Desert Deacon: Pioneer Anglican Priest Journey

By Pam Halbert

Climb every mountain…
Find out how a fun-loving young girl was motivated to turn early life tragedy
and challenges into a life of freedom and ‘mountain top’ experience. Discover
how a strong faith, courage and tenacity were required to reverse her destiny
and  find her true identity.
This mem

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pam Halbert Publishing
• Release date: Sep 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9780994383419

Book preview

Copyright © 2015

The moral right of Pam Halbert to be identified as the author has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, photocopying, or in any manner whatsoever without permission in writing from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Creator: Halbert, Pam, author.

Title: Desert Deacon : pioneer Anglican priest journey / Pam Halbert.

ISBN: 9780994383426 (hardback)

ISBN: 9780994383402 (paperback)

ISBN: 9780994383419 (ebook)

Subjects: Halbert, Pam.

Anglican Church of Australia--Clergy--Biography.

Women clergy--Australia--Biography.

Dewey Number: 283.092

All rights reserved.

No part of the book may be transmitted or reproduced by any form or means, either mechanical or electronic, including recording and photocopying, or by any known storage and retrieval system, without the written consent of the author/publisher, except in the case of short quotations being used in a review

The views and opinions expressed in this work are solely those of the author. Some names have been changed to protect privacy however they reflect real people and events.

Publishing Consultants.

Cover and interior layout: Pickawoowoo Publishing Group

Publisher.

Pam Halbert, Western Australia. For permission requests and quantity order discounts please contact the publisher by email at: [e-mail]

Printing.

Lightning Source (USA, UK, AUS, EUR).

ALPHA AND OMEGA

AND ANCHOR CROSS

(Eternal Hope)

DEDICATION

No ... to the violence against women and children

PREFACE

The events and theme of this book outline the historical progress of an early pioneer, my great-great-grandfather, Donald Cameron, who came to Australia in 1836. His son, John Cameron, my great-grandfather; my grandfather, Donald Archibald Cameron; and my father, Donald Russel Cameron, all settled and developed the land in New South Wales and Queensland and later, my father in South Australia and Western Australia, often under difficult climate and market conditions and sometimes, in the early years, traumatic cultural circumstances with the Aborigines.

My story as a pioneer has been with the Anglican Church of Australia. I have had, along with nine other women, committed to ordination a personal and public struggle to be heard and understood for the complimentary contribution women could make working with men as Deacons and Priests for the teaching and building up of the faith in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

The struggle commenced for me on a personal level with my father who, with the male autocratic and domineering control attitudes of his day, to prevent women a freedom of choice in their life. This is sadly still present in society today.

Two years ago, in 2012, I heard a young Lebanese woman being interviewed on TV. She was very anxious and dismayed as her father was forcing her to marry someone she did not know, love or want to marry. She knew it would have happened back in Lebanon, and wanted to know why this could happen in Australia.

Her story is what jolted me into writing my story, to encourage young women, and their fathers to listen to and value their daughters, and not through male control, damage their daughters’ self-value and potential for life. By God’s grace, I have a strong faith; I would never have survived or achieved my calling to live God’s gift of life without Jesus’ love and strength and wisdom.

I was amazed by her story and felt great empathy as that is what happened to me in 1956 aged 21, very much against my will and my faith. My future husband had no faith and I had no money to prevent the marriage. My father saw to that. I was to marry a man I met once and did not know; we had never had a conversation. My father, I realised wanted to stop supporting me, which shocked me, he having cancelled my application to nursing at Sydney Hospital in 1954. I believe it is violence against women to force them into a marriage they do not want. They must have freedom of choice.

Peter, the man I was forced to marry, was told by a school friend to leave her alone and go after me as I had a wealthy father. I was not told this until three months after we were married. She said, We didn’t think you would marry him. I informed her I told him and his family six times I did not want to marry him or have his children. At one stage, he said, You will have kids until I get a son. The following years proved he only wanted to live on my inheritance.

I have often wondered why, in a sense, my father put me on the cross for ten years of hell on earth. It was Jesus’ suffering on the cross that gave me the strength to take up my bed and walk; to find and understand suffering through humility, faith and generosity of spirit in service. I asked and prayed for forgiveness. I believe God, through Jesus, accepted me. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I have been given strength, guidance and wisdom over my life. When I got my life back, after my divorce in 1972, I was able to choose my path in life, which I had taken from me.

For the future, the pioneer story continues with my youngest daughter who has, with courage and professionalism, entered the close-knit world of men. She has gained nearly 30 years’ great experience and very good recognition in the field of offshore oil and gas safety industry as a Health Safety Environment Manager. Her story comes at another time. I am starting my story with my pioneering ancestors.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS

Thanks to Chris Jaques for her patience and effort to read my handwriting and type up my manuscript.

To Julie Townsend and my daughter Susan for their love and help to transpose the manuscript onto our present day technology.

