Rolland Busch, (26 October 1920 – 19 July 1985), also known as Rollie Busch, was an Australian theologian and Presbyterian and Uniting Church minister. He was the foundation principal of the Trinity Theological College in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

from when it was formed in 1977 until 1985. He was president of the Assembly of the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

from 1982 to 1985. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 1978 Queens Birthday Honours and appointed

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an 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 the Australian Go ...

(AO) in 1984.

Early life

Busch was born in an inner suburb of

, Queensland, on 26 October 1920. His father (Arthur Emil Busch) was a German migrant pork butcher, his mother Harriet (Nee Beck) had been born in Queensland. Busch grew up in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

, and got a job as a

telegram boy In many English-speaking countries, a telegram messenger, more often known as a telegram delivery boy, telegraph boy or telegram boy was a young man employed to deliver telegrams, usually on bicycle. In the United Kingdom, they were employed by t ...

at age 15 to help support the family during the Great Depression. His immediate family remained in Toowoomba for the rest of their lives.

Military service

Busch enlisted in the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

in 1938 and the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initia ...

in 1942 having been promoted to sergeant. He took part in the

Battle of Milne Bay The Battle of Milne Bay (25 August – 7 September 1942), also known as Operation RE or the Battle of Rabi (ラビの戦い) by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines, known as ''Kaigun Tokube ...

and was commissioned as a Lieutenant on 2 July 1943. He served in a signals platoon, headquarters, and movement control in

New Guinea Force New Guinea Force was a military command unit for Australian, United States and native troops from the Territories of Papua and New Guinea serving in the New Guinea campaign during World War II. Formed in April 1942, when the Australian First Arm ...

and was promoted to Captain before returning to Australia in March 1945 as a railway transport officer, transferring to the Reserve of Officers on 1 May 1946. Busch was also a chaplain in the Citizen Military Forces from 1954 until he was placed on the retired list in 1981, having reached Chaplain-General in 1968 with the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...

ranking as

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Study and academia

Busch lectured Philosophy at University of Queensland whilst also studying as an external student at

Melbourne College of Divinity The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in divinity. It is constituted by eleven theological colleges from eight denominations. The University of Divinity is the direct successor of the second oldest ...

then at the Presbyterian Theological Hall within Emmanuel College at UQ. He was ordained on 16 February 1954. He also spent a year studying at Union Theological Seminary, New York in 1958. Busch was professor of New Testament studies in the Presbyterian Theological Hall from 1961 and in the Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian Joint Faculty of Theology from 1968. He was also principal of Emmanuel College from 1962 to 1978. He convened the Queensland Presbyterian department of Christian education from 1960 to 1963 and the board of local mission from 1970 to 1974. His qualifications included: ;

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = ...

:BA, 1951 :MA, 1954 :BD, 1955 ;

:BD, 1953 ;

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

:MD, 1958

Ministry

When he was ordained, Busch was inducted into pastoral charge of St Giles's church at Yeerongpilly in Brisbane. He was state moderator of the Presbyterian church in 1972-3 and after union of the Queensland Synod of the Uniting Church 1977–1979. He was President of the National Assembly of the Uniting Church for a three-year term from 1982. He served as chairman of the

Brisbane College of Theology Brisbane College of Theology, located in Auchenflower, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, was an ecumenical theological education consortium (1983–2009), comprising St Francis' Theological College ( Anglican), St Paul's Theological College (Roman ...

in 1985.

Awards, honours and titles

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

of Theological Studies at

in 1961 * Chaplain-General of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

in 1968 *

(OBE) in 1978 * National Medal *

(AO) in 1984. *Branch Chaplain to the

Order of St John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

*Branch Chaplain to the

Order of Saint Lazarus The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by crusaders around 1119 at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose care becam ...

. *President of the Assembly of the

from 1982 to 1985.

Aboriginal Rights

Busch was a firm believer in Aboriginal Rights and in the right of self-determination for many Aboriginal settlements. His criticism was voiced against the Queensland government's denial of self-determination to the Aboriginal inhabitants of Aumkun and Mornington Islan

pitting him against Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen on several occasions. The

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

has continued their support of Aboriginal Rights in Australia.

Family

On 14 August 1948 at St John's Church of England, Penshurst, Sydney, he married Evelyn Mavis Smith, a nurse whom he had met in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

during the war. They had two children (Rhonda and Ian). Both Ian and Rhonda's Husband (Ray) have served on the boards of the UCA Queensland Synod and Wesley Hospital.

References

Biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Busch, Rolland 1920 births 1985 deaths Military personnel from Brisbane Australian generals Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian Presbyterian ministers Officers of the Order of Australia Uniting Church in Australia ministers Uniting Church in Australia presidents