Description
Author Ken Quixley, soft cover 125 pages. This is the second printing. Published by the Christadelphian Scripture Study Service - December 2017.
In October 1948 four young brethren in their early twenties set out on a preaching tour of outback Australia, across the treeless arid Nullabor Plain and on to Western Australia. Their six month trip of over 3,000km along mostly dirt roads in their ex Army truck is an inspiring story. Our purpose in republishing this lavishly illustrated book is not only to bring back memories of an age gone by but also to inspire a new generation on what can be achieved by willing hearts determined to work in our masters service.
The four brethren, Bill Gurd, David Hurn, Peter Hurn and Ken Quixley went on to lead active ecclesial lives in their home towns of Adelaide and Melbourne.
The books preface and table of contents
1. INTRODUCTION
2. DIARY OF TOUR TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA (1948)
Monday 29th November. Around Ceduna. 46
3. REPORT OF TOUR OF THE SOUTH WEST AREA OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (1949) 66
4. HOME, JAMES, AND DON'T SPARE THE HEROES 106
A book that will amuse and inspire
Do you want to be entertained? Do you enjoy a riveting and well-told story? Do you want to have a good laugh? More importantly, do you want to be uplifted? Do you want to be inspired? It is a rare book that can offer the reader all these things, but this one does just that!
In the modern world the concept of a gap year has become popular with young people before they start to focus on a career. Often, the gap year is frittered away in frivolous, self-indulgent revelling in travel and experiences of limited value. 75 years ago, in a world still recovering from the rigours of World War Two and the depression, such a concept was completely alien. Yet even then, a few young men embarked on a version of a gap year, but with higher ideals and motivation than often is the case today.
In 1947, four young brothers embarked upon an adventure which was not just about travel and having a good time, although they certainly had a very good time along the way. Their adventure took the form of a mission to spread the gospel in remote places where there had been few opportunities for preaching up to that time. In the process, they also provided encouragement to scattered brothers and sisters endeavouring to maintain their faith in isolation and to support their efforts to shine as a light stand in their hometowns.
Three young brothers from the Adelaide ecclesia, Bill Gurd and David and Peter Hurn, were joined by brother Ken Quixley, recently arrived in Australia from the UK, on what at the time was an ambitious preaching tour to rural parts of South Australia and Western Australia. Brother Ken kept a diary of the trip which has been published under the title Diary of a Preaching Tour to Western Australia. Readers of all ages will relish this colourful and entertaining narrative. They often will find themselves laughing at the incidents that befell the expeditioners and their truck. The narrative is accompanied with many photographs which help to recreate the atmosphere of the trip.
Their own meagre savings were insufficient to fund this journey, so the young men secured stocks of various items that they hoped to sell to businesses and individuals along the way. To raise further funds along the way they found work to contribute to the cost of their travel and accommodation as well as the hire of halls and advertising for their lectures. Much of the work they obtained was hard physical labour, including stints as wharf labourers, fruit pickers and land clearers.
What did these young brothers achieve in their six-month odyssey? At least one found a wife! In terms of their gospel witness, it is impossible to say. We are wise, however, to be cautious about how we assess the results of any effort to proclaim the gospel. When recording a lecture they gave in Whyalla, a footnote draws attention to a curious encounter many years afterwards in Queensland. Brother Ken was approached by a brother who had been working in Whyalla at the time. He had received a leaflet advertising the lecture, but the lure of a football match was more appealing on the day. He kept the leaflet, however, and some years later was re-introduced to the Truth and was baptized at Ipswich. Some seeds germinate very quickly; others sprout only after many years of dormancy.
Older readers with experience of ecclesial life in South Australia will recognise the names of many faithful brothers and sisters the young brothers visited along the way, but even those without that background will enjoy the book. But this book is even more relevant for young people than for those who might remember the participants or the older members they visited.
We have many talented and articulate young brothers and sisters today; typically, they have relatively more financial resources and access to more paid leave than the brothers who undertook this trip. In addition, vehicles and roads today are vastly superior to those of 1947. What might a few energetic young people be able to achieve if they embarked on a similar undertaking today? If nothing else, it would help them to clarify priorities in their own lives.
One hears of young people who incur considerable expense to travel interstate and even overseas to attend sporting and cultural events. We also hear of young brothers travelling overseas for surfing holidays. As someone who has enjoyed many beach holidays, I can appreciate the appeal of such a trip, but there are better uses of this time and money.
Travel to remote areas to support brothers and sisters in isolation, to preach the word and to follow up the interest of those who have responded to earlier preaching efforts will prove both profitable and enjoyable for young people. Yes, older brothers and sisters who are retired could do this work, and many do. But the commitment of young people to such activity in the prime of life is its own testimony to the power of the gospel and could have a positive influence on those with whom they interact. Visitors to our preaching activities often notice the engagement of young people at these events and this encourages their interest. It also is true that the absence of young people sends its own message!
All brothers and sisters will enjoy this amusing and well-written narrative. Full of action and excitement, it will inspire even the most jaded reader. But young people especially should read this book. It would make an excellent gift for a young person. All the expeditioners have now fallen asleep after lifetimes of diligent service of their God and their Lord, but their legacy of faithful dedication lives on in this Diary of a Preaching Tour to Western Australia.
Geoff Henstock
This review was first published in The Lampstand May - June 2022