Wilfred Lemuel Jarvis (28 January 1895[1] – 30 October 1977) was a Baptist evangelist and gospel singer in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia.

History

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Jarvis was born in Cheshire, England, a son of Harriett Ann Jarvis (c. 1870 – 26 August 1933)[2] and Arthur Charles Jarvis (c. 1868 – March 1934).[1][3] The family moved to Australia around 1910,[3] and A. C. Jarvis was soon preaching at the Jireh Baptist Church[a] and pastor of the Ipswich Baptist church 1919–1920,[4] followed by Burnie, and other towns in Tasmania 1921–1923, then returned to New South Wales.[5]

Jarvis volunteered for service with the First AIF on 19 July 1918, giving his occupation as "theological student", but was not required to serve overseas as the Armistice intervened, and was discharged in November 1918.[1]

In the 1920s he toured Australia and New Zealand, popular for his forceful preaching and musicality. He was an excellent pianist, vocalist and expert leader of community singing.[6] He was assisted by his father, A. C. Jarvis, in Tasmania in 1922.[7]

In 1932 he was assistant to Rev. C. James Tinsley, president of the Australian Baptist Union and of Stanmore Baptist Church.

He was appointed pastor of the Bathurst Street Baptist Church, reckoned the "mother church" of Baptists in NSW, in 1935[8] and left in 1937.

He was elected president of the Council of Churches in New South Wales in 1937, at a time of upheaval, the Church of England having quit the organisation.[9]

In 1952 he was elected President-General of the Baptist Union of Australia and a vice-president of the Baptist World Alliance.[10]

Publications

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  • The King of Kings (1920)
  • Cheer Up the Heart Campaign Song Book (1932)[11]

Family

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Jarvis was a brother of Charles Jarvis; Edwin Jarvis, and Grace Jarvis.

Jarvis married Bessie May Stumbles (17 May 1891 – 9 December 1971),[12][13] Sunday-school teacher at Jireh[14] in Brisbane in 1920. Their children include:

  • Doreen May Jarvis (8 February 1923 – )[15] married C. D. Ransley
  • Wilfred Arthur Henry Jarvis (3 June 1924 – 1 Oct 2021)[16][17] engaged to Hilary Lexey Kelshaw in 1945; professor of psychology, married Pamela Salkeld[17]
  • David Ronald Jarvis (5 July 1926 – )[18]
  • Edith May Jarvis (23 August 1927 – )[19]

Stanley Jarvis (died 18 February 1933), a Methodist preacher in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory 1923–1927,[b] is most likely not related.

Notes

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  1. ^ The Jireh Baptist Church was established in Gipps Street, Fortitude Valley, Queensland in 1862 by Rev. John Kingsford, its pastor for 37 years. He was uncle of Charles Kingsford Smith's mother. Rev. S. M. Potter was temporary pastor, permanent from 1932. The church folded in 1978.
  2. ^ Jarvis, who had been a missionary in Fiji, in 1928 preached a sermon abhorring Constable Murray's punitive expedition which followed the murder of Frederick Brooks, in which 17 Aboriginals (others estimate up to 1,000) were claimed shot dead. Jarvis Road, Acacia Hills, is named for him.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "NAA:B2455 Jarvis Wilfred Lemuel". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Death of Mrs A. C. Jarvis". The Telegraph (Brisbane). Queensland, Australia. 28 August 1933. p. 11. Retrieved 21 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b "Obituary". The Advocate (Australia). Tasmania, Australia. 13 March 1934. p. 2. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia. No other obits found.
  4. ^ "Rev. A. C. Jarvis Resigning". Queensland Times. Vol. LXI, no. 10, 672. Queensland, Australia. 14 May 1920. p. 4. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Baptist Association". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. No. 15, 480. New South Wales, Australia. 27 May 1926. p. 5. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Searchlight". Illawarra Mercury. Vol. 40, no. 39. New South Wales, Australia. 2 October 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Evangelistic Mission". The Advocate (Australia). Tasmania, Australia. 3 August 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "The Churches". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 447. New South Wales, Australia. 3 August 1935. p. 9. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Change in Council of Change in Council of Churches". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Vol. II, no. 55. New South Wales, Australia. 25 May 1937. p. 7. Retrieved 20 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Baptist Church". The Albany Advertiser. Vol. 25, no. 2657. Western Australia. 9 October 1952. p. 9. Retrieved 21 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Cheer Up the Heart: Wilfred L. Jarvis "Back to the Bible" Crusade". Australian Baptist Publishing House. Retrieved 22 September 2024. Free to read, scored for piano
  12. ^ "Record details of Bessie May Stumbles". www.familyhistory.bdm.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  13. ^ "Family notices". Sydney Morning Herald. 1971-12-10 – via Ryerson Index.
  14. ^ "Jireh Baptist Church". The Telegraph (Brisbane). No. 13, 845. Queensland, Australia. 9 April 1917. p. 9. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Family Notices". The Mercury (Hobart). Vol. CXVIII, no. 17, 273. Tasmania, Australia. 14 February 1923. p. 1. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Family Notices". Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Vol. XLIV, no. 133. Tasmania, Australia. 4 June 1924. p. 1. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ a b "Wilfred Arthur Henry JARVIS Death Notice". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  18. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 27, 617. New South Wales, Australia. 10 July 1926. p. 14. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 27, 988. New South Wales, Australia. 17 September 1927. p. 16. Retrieved 22 September 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ "Place Names Register: Jarvis Road". NT Government. Retrieved 22 September 2024.