth century Baptist ministers in Australia). Sadly, Padley lasted only eight months and resigned in October 1882. This precipitated a long search for an appropriate minister, while attendances at services declined along with the church’s immediate prospects.

But the church’s leaders were not without courage and vision. Encouraged by veteran deacon Thomas Woolley, the church again approached the Rev C.H. Spurgeon in London, asking him personally to recommend a suitable minister willing to emigrate to Queensland (which had been declared a separate colony in 1859). Church members raised special funds and forwarded a bank draft for  £50 on the Bank of Australasia, London, accompanied by an explanatory letter from the church and a letter of recommendation from the Rev William Higlett (then at Toowomba, Queensland, and an eminent graduate of Spurgeon’s College), on June 5, 1883. “As a church,” related Woolley in the denominational newspaper, “we then besought the Great Head of the Church to direct Mr Spurgeon in his choice of a man who should be qualified and willing to come out and take charge of us.”

Arrival at Ipswich, Queensland

It seems that Spurgeon was inspired to nominate W.V. Young, who readily agreed to make the life-changing voyage to the Antipodes, accompanied by his wife. They sailed on October 18, 1883, and were due to arrive at the “Metropolitan” wharf on the Brisbane River on December 21. However, the ship was delayed and the little welcoming party of Woolley and Saunders returned home without their new pastor. Young and his wife eventually disembarked at about 4.00 am the following morning. They made their own way to Ipswich, arriving about midday. Woolley and Saunders “met [Young] in the afternoon and spent a very pleasant time with him and on the following day he commenced his ministerial duties as Pastor to the satisfaction and joy of the church.” He was 43. Tragedy had already struck, however. On the voyage out Young’s wife contracted a fever from nursing a patient, leaving her seriously incapacitated. The nature of her illness or disablement is unknown, but it led to her confinement in asylum for rest of her life.

Young was inducted as the minister of Ipswich Baptist Church in late December 1883. The Queensland Freeman gave this commendation: “He is a man of fair experience, having been pastor of two Churches, and over each he remained some years. In addition to this he has shrewdness, and above all, we believe that he is a good man.” The Rev William Higlett, another graduate of Spurgeon’s College who made a significant contribution to Baptist life in Queensland and NSW, was pleased to note Young’s arrival in the colony. He travelled widely and liked to keep in touch with ministers. Higlett observed that, according to Spurgeon, Young was “a very good man.”

At a public tea on February 12, 1884, Young was formally welcomed to Ipswich. Among various Baptist and other Protestant leaders who spoke on that occasion was the Rev William Poole who “gave a humorous and highly instructive and interesting address. He advised the Church in dealing with their minister to give him his head, to give him their help, and to give him their hearts, to love him for his work’s sake as well as for his own sake, – illustrating each division with amusing anecdotes.” This occasion coincided with the silver anniversary of the Ipswich Baptist Church but, although there were founding members still active in the fellowship, there is no record of this anniversary being celebrated.

Late in 1884 requests for baptism and church membership increased. Things were looking promising. The church resolved in October 1884 “that we tender our most hearty thanks to Mr Spurgeon for the help he has given us in sending our present beloved Pastor Mr Young, and that we also send him a small sum of money to be divided between his College and the Baptist Union [of Great Britain].” This would have been unthinkable two years before as the church laboured under what was seen as crippling debt. During 1884 individuals in the church (notably Mr Friedrich, Mr James Foote and Mrs Phelps, the widow of Thomas Deacon) made significant subscriptions to support the church’s ministry, and the Baptist Association of Queensland also provided financial support at this time (a practice the church hoped would continue!). For a short time the church was free from debt, at least partly attributable to the goodwill generated by Young’s much-anticipated arrival and obvious professionalism.

During his pastorate Young developed a good professional reputation in the farming region surrounding Ipswich, and in the denomination. The 1905 Jubilee Record notes that during his ministry “much attention was given to out-stations, work being carried out at Dinmore [five kilometres east of the Ipswich Post Office], Rosewood and Marburg [small farming settlements to the west], while the parent church was freed from debt and additional land secured.” Generally the church enjoyed stability and growth during his ministry. The Queensland Freeman reported in 1886 that 29 people had joined the church during the past year.

