William Ridley (14 September 1819 – 26 September 1878 ) was an English

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 ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

who studied

Australian Aboriginal languages The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

, particularly

Gamilaraay The Gamilaroi, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Austr ...

Early life and education

Ridley was born in

Hartford End Hartford End is a hamlet in the civil parish of Felsted and the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The hamlet is on the B1417 road approximately from the village of Felsted. The headquarters of Ridley's Brewery was in Hartford End. Exter ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England. He was educated at King's College and

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

where he graduated B.A. Dr. John Lang brought him to Australia and he arrived on the ''Clifton'' in

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 ...

on 19 March 1850. Ridley taught languages at the Australian College.

Career

Ridley was ordained in the Scots Church by Lang in 1850, the following year he was appointed to

Dungog, New South Wales Dungog is a country town on the Williams River (New South Wales), Williams River in the Hunter Region, Hunter region and a small part of the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Located in the middle of dairy and timber countr ...

. In 1853 he began an itinerant ministry in the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

region. This was extended in 1855 to include

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

where he formed the Moreton Bay Aborigines Friends' Society in February. In the same year he published ''Report … of a Journey Along the Condamine, Barwan and Namoi Rivers '', and in 1856 published ''Gurre Kamilaroi: or Kamilaroi Sayings''. In 1857 Ridley resumed parish work with the United Presbyterian Church of Victoria at

Portland, Victoria Portland ( ) is a city in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, and is the oldest European settlement in the state. It is also the main urban centre in the Shire of Glenelg and is located on Portland Bay. As of the 2021 Australian census, 20 ...

, the next year he returned to

and in 1861 became a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. He was assistant editor of the ''Empire'', then editor of the ''Evening News'' in 1873, and the ''

Australian Town and Country Journal ''Australian Town and Country Journal'' was a weekly English language broadsheet newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, from 1870 to 1919. The paper was founded by Samuel Bennett with his intention for it to be "valuable to everybody ...

''. He also helped edit the ''Australian Witness'' for two years and also wrote for the '' Sydney University Magazine''. In conjunction with Dr. Robert Steel he obtained government aid for the Maloga mission. Ridley published ''Kamilaroi, Dippil, and Turrubul: Languages Spoken by Australian Aborigines'' in 1866, revised and enlarged as ''Kamilaroi and Other Australian Languages'' in 1875, which was well received. Ridley also contributed to the works of R. B. Smyth and E. M. Curr. In 1861 he provided an opinion to the Select Committee on the Native Police Force of Queensland. This was regarding "considerations as to the means to be adopted for civilizing the Aborigines of Australia, suggested by a three-years' mission among that people."

References

External links

* * * * Select Committee on the Native Police Force. 1861 pages 165, 166. https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/catalogue_resources/92123.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridley, William 1819 births 1878 deaths British missionary linguists English Presbyterian missionaries Australian Presbyterians Presbyterian missionaries in Australia British ethnologists Australian ethnologists Pre-Separation Queensland