To Lorraine Webb who has been a marvellous friend, for collating the chapters and zipping my book to Julie and Susan.

To Brennan Rose for his helpful guidance in proofreading and literary coherant suggestions.

To Julie-Ann Harper and the Pickawoowoo Publishing Group for their helpful, caring and professional encouragement.

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS

PIONEER FAMILY

THE EARLY YEARS: 1935-1942

THE LEARNING YEARS: 1942-1952

THE TRAUMATIC YEARS: 1952-1968

THE GROWING YEARS: 1969-1985

THE PRIESTHOOD YEARS: 1986-1992 PART ONE

THE PRIESTHOOD YEARS: 1992 – 2004

THE HEALING YEARS: 2005-2011

THE WISDOM YEARS: 2012-2014

APPENDIX

PIONEER FAMILY

This Chapter is an excerpt from an article titled History of Queensland; its people and Industries and was sourced from the State Library of Queensland.

John Cameron, Great Grandfather

JOHN CAMERON, Rookwood, near Mitchell, was born near Maitland, on the Hunter River, New South Wales, on January 14, 1842, and was a son of the late Donald Cameron, who came to Australia in 1836, by the ship Brilliant, under the auspices of the late Rev John Dunmore Lang, before the period of the consummation of that gentleman’s immigration campaign, which took place in the late eighteen forties. Voyaging by this vessel were a number of other Scottish families, among whom were included such well-known names as MacPherson, McKenzie, and McGregor; but it may safely be said that no more worthy representative of ancient Scottish clan ever left his native heath to undertake the work of empire-building in a far distant land, than the late Donald Cameron. He sprang from one of the oldest of these clans, his ancestors having peopled the Lochaber district in the West of Scotland from time immemorial, and his crest – a mailed hand holding a dagger – is one of the most ancient in Scottish history. After his arrival in the land of the Southern Cross, a large number of other members of his family connection followed his example, and left their native land to carve out a career in the Mother State of the great island-continent of Australia. Immediately following his advent to New South Wales, Donald Cameron took up land on the Hunter River, and became engaged in farming and grazing pursuits, continuing there for a lengthy period. Eventually he settled at Booral, in the Port Stephens district, where he ended a useful career as a colonist, leaving a large family to carry on his name. Donald Cameron, was twice married, was accompanied to Australia by five sons and four daughters, the issue of his earlier union; and by his second wife, who afterwards became the mother of three Australian-born sons and one daughter, and was the companion of his declining days at Booral. Of her sons, the eldest, Dugald Cameron JP, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work, was the owner of Camlet Station, near Bollon; the second was John Cameron, the subject of this memoir; and the third, Donald Cameron, and lived in retirement in the Manning district of New South Wales. Mr John Cameron spent his childhood days at Booral, for a time attending a school at West Maitland, where he made the most of the limited opportunities for instruction afforded the children of the pioneers. From a very early date his services were requisitioned in the development of his father’s property, and he became thoroughly familiarised with the many details of the agricultural and grazing industries, as pursued at that period in New South Wales. In 1860 his elder brother, Dugald Cameron, who, at an earlier period had found his way to Queensland at the time of the gold rushes in the Port Curtis district, married, and brought his wife to the northern colony, which had recently taken upon itself the responsibilities of self-government; and John Cameron, who was then over seventeen years of age, decided also to try his fortune in this portion of Australia. Upon arrival he promptly secured a post on Currawillighi Station, which property at that time was owned by Henry Adams – a pioneer of the Maitland country where young Cameron had been brought up – and here he filled the position of a trusted employee for twenty years, during the second decade taking full charge of the stock in the capacity of overseer. At the time of his advent the aborigines were numerous and hostile, and it was necessary for Europeans to make a point of arming themselves against possible attack, but, undeterred by such drawbacks, John Cameron remained in the faithful discharge of his duties, carrying out his work in a most efficient manner. The station changed hands during John’s residence there, but he transferred his services to the new owner, and in the course of time he married, still continuing to reside at Currawillighi. About eight years after the event referred to he found himself in a position to launch out on his own account, and, purchasing Tilquin Station, in the Bollon district of Queensland, started cattle-raising operations, with excellent results. John Cameron continued the development of his private proposition for a number of years, eventually disposing of Tilquin Station in the year 1912, since when he has lived in retirement at Rookwood near Mitchell, a property owned by his son, Donald Archibald Cameron. The veteran pastoralist had a wide range of experiences whilst doing his part towards opening up of the resources of the place which he has made the country of his adoption. He suffered many of the hardships and privations of the pioneer settlers and has known what it means to camp out with his wife and family for weeks at a time on ridges of sand whilst flood-waters swirled round the walls of the old-time homestead. During his lifetime he made more than his share of sacrifices in carrying out his appointed work to the best of his ability. Starting life on the land as a pastoralist on his own account in a period of drought, he fought through this visitation, and through the setbacks caused by the various diseases which attacked the stock from time to time, sometimes being reduced to the