Davis McCaughey
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John Davis McCaughey (12 July 1914 – 25 March 2005) was an Irish-born Australian academic theologian, Christian minister, university administrator and the 23rd Governor of Victoria from 1986 to 1992.


Early life and academic career

McCaughey was born in
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, Ireland, on 12 July 1914. He was ordained a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
minister in 1941 and during the next decade he also worked for the British Council of Churches. In 1953 the McCaughey family emigrated to Australia for him to become the
Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
Studies for the theological hall at Ormond College,
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
. He was Master of Ormond from 1957 to 1979. He served as Deputy
Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
of the University of Melbourne in 1978 and 1979. He was also involved in the foundation of
La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...
in the mid-1960s.


Uniting Church in Australia

McCaughey was a key architect in the formation of the
Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...
, which brought together many congregations of 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 ...
, the
Methodist Church of Australasia The Methodist Church of Australasia was a Methodist denomination based in Australia. It existed from 1902 to 1977, when the Uniting Church in Australia was formed. It did missionary work in Australia through two organisations: the Methodist Overse ...
and the
Congregational Union of Australia The Congregational Union of Australia was a Congregational church, Congregational Christian denomination, denomination in Australia that stemmed from the Congregational church, Congregational Church in England as settlers migrated from there to ...
. He was the primary author behind the Basis of Union, the foundational theological document which led to the formation of the new denomination, and the president of the first assembly of the Uniting Church from 1977 to 1979.


Governor of Victoria

In 1986, McCaughey was appointed as Governor of Victoria by the
premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
, John Cain, and served until 1992. He also served during the premiership of
Joan Kirner Joan Elizabeth Kirner (née Hood; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch), Labor Party member of the Parliament of ...
. McCaughey was not an Australian citizen at the time his appointment was announced in December 1985. He took up Australian citizenship in January 1986, prior to the start of his term as governor the following month. McCaughey's approach to this largely symbolic vice-regal role differed from his predecessor, Sir Brian Murray. He opened Government House, Melbourne, to the public, exchanged the Rolls-Royce car for an Australian-made vehicle, flew business class instead of first class and dispensed with military '' aides de camp''. Cain said of McCaughey: "He was unassuming, down-to-earth, unfailingly courteous to everybody and unaffected by the trappings of the office." Kirner commented: "He was one of the few people who could bring common good and a broad sense of morality to life."


Family

McCaughey married Jean in 1940, the year of his ordination as a minister. Their five children are the former
National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...
director Patrick McCaughey, theatre director and classical scholar James McCaughey, primary school teachers Brigid McCaughey and Mary Nicholson, and director of the Astra Choir John McCaughey.


Bibliography

*Imagination and the future: essays on Christian thought and practice presented to J. Davis McCaughey on his 65th birthday, edited by John A. Henley. (1980) Melbourne : Hawthorn Press,. *Fresh words and deeds: the McCaughey papers (2004) edited by Peter Matheson & Christiaan Mostert, introduction by Harry Wardlaw, Melbourne, David Lovell


Television

McCaughey was a very early contributor to the new television medium in Australia. ''Discovering the Bible'' was an eight-part series presented by McCaughey about the meaning of the Bible. It was broadcast live in Melbourne and
kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...
d/ telerecorded for Sydney, these being the only Australian cities with television prior to 1959. The first episode aired in Melbourne on 6 July 1958 and the final episode aired on 26 October 1958 on ABV (Channel 2). It was aired in Sydney from 27 July 1958 to 2 November 1958 on ABN - channel 2.


Lectures

*Back to the drawing board: reflections on the idea of a university in Australia (1988) *Biblical faith and secular obedience in a pluralist society: the inaugural Rollie Busch lecture at the University of Queensland on Friday 20 October 1989 *Christian hope: a lectured delivered at the annual conferment of degrees and diplomas by the Melbourne College of Divinity on 23 June 1954 *Inaugural addresses: the Uniting Church in Australia / by J. Davis McCaughey ndPhillip Potter. 977 *"Piecing Together a Shared Vision" 1987 Boyer Lecture (1988) ABC Enterprises for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Crows Nest, N.S.W.


Publications

*Christian obedience in the university; studies in the life of the Student Christian Movement of Great Britain and Ireland, 1930–1950. (1958) *Commentary on the Basis of union of the Uniting Church in Australia (1980) *Diversity and unity in the New Testament picture of Christ (1969) *Gospel for our day (1978) *Kingdom, church and world: five studies in St. Matthews gospel. (1963) *New Delhi Assembly, World Council of Churches, November 1961: implications for the Australian churches. (1962). *Piecing together a shared vision, 1987 Boyer Lecture (1988) *Place of the university collegiate residence and its role in society 1980–2000 *Repining restlessnesse: diversity and dissent (1993) *Teachings of Jesus for us today (1978) *Tradition and dissent (1997) The Miegunyah Press at Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Vic (pbk) *Joint **Ronald Frank Henderson 1917–1994: a tribute (with Jean McCaughey) (c1997) **Victoria's colonial governors, 1839–1900 (with Naomi Perkins and Angus Trumble) (1993) Carlton, Victoria Melbourne University Press at the Miegunyah Press.


References


External links


McCaughey Centre: VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community WellbeingThe McCaughey story
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCaughey, Davis 1914 births 2005 deaths Australian Christian theologians Governors of Victoria (Australia) Uniting Church in Australia presidents Companions of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian Presbyterian ministers 21st-century Australian Presbyterian ministers