Guide to the Records of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (as filmed by the AJCP), 14 November 1786-January 1966

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Summary

Collection number:

M2091 - M2111

Creator:

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge

Extent:

213 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Annual reports 1815-1952 referring to supply of books to convict hulks, Bishop W. Broughton, work of Society in Australia, New Zealand and Pacific, assistance to emigrants, translations into Maori and Pacific languages, and church building.

General Board minute-books 1786-1838. Subjects include meetings with Sir Joseph Banks, Reverend Samuel Marden, Reverend Richard Johnson, supply of books and grants for churches in Australia.

Standing Committee minute-books 1826-1929 referring to letters from bishops in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

Minutes of Committee re correspondence with District and Diocesan Committees 1821-1824 referring to distributions of books and tracts for use by schools and convicts in New South Wales.

Foreign Translation Committee minute-books 1841-1917 referring to printing of prayer books in Maori and Hawaiian languages.

Emigration Committee minute-books 1882-1966. Subjects include appointment of port and voyage chaplains and expansion of migration to Australia after 1945.

Ladies Emigration Committee minute-books 1897-1921.

Overseas Grant Books 1840-1961 referring to grants for endowment of bishoprics and clergy, creation of churches and schools, supply of goods, scholarships and assistance for emigration.

Secretary's letterbox 1843-1860. Subjects include dispatch of books and tracts, grants to churches and schools, supply of books to emigrants, and financial matters.

Pitcairn Island papers 1853-1859 including minute-book 1852-1858 of Committee for Managing the Pitcairn Island Fund, letter-book 1853-1859 of Pitcairn Island Fund Committee, and Pitcairn Island Register 1790-1959. Correspondents include Reverend T.B. Murray, Reverend G.H. Nobbs, Bishop G.A. Selwyn, J. Adams, Sir Charles Lucas and Sir Everard im Thurm.

Biographical / Historical:

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) was founded in London in 1699 by an Anglican minister, Reverend Thomas Bray (1658-1730), who also founded the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The SPCK aimed to propagate Christian teaching by encouraging the development of libraries and charity schools, by circulating books and pamphlets, and by supporting missionaries in the colonies. By 1712 the Society had 80 residing (London) members and 370 corresponding members. Its income was very small and occasional large donations were for specific projects. It was not able to fund the establishment of charity schools, but members used their influence with parish authorities and religious societies to open schools and they disbursed small sums for needy schools. The Society published a number of small books for schools and also lists of books recommended by teachers. From 1713 to 1825 the Society also supported Lutheran missionaries in India, supplying Bibles, sermons, stores and money.

By 1800 the SPCK had about 2000 members, whose subscriptions brought in £12,025. At various times in the nineteenth century the objects of the Society were defined as the education of poor children in the doctrines of Christianity, the supply of the Bible, Book of Common Prayer and religious books and tracts, and the publication of such works translated into foreign languages. Later objects included block grants to bishops of new dioceses and the endowment of training colleges for overseas clergy. Its work with charity schools declined with the formation of the National Society for the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church, which received a royal charter in 1817. However, the SPCK continued to supply books to school lending libraries and offered books to all schools connected with the National Society. Other activities in the nineteenth century included grants for the erection of churches and the establishment of theological colleges, support for the training of medical missionaries and the appointment of port chaplains, and the supply of books to emigrant depots. Publishing remained a core activity. A Tract Committee was appointed in 1834 and the output of tracts, aimed mainly at self-educated and poorly educated readers, was very large. In 1859, for instance, 112 new tracts were issued and in the same year psalms and hymns were first published. General books were also published, including popularisations of history and science. Bookshops were opened in London and later in several of the British colonies.

The Pitcairn Island Fund Committee, which existed from 1852 to 1858, was an offshoot of the SPCK. Its secretary was the Reverend Thomas Murray, who was also the SPCK secretary. George H. Nobbs (1799-1884), who since 1828 had been a schoolmaster and unordained minister on Pitcairn Island, returned to England in 1852 and was ordained as a minister. The Committee provided funds for his passage back to Pitcairn Island and for clothing for the islanders. It took a strong interest in the welfare of the Pitcairn Islanders, especially after the decision was made by the British Government to transfer them to Norfolk Island in 1856.

Secretaries of the SPCK, 1785-19441785-1823 George Gaskin1823 W.H. Coleridge1823-43 William Parker1824-30 A.M. Campbell1830-31 E.J. Burrow1831-42 George Tomlinson1842-60 Thomas B. Murray1842-70 John Evans1842-69 J.D. Glennie1868-90 Henry Swabey1870-75 F.M. Fuller1875-1914 Edmund McClure1891-1910 W. Osborn B. Allen1910-45 G.L. Gosling1915-44 William K. Lowther Clarke

Reference: W.K. Lowther Clarke. A history of the S.P.C.K., London, S.P.C.K., 1959.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:: Available for Access.
Conditions Governing Use:: Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.