Alexander Yule (1830–1907) was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland who emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and rose to be

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

firstly in Victoria (in 1891) then of all Australia (1900).

Life

He was born on 15 July 1830 at Craigstone in

Kennethmont Kennethmont (archaically Kinnethmont, or Kirkhill of Kennethmont) is a village in the Marr area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately south of Huntly. It has a population of approximately 470 people. Kennethmont children attend Kennethmon ...

near

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, the son of James Yule (1790–1867) and his wife Janet Harper. He was

baptised Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

on 19 August. He studied at

Aberdeen University The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Al ...

then trained as a Free Church minister, first at the Free Church College in Aberdeen, then at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the The University of Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious studies, R ...

, being at the latter from 1852 to 1854. He was ordained by the Free church of Scotland at Cargill in

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

in 1857. He remained there until 1867 when he then busied himself with the construction of a new church: Rutherford Free Church in

(later renamed Rosemount Church). He was inducted there in March 1969. He resigned in 1878. In Aberdeen he lived at 12 Albert Terrace. He emigrated to Australia in the winter of 1878/1879. On 21 January 1879 he was inducted in the

Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA), founded in 1901, is the largest Presbyterian and Reformed denomination in Australia. The PCA is the largest conservative, evangelical and complementarian Christian denomination in Australia. The Presby ...

at the Erskine Church in Rathdowne St. Carlton, in inner Melbourne. In 1891 he was Moderator of the Victoria Assembly. In 1892 he was translated to the College Church in Parkville, Melbourne and remained there for the rest of his working life. He was responsible for the building of the present church, and especially its unusual tower, which echoes several Scottish crown spires, such as that on

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alteratio ...

. In 1901 he was Moderator of the Federal Assembly for all Australia, the highest position in the

. He died on 18 April 1907 at

Carlton North Carlton North is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Yarra local government areas. Carlton North recorded a population of 6,177 at ...

in Victoria. Rev Duncan Stewart McEachran was one of several ministers who spoke at the funeral service. He is buried in

Melbourne General Cemetery The Melbourne General Cemetery is a large (43 hectare) necropolis located north of the city of Melbourne in the suburb of Carlton North. The cemetery is notably the resting place of five Prime Ministers of Australia, more than any other ...

which lies close to his church.

Publications

*''Concerning the Answer of Prayer'' (1867)

Family

In September 1873 he married Jane Sandison (1838–1924) in

Newington, Edinburgh Newington is a neighbourhood of southern Edinburgh, Scotland. Developed from the early 19th century, it is an affluent, predominantly residential area. Located between south of Edinburgh city centre, Newington is bounded to the east by St Leo ...

. She was the daughter of the late Rev John Sandison of the Free Church in

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

. They had two sons: John Sandison Yule (1874–1951); and the Rev Prof Alexander Yule (1878–1952) both also moved to Australia and both died in Victoria. His sister Jessie Yule married the Rev Charles Bell of

King William's Town Qonce, formerly King William's Town, is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River (Eastern Cape), Buffalo River. The town is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London, South Africa, ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

.Ewing, William ''Annals of the Free Church''; Charles Bell

References

1830 births 1907 deaths People from Kennethmont 19th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Australian Presbyterian ministers Scottish emigrants to colonial Australia Alumni of New College, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Aberdeen 19th-century Australian Presbyterian ministers {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub