Overview

Winner of the 2019 Australian Christian Book of the Year Award '...this isa very valuable work and should be read by every Catholic historian to balanceany isolationism and reliance on the stereotypes that may remain in ourapproach. It is a veritable lode for mining.' - Michael Belcher, Journal of theAustralian Catholic Historical Society 'Stuart Piggin and Bob Linder have produced amonumental history of evangelical Christianity in Australia ... After thislandmark book, it will no longer be possible to dismiss or minimise theinfluence of religion on the rise and development of modernAustralia.' - DrGeoff Treloar, Australian College ofTheology  '[The authors] have written one of the greatworks of Australian history, not to mention one of the great studies ofevangelicalism globally.' - DrMeredith Lake, University of Sydney, author of The Bible in Australia 'It resonates significantly with currentdiscussions about the character of our society. It is a masterwork ofAustralian history.' - DrBrian Dickey, formerly Flinders University '...a meticulous, magisterial work ofscholarship' - Roy Williams The officialreligion brought to Australia with the First Fleet was EvangelicalChristianity, the 'vital religion' then shaping public policy through WilliamWilberforce and his fellow evangelicals. That it has shaped Australian historyever since, making a substantial contribution to the public prosperity of thenation, is an untold story.  Christianvalues and identity were the main components of Australian values and identity.Evangelical 'moralising' may be understood as a concern to address the 'hard'cultures associated with convicts, the liquor industry, and male misogyny. Themovement provided opportunities for women to work in reform, charitable,evangelistic and missionary organisations, thus laying strong foundations forfeminism. In their concern for 'Christlike citizenship', evangelicals cared forthe nation's children in Sunday schools and its youth in societies for youngpeople such as the YMCA, YWCA, and Christian Endeavour. The majorcomponent of the humanitarian movement, evangelicals ensured that the convictsettlement of Australia was more humane than is generally recognised. They didmost of the all-too-little that was done to protect the Indigenous populationand to educate settlers, keeping alive in the latter a conscience overmaltreatment of the former. In a profusion of charities, evangelicals in thenineteenth century, as today, provided most of the welfare for the population'sdisadvantaged. TheFountain of Public Prosperity presents propositions which require aradical revision of received understandings, an appreciation of unmined richesin the Australian experience, and reconnection with an often buried past.Drawing on these untapped resources is the safest route to reimagining a futurefor Australia.

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9781925835403

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Reviews

'...an epic achievement which deserves to reorient Australian history-writing in several important respects.' Church Heritage Volume 21, no.1 '...this is a very valuable work and should be read by every Catholic historian to balance any isolationism and reliance onthe stereotypes that may remain in our approach. It is a veritable lode for mining.' Michael Belcher, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 'Stuart Piggin and Bob Linder have produced a monumental history of evangelical Christianity in Australia ... After this landmark book, it will no longer be possible to dismiss or minimise the influence of religion on the rise and development of modern Australia.' Dr Geoff Treloar, Australian College of Theology '[The authors] have written one of the great works of Australian history, not to mention one of the great studies of evangelicalism globally.' Dr Meredith Lake, University of Sydney 'It resonates significantly with current discussions about the character of our society. It is a masterwork of Australian history.' Dr Brian Dickey, formerly Flinders University '...a meticulous, magisterial work of scholarship' Roy Williams

Author Information

Conjoint Associate Professor Stuart Piggin was Director of the Centre for the History of Christian Thought and Experience at Macquarie University (200516) and Head of the Department of Christian Thought of the Australian College of Theology. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Religious History Association of Australia and was the foundation President of the Evangelical History Association of Australia. He lectured in Religious History in the Universities of Wollongong and Sydney 19741990 and was Master of Robert Menzies College at Macquarie University, 19902004. He has written over 100 articles for academic journals and seven books.

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