Geoffrey Herbert Blackburn OAM (7 November 1914 – 13 July 2014) was an Australian

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister who served as Secretary and President General of the

Baptist Union of Australia Australian Baptist Ministries (formerly Australian Baptist Union, then Baptist Union of Australia) is a Baptist Christian denomination in Australia. The Baptist Union of Australia was inaugurated on 24 August 1926 at the Burton Street Church in ...

. Blackburn was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1914 and began his ministry as a home missionary at

Beechworth Beechworth is a town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,290. Beechworth's many historical buildings are well pr ...

Baptist church in 1934. He completed his studies at the Baptist College of Victoria in 1939, obtaining

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

and LTh degrees, and ministered in the parishes of Hopetoun and

Elsternwick Elsternwick is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government areas of Victoria ...

. He also served as an

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1947 Blackburn was appointed as the Baptist Union of Victoria's first full-time Youth Director, during which time he completed a

BEd A bed is a piece of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

at the

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 served in the capacity of Editor of Sunday School Publications from 1949 to 1972, before returning to parish ministry at Syndal until his retirement in 1986. In addition to this, Blackburn was Secretary of the

from 1949 to 1971 and its President General from 1971 to 1975. He also served as vice-president of the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is an international communion of Baptists, with an estimated 51 million people from 266 member bodies in 134 countries and territories as of 2024. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts f ...

from 1975 to 1980. Blackburn obtained an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from the

in 1965, examining the development of the Jewish elementary school. In 1969 he received a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the same institution. His doctoral thesis involved methods of biblical study in the

Early Christian Church Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

. He also obtained a DMin from

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...

in 1991, writing on cross-cultural ministry. Blackburn was granted the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in 1998 for "service to the Baptist church". The Geoffrey Blackburn Library at

Whitley College Whitley College is a Baptist theological institute in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college is associated with the Baptist Union of Victoria (Australian Baptist Ministries) and is one of the theological schools of the University of Divinity ...

is named in his honour, and he was one of the inaugural inductees into the

Camberwell Grammar School Camberwell Grammar School is an independent, single sex, Anglican primary and secondary day school for boys, located in Canterbury, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Camberwell Church of England Grammar School was founde ...

Gallery of Achievement. Rowland Croucher described Blackburn as one of the four most admired

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, alongside G. H. Morling,

F. W. Boreham Frank William Boreham OBE (3 March 1871, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England – 18 May 1959, Melbourne, Victoria) was a Baptist preacher best known in New Zealand, Australia, and England. Life and career Boreham's birth coincided with the end of the ...

and

Noel Vose Godfrey Noel Vose (23 December 1921 – 2 May 2016) was a Western Australian Baptist minister, the founding principal of Vose Seminary (formerly the Baptist Theological College of Western Australia) and the only Australian appointed as President o ...

.
Review: Geoffrey Blackburn, 'Beyond Imagining'
', Rowland Croucher o
John Mark Ministries
website. Accessed 8 August 2007. After his official retirement Blackburn engaged in several interim ministries in Victorian churches, including Heathmont and Diamond Valley Baptist Churches. From 2001 he served as part-time

Pastoral Care ''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Greg ...

minister at

Scots' Church, Melbourne The Scots' Church is a Presbyterian church in Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Services are held at 11 am (traditional) and 5pm (contemporary). It is a reformed protestant church. It was the first Presbyterian church to be built ...

. In April 2012 Blackburn retired for the final time, at the age of 97. In 1940 he married Edna Atkins, who died in 1967. They had two sons. In 1969 he married Jessie Campbell, who died 29 March 2019. He was survived by Jessie, sons Keith and Alan and five grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn, Geoffrey 1914 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Australian Baptist ministers Religious leaders from Melbourne Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia University of Melbourne alumni Fuller Theological Seminary alumni Australian military chaplains World War II chaplains 21st-century Australian Baptist ministers

Further reading

References