Frank Coaldrake
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Frank William Coaldrake (12 March 1912 – 22 July 1970) was an Australian priest in the Church of England in Australia (as the
Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, originally known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In 2016, responding to a peer-reviewed study ...
was then called). A noted pacifist during WWII, Coaldrake was subsequently an Anglican missionary in Japan. He was the Chairman of the Australian Board of Missions when, in 1970, he was elected Archbishop of Brisbane, but he died before being consecrated.


Early life

Coaldrake was born in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
in 1912 to an insurance superintendent, Thomas Coaldrake, and his wife Eliza (née Smith). His siblings included Joyce, Keith (who also became an Anglican clergyman) and Bruce (who donated a significant collection of Aboriginal artefacts to the
National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...
). He was educated at Sandgate State School, Sandgate, and
Brisbane Grammar School Brisbane Grammar School (BGS) is an Independent school, independent, fee charging, non-denominational, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, Queensland, Spring Hill, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Austra ...
, and then trained as a teacher at the
Queensland Teachers' Training College Kelvin Grove Teachers' College was established in 1961 to provide courses in primary and secondary teacher education from its predecessor the Queensland Teachers' Training College. History The Brisbane School of Arts was formed in 1849 and it wa ...
, Brisbane. During a short teaching career he became an external student at the
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
. Having been introduced to members of the Bush Brotherhoods, from 1932 to 1936 he was warden of the boys' hostel in Charleville which was run by the Brotherhood of St Paul.


Career

In 1936 Coaldrake returned to study full-time at UQ, in the school of mental and moral philosophy. He won a
Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...
for rowing and was the editor of the student newspaper ''
Semper Floreat ''Semper Floreat'' (Latin: "May it always flourish") is the student newspaper of the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia. It has been published continuously by the University of Queensland Union (UQ Union) since 1932, when it bega ...
''. In 1937 he was a representative of the UQ student union at the meeting at which the
National Union of Australian University Students The Australian Union of Students (AUS), formerly National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS), was a representative body and lobby group for List of universities in Australia, Australian university and college of advanced education st ...
was formed; in 1940 he was its third president. He graduated BA in 1938 and MA in 1944. In 1938-39 he was the travelling secretary of the
Australian Student Christian Movement The Australian Student Christian Movement (ASCM), formerly the Australasian Student Christian Union, is a Christian group with an ecumenical focus working with university students. History Described as a "university within a university", the AS ...
. During this time he became a convinced pacifist. Three weeks after the declaration of war in 1939, he founded ''
The Peacemaker Peacemaker or The Peacemaker may refer to: Individuals and groups * UN Peacemaker, a project of the UN to support international peacemakers and mediators * Peace makers, a list of contemporary individuals and organizations involved in peacemak ...
'', a monthly paper to inform and assist those who conscientiously objected to military service. Also in 1939 Fr Gerard Tucker recruited Coaldrake to the
Brotherhood of St Laurence The Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL) is an Australian not-for-profit anti-poverty organisation. BSL has its headquarters in Melbourne but provides services and programs across Australia. It undertakes research, delivers services and advocates f ...
to work in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy as a community worker. He obtained his licentiate from the
Australian College of Theology The Australian University of Theology (AUT), formerly known as the Australian College of Theology (ACT), is an Collegiate university, collegiate Theology, theological university based in Sydney, New South Wales. The university delivers awards i ...
in 1942 and was ordained deacon that year and priest the following year. He served a curacy at St Cuthbert's,
East Brunswick East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to New Br ...
and was assistant to the socialist Dean of
St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria. ...
, Henry Langley. Coaldrake was president of the Federal Pacifist Council of Australia from 1943 to 1946, which was viewed with concern by the Church hierarchy and the Commonwealth Security Service. He offered to serve as a missionary in Japan, initially in 1943 at the height of the war to Dr
H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere "Doc" Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a justice of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General of Australia, Attorney-General and Minister for For ...
, the Minister for External Affairs and which was declined, but which was accepted by Bishop George Cranswick, Chairman of the Australian Board of Missions in 1946. He spent 15 months studying Japanese at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
and was assistant priest to Fr John Hope at
Christ Church St Laurence Christ Church St Laurence is an Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican church (building), church located at 814 George Street, Sydney, George Street, near Central railway station, Sydney, Central railway station and Haymarket, in City of Sydney, ...
. He arrived in Japan in June 1947 to work in the battered and demoralised Japanese Episcopal Church: 71 out of 246 churches had been destroyed. He remained in Japan (with his wife, Maida, from 1949) until 1956. During this time the Coaldrakes founded St Mary's Anglican Church, Izu, and Coaldrake was Rector from 1952 to 1956. In 1956 they returned to Australia when Coaldrake became Chairman of the Australian Board of Missions from the start of 1957. In 1960 Coaldrake was made a canon of All Souls' Quetta Memorial Cathedral,
Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately ...
. During his time as chairman, in 1967 he persuaded the ABM to abandon the goal of assimilation of Aborigines, and to pursue the principle of acceptance. In 1970
Philip Strong :''Both the subject and his father sometimes used ''Warrington Strong'' as a surname.'' Sir Philip Nigel Warrington Strong (11 July 18996 July 1983) served as the fourth Bishop of New Guinea from 1936 to 1962 and the fifth Anglican Anglican Ar ...
announced his retirement as Archbishop of Brisbane. On 10 July Coaldrake was the first Australian-born priest to be elected archbishop. Before being consecrated, he suffered an intragastric haemorrhage and died of
myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on 22 July at the
Royal North Shore Hospital The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in the suburb of St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, University of Technol ...
,
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. His funeral was held at Christ Church St Laurence on 24 July: the requiem mass was celebrated by his friend Felix Arnott, Coadjutor Bishop of Melbourne, who had also celebrated Coaldrake's wedding at Christ Church St Laurence. Arnott was elected Archbishop of Brisbane in Coaldrake's place; it was not until 1990 and the election of
Peter Hollingworth Peter John Hollingworth, (born 10 April 1935) is an Australian retired Anglican bishop. Engaged in social work for several decades, he served as the archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane in Queensland for 11 years from 1989 and was the ...
that an Australian-born archbishop took office.


Personal life

Coaldrake married Maida Stelmar Williams (1919-2010) in 1949 at Christ Church St Laurence whilst on furlough. They had three children: a son, William, and two daughters, Margaret and Kimi. He was buried in the Northern Suburbs Cemetery (now called the
Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium Macquarie Park Cemetery and Crematorium, formerly Northern Suburbs General Cemetery, is a cemetery and crematorium in Macquarie Park, New South Wales in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia. The park caters for all religious, ethnic an ...
). His widow was subsequently a history academic at the Universities of
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
and
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, and then on the staff of St Hilda's Anglican Girls School,
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
.


Legacy

The pacifist newspaper that Coaldrake founded, ''The Peacemaker'', continued publication until 1971. He is commemorated in a set of stained-glass windows at
St John's Cathedral, Brisbane St John's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland, Australia. It is dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The cathedral is situated in Ann Street ...
. The University of Sydney awards a scholarship each year from the Frank Coaldrake Memorial Fund to support post-graduate students in Japanese or East Asian Studies. The Anglican Board of Mission - Australia awards an annual ABM Frank Coaldrake Award to a missionary, volunteer or staff member of ABM.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coaldrake, Frank 1912 births 1970 deaths People educated at Brisbane Grammar School University of Queensland alumni Australian pacifists Australian Christian pacifists Anglican missionaries in Japan Australian Anglican bishops