At Rosewood, Young mentored John Alexander, “a young man of good preaching ability . rendering to [him] what educational and other help his time, library, and other circumstances will afford.” Although an isolated reference, this arguably provides an insight into Young’s approach to ministry, and into his generous character. One wonders what volumes were in Young’s library, and what became of the young prot ©g © John Alexander. In March 1887 the church meeting proposed the establishment of a new Baptist Church at Rosewood, and a vote was taken in May. The result was tied, and Young was relieved of placing a casting vote when the meeting agreed to hold the matter over to the following church meeting. In August 1887 the Rosewood branch church (or fellowship) was “excluded” from Ipswich Baptist Church since it was alleged that it was acting as an independent church, apparently without the blessing of the Ipswich church, and had “a man” on a fixed salary. Was this John Alexander? Unless he had had a serious falling out with Young, this appears highly unlikely. Thomas Woolley, an able lay preacher, ministered at various out-stations of the Ipswich church from time to time, but would not have been party to potential schism with Ipswich (and with Young whom he loyally supported). The presence of serious conflict between Rosewood and Ipswich suggests that it was an unidentified third person, possibly a local Rosewood man or a former itinerant preacher.

Money and member problems

By 1888 the church was again in financial difficulties. In May the treasurer noted “considerable deficiency of funds in hand to meet the usual liabilities.” At a special church meeting on May 8, 1888, the church resolved to sell land at Booval that had been purchased for a church plant, the proceeds to be used to pay the pastor’s outstanding stipend. Also at this meeting W.V. Young tendered a letter of resignation, desiring to be released by the end of June. He had been at Ipswich for 4 ½ years. The resignation was received with “very deep regret.” A committee of the church subsequently met with their pastor, and at a further special church meeting it was resolved that the treasurer determine the amount of salary the church would be able to offer Young if he should be persuaded to stay. The news was not encouraging; every member was instructed to contribute funds, and envelopes were to be provided for this purpose. The good news, at least for the church, was that Young consented to stay.

In July 1885 Young was absent in Sydney, with Mr Cavanagh, “the revivalist of the Baptist churches,” leading services in his absence. He was again absent in September 1886. From January to the middle of October 1889 he was absent, having returned to Great Britain, still owed  £34-0-4 ½ by the church. A church meeting in January 1889 resolved to convey to Young that they would “be glad to receive his services again on his return to the colony if he can see his way to receive such amount of remuneration as they can raise but dare not lead him to expect any certain amount but will give him all they can.” It appears that Young’s absence was open-ended; he advised the church by letter in September that he would soon return, and was to be paid from November ( £12 for the month).

Unfortunately the financial difficulties remained. Economically, in contrast to the entrepreneurial 1880s, the early 1890s were challenging for Baptist churches throughout Queensland, with resulting decline in attendances, church and denominational incomes, and church planting. The Ipswich church resolved “that we lay our financial position before Mr Young and see what can be done.” The church also agreed to discontinue the practice of “seat rent” (regular payment for the use of pews, a common practice in the nineteenth century). Matters appear to have reached an emotional crisis on February 10, 1891, when Mr Hopper, elected as a deacon (and secretary) in December 1890, “spoke about the church financial difficulty, also the falling off of the congregation together with the general dissatisfaction apparent in the church. He also considered a change in the minister desirable.” According to the church meeting minutes, Young “replied that he thought Bro. Hopper unmanly and wicked, giving him credit for more sense than to mention such things in a church meeting.” The meeting soon disbanded.

A special meeting was called for February 19 to consider Hopper’s statements. Young was not present. Saunders moved a motion declaring sympathy for Young, and it was seconded. Hopper reiterated his previously expressed views, and Mr Denham (whose nomination as a deacon was rejected on December 9, 1890 after 22 years service to the church) moved that the sympathy and support of the meeting not be given to Mr Young. This was not seconded. The original motion was carried. Thus open hostility to Young had surfaced, if it had not already done so, and a power struggle was evident in the church leadership. Hopper resigned as church secretary and was succeeded by Mr G.W. Marsh.

Ironically, in 1890-91, during which this distressing opposition to him was greatest, Young was honoured by the denomination by his election as President of the Baptist Association of Queensland. His Presidential address, published in The Queensland Baptist, appears self-deprecatory and verbose, and (in keeping with the usual practice of a graduate of Spurgeon’s College) presents a topical and exhortative rather than expository approach to biblical preaching. His five points, supported by biblical allusions and quotes, were: we must be men of real persistent prayer; we need courage in spiritual work; we need cheerfulness of heart and speech; we must trust one another; and we ought to be expectant. He closed with these words:

Brethren, be expectant; God has more to give us. If we put ourselves into a condition in which he can bless us, he will. Then our churches shall be a delight, our ministry a comfort, and our death a rapture. What I say unto you I say unto all: watch! The hour is coming which shall burn as an oven, our works will be cast into that fire, not necessarily to be consumed, but simply to be so purified as to be fitted for exhibition in a faultless world. May the very God of peace lead you into all necessary truth for his name’s sake. Amen.

