From Woolloomooloo to 'Eternity': A History of Australian Baptists: Volume 1: Growing an Australian Church (1831-1914) Volume 2: A National Church in a Global Community(Studies in Baptist History and Thought)

This pioneering study describes the quest of Baptists in the different colonies (later states) to develop their identity as Australians and Baptists. The first comprehensive history of Baptists in Australia with a national focus, the Baptist story is traced from their beginnings in 1831 with the first baptisms in Woolloomooloo Bay (Sydney) in 1832 down to modern times. Changes and continuities, achievements and failures are carefully analyzed and related to the wider social, political and cultural context. The first volume covers the period from 1831 until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and shows how a strong sense of becoming an Australian Church shaped much of their development from the various types of British Baptists who began the movement in the new nation. What it meant to be an Australian Baptist is described using denominational newspapers, church records and personal memoirs.

About the Author :
Ken R. Manley, Distinguished Professor of Church History at Whitley College, The University of Melbourne, retired as Principal of the College in 2000. He was a Vice-President of the Baptist World Alliance (2000-2005). His other books include, with M. Petras, 'The First Australian Baptists' (Sydney, 1981), 'In the Heart of Sydney: A History of Central Baptist Church 1836-1986' (Sydney, 1987), and Redeeming Love Proclaim': John Rippon and the Baptists (SBHT vol 12, 2004).

Review :
Writing Baptist history demands attention both to local congregations and wider networks. Dr. Manley's magisterial and lively history of Australian Baptists from 1831-2005 deals admirably with that challenge and sets new standard for the writing of denominational history. Careful attention is given to the variety of ways in which Baptist identity has been embodied. Achievements and failures are dealt with clearly and empathetically. This is a history which demands to be read within and beyond Australia. --Ian Breward, Senior Fellow, History Department, The University of Melbourne Ken Manley tells a good story which is well supported by intensive research. The narrative and analysis both benefit from the skills of a mature scholar who always contexts the particular within the wider context and develops the theological significance of the history he is exploring. Whilst, in part, the story reflects the development of Baptist life in Britain, Manley makes clear from the very beginning the distinctively Australian elements of antipodean Baptist life as they developed within the several different colonies. --John H. Y. Briggs, Senior Research Fellow in Ecclesiastical History and Director of the Centre for Baptist History and Heritage, Regent's Park college, University of Oxford This is an extraordinary treatment of an important Baptist community, one that is informative, insightful, balanced and, above all, inspiring. Ken Manley, the Nestor of Baptist historical scholarship in a nation blessed with many fine historians, has given us an eminently readable account of the Australian Baptists and their place in the larger Christian community. It is 'must reading' for all those interested in Baptist history. --Richard V. Pierard, Stephen Phillips Professor of History, Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts