200 years ago in 1823 John Dunmore Lang arrived in the colony of Sydney
effectively marking the commencement of the Presbyterian Church in Australia.
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John Dunmore Lang
5 Videos
Tab #1
This video is part of series of videos that explain the legacy of John Dunmore Lang who effectively founded the Presbyterian Church of Australia. (Start with the INTRO VIDEO to get an overview.) This video explores Lang’s contribution to gospel work in the colony and among first nations people.
Tab #1
This video is part of series of videos that explain the legacy of John Dunmore Lang who effectively founded the Presbyterian Church of Australia. (Start with the INTRO VIDEO to get an overview.) This video explores Lang’s contribution to Brisbane and Queensland.
About Our Experts
At the time of filming in May 2023, Dr Peter Barnes was the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Australia. He was for many years the pastor of Revesby Presbyterian Church. Peter’s doctoral studies were in Australian Church History and he is the author of a number of books and articles including academic publications on Lang. He lectures in Church History at Christ College Sydney.
Retired professor Dr Malcolm Prentis is a widely respected academic with a particular interest in Scottish immigration to Australia and Australian Presbyterian Church History. He is the author of many academic works on Australian history including The Scots in Australia (2008). He attends Chatswood Presbyterian Church in Sydney.
Dr Hugh Chilton’s doctoral studies were in Australian Church History. At the time of production he was head of ScotsX at The Scots College, Sydney and Vice-President of the Evangelical History Association. Hugh is the author of Evangelicals and the End of Christendom: Religion, Australia and the Crises of the 1960s.
Dr Andrew Bain is a Queenslander, historian, and Vice Principal and Head of Church History at Queensland Theological College. Andrew completed first-class honours degrees in both history and theology from UQ and Moore Theological College, as well as Masters (Cambridge University) and PhD (UQ) degrees in history. Andrew has also studied philosophy, completing a masters degree on Kant’s ethics at Macquarie, for which he was awarded the University Medal. He has published in a range of areas in Christian ethics, historical theology, and adult education.
Lang Facts
- Born: Ayrshire Scotland on the 25 August 1799.
- Arts Degree (1815) and Master of Arts (1820) from Glasgow University. Doctor of Divinity (1825) from Glasgow University. Major Theological Influence: Rev Dr Thomas Chalmers.
- Licenced to preach by the Presbytery of Irvine in 1820, ordained in September 1822.
- Arrived in Sydney Cove aboard HMS Brixton on the 23 May 1823.
- Founded the Presbytery of Sydney on the 14 December 1832
- Expelled from the Presbytery of Sydney on the 18 January 1838 and founded a rival Synod. Reconciled to the Presbytery of Sydney in 1840.
- Elected to parliament 4 times between 1843 and 1869.
- In 1851 he was sentenced to 4 months jail for libel and again in 1855 he sentenced to 6 months jail for libel. Ten thousand people signed a petition for his release, but he served the full sentence.
- Died: 8 August 1878.
- Press reports describe his funeral as the largest seen in the colony with an estimated 70,000 Sydneysiders lining the streets of his funeral procession from Wynyard to Central. The funeral marchers stretched for over a mile and the funeral procession was led by 500 Chinese people in recognition of Lang’s stand against their racist treatment by the colonial leaders.
- Lang married Wilhelmina Mackie in 1831 and they had 10 children. The last of their children died in 1934. John and Wilhelmina had no grandchildren.
- His statue in Wynyard Park was unveiled in 1890. It is possibly the only statue of a church leader currently standing on public land in Australia.