Moving on

It was clear to Young that continued ministry at Ipswich would be fraught with difficulty and opposition, despite the loyal support of some members. He therefore tabled a letter at a church meeting on June 9, 1891, advising the church that he had accepted a call to Woolahra in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Edwin Saunders, always a strong supporter of Young, moved that the church hold a tea meeting before his departure. There was no seconder and the motion lapsed. The meeting closed in a dismal fashion.

But he did get his farewell tea: an undated report immediately following the minutes of the meeting at which Young announced his move to Sydney notes that “On Thursday July 9th a Public Tea and meeting was held in the church to bid farewell to our Pastor the Rev. W.V. Young.” The meeting was chaired by Mr James Foote; Revs J. Walker, Nolan and Hutchenson spoke. Mr Saunders also spoke, observing that Young “had been with us for 7 ½ years and during that time he could say that he had preached the gospel of Christ faithfully and well fearless of what any man should say and that he had seen some fruit for his labour and that he was sure that there was [sic] others who had some good impressions made on their hearts but who had not yet yielded to the strivings within.” James Foote also spoke, referring to the friendship he had enjoyed with Young ever since he had come to Ipswich, and noting that Young had many other friends in the town. Finally it was William Young’s turn to speak. He reflected on the day when the Rev C.H. Spurgeon had met him and asked him to go to Ipswich. He spoke of his experiences in Ipswich and, maintaining his characteristic optimism, stated that he was convinced he would “leave the church in a much better condition than when he came as to the members of the church.” He also found it necessary to convey to his assembled supporters and well-wishers that he believed the Lord had called him to another church.

Young concluded his ministry at Ipswich in July 1891, as he had requested. He was 50. At a meeting on July 12, 1891 a motion was proposed to present their departing pastor with the horse Polly, “as a token of our love to him.” The minutes record that “after some general talk it was carried not so unanimously as could have been desired.” The church nevertheless paid him the following formal tribute: “Mr Young has endeared himself to all our churches; he has been ever ready to help, earnest in his efforts to do good, wise in counsel, and genial and gentlemanly in manner.” Their prayer for him as he departed was Numbers 6:24-26. He was succeeded at Ipswich by the Rev Thomas Breewood in April 1892; Breewood resigned in April 1893 and returned permanently to the UK, ostensibly due to his wife’s ill health.

One striking omission runs through all the minutes of the Ipswich Baptist Church, and the denominational newspaper, during Young’s seven-year ministry in Queensland. There is no mention of his wife or family – with three exceptions. First, there is a fleeting reference to husband and wife disembarking from the ship that brought them from England. Second, there is an obtuse reference in a flyer printed for his official welcome in February 1884, where a visiting minister recounted an old Scottish saying about the value of a good wife to help a man.

Third, in May 1884, Young wrote these words in an articles titled “Disjointed thoughts for the Sunday School teachers of Queensland” in The Queensland Freeman: “Do not neglect your school work when you begin courting. Don’t smile at this remark for I am very serious about it. Perhaps you will excuse a personal allusion. I never neglected a religious duty for a young lady; my young lady never wished it; but most of us have seen sorrowful specimens of this kind of folly. I am no advocate of celibacy, man gets on better with a helpmate than without; there is certainly one sorrowful exception to this rule, but that is found in such a remote age that it may as well be forgotten .” Beyond these there is no reference to William’s wife; there is certainly no reference to children. It seems that once she had been committed to the asylum she vanished from public life and discourse.

Young had a knack for writing prose, and during his time in Queensland several feature articles appeared under his name in The Queensland Freemanand its successor The Queensland Baptist. These discussed theological and practical issues ranging, for example, from “What did Jesus mean?” (on the ‘Messianic secret’) to “Is it wrong to doubt?” From May 1885 to January 1886 he wrote a literary serial for The Queensland Freeman. The sobering final words of the last instalment of this serial may reflect something of his work ethic, his thoughts regarding his decision to emigrate to Australia, and the rich tapestry of his experiences at Ipswich:

Why should I seek an easy policy, a gilded path to heaven, when ‘others fought to win the prize, and sailed through stormy seas?’ Whenever we are tempted to ask for a new and easier path, may the strong loving words of Israel’s gentle Shepherd, ‘What is that to thee, follow thou me,’ be heard and cheerfully obeyed, knowing that to disobey is to sin.

Pastor at Woolahra, Sydney

Young seems to have had friends among the Baptist churches in NSW. He probably heard of the pastoral vacancy at Woolahra through these. The Baptist work at Woolahra was commenced by the Rev A. Burdett, a Baptist minister without pastoral charge. The first service was held in the Oldfellows Hall in Queen St, Woolahra, on July 18, 1884 (seven months after Young arrived at Ipswich). The church was officially founded on July 21, 1885. Its first pastor, David Davis, was also the first student to be trained for ministry under the supervision of the Baptist Union of NSW. Davis trained at Camden College, the theological institute of the Congregational Union and was ordained in March 1887 at Woolahra where he was serving as a student pastor. A building was opened for worship in Wallis St, Woolahra, and the church relocated to Ebley St, Waverley, in 1904, changing its name to Waverley Baptist Church. This church merged with Randwick Baptist Church in 1976.

In 1892 the Executive Committee of the Baptist Union of NSW relinquished control of Home Mission responsibilities and created a new and separate Home Mission Committee. One of the objectives of this new agency was to establish at least one new church or Home Mission cause each year. Alan Prior notes that Woolahra, among other Sydney churches, received financial support from the Home Mission Committee in 1894. It is likely that the Woolahra work was also subsidised in previous years, in which case it provided Young with a more secure income than he had been accustomed to in Ipswich, and the church was within walking distance of one of the world’s most magnificent natural harbours, in the birthplace of European settlement in Australia.

W.V. Young was Woolahra’s second pastor; he was succeeded by the Rev J. Hodgson. Unfortunately the extant records of the Woolahra/Waverley Baptist Church go back only to January 1899. For information on Young’s ministry in Sydney, we rely on minutes of the Executive Committee of the Baptist Union of NSW and denominational newspapers. These provide very limited help, and in any case he was at Woolahra for less than a year. There is, however, the intriguing matter of his election as Secretary to the Baptist Union of NSW only nine months after arriving in Sydney – for which honour alone his name is known in Baptist circles in NSW today. According to the minutes of the Executive Committee, Young attended his first executive meeting, held in the vestry of the Bathurst St Baptist Church (later Central Baptist Church), on March 8, 1892. He attended the next monthly meeting on April 12, at which the Rev Charles Bright tendered his resignation as honorary Secretary since he had accepted a call to the pastorate of the Norwood Baptist Church in South Australia. The Executive Committee accepted this resignation “with deep regret.” The final item of business recorded in the minutes of the April meeting is the following: “The Rev W.V. Young was unanimously elected to fill the position of Secretary to the Union until the Annual Meeting.” Perhaps it was a case of being in the right place at the right (or wrong)

time, or simply that no one else in the room was willing to assume the position. The minutes record that there were 21 others present, and three apologies.

Young was again present, this time as Secretary, at the meeting of the Executive Committee on May 10, 1892. It appears to have been his last such meeting in NSW. He advised the June meeting by letter that he had “gone to Queensland in search of better health” and asked that someone else be appointed to fulfil the duties of Secretary during his absence. The Executive Committee appointed the Rev William Taylor as (interim) Secretary.

Whether or not Young was present at the Annual Assembly of the Baptist Union of NSW in late September 1892 is unclear; the minutes do not record attendances. However, the minutes do record that he conveyed a “kindly greeting” from the Baptist Association of Queensland which the NSW Assembly reciprocated. What is also clear is that in July 1892 the Woolahra church was seeking to fill a vacant pastorate. The minutes of the 1892 Annual Assembly also record that the Rev Henry R. Piggott and the Rev W.V. Young were elected “personal members” of the Union. On September 29, 1892, the Rev Frederick Hibberd, the “father of the Union,” was re-elected Secretary. Thus W.V. Young became the shortest serving Secretary of the Union in NSW, holding office for one month.

Return to Ipswich

A brief note in The Queensland Baptist completes the picture of Young’s ministry in Sydney as far as available documents paint it: “Since our late pastor – the Rev. W. Vickars Young – left us, on account of ill health, for Queensland, the pulpit has been occupied by various ministers and friends.” The Rev John White, long-serving pastor of the Ipswich Baptist Church and historian of the church and denomination, adds finally that, following Thomas Breewood’s short pastorate at Ipswich, the church was “greatly helped” by W.V. Young who had returned to live in Ipswich, apparently in the middle of 1892. He seems to have retired from public ministry at this time. He may have secured some form of secular employment. He died two months short of his sixtieth birthday on July 19, 1900 at Ipswich, Queensland. His unnamed wife still lay in an asylum, probably also in Ipswich, when he died.