James BICKFORD

BICKFORD, JAMES (b. Modbury, Devon, England, 6 May 1816; d. Parkside, SA, 20 June 1895). Wesleyan Methodist minister.

Bickford, the son of a farmer, had several years' schooling at local institutions. Brought up an Anglican he was awakened to his 'lost condition' at the age of 16, converted, and joined the Wesleyan church. He was accepted for the ministry in 1838 and, after a period of training under senior ministers, was appointed to the West Indies.

Bickford spent 14 years in the Caribbean and then, for health reasons, sought an appointment in Australia. He arrived in Melbourne in 1854 and, apart from two years in Sydney, served in Victoria until 1872. He then went to the Pirie Street church in Adelaide and remained in SA for the rest of his life. He was president of the Australasian church in 1868 and of the Wesleyan Conference in SA in 1875 and 1883.

Bickford once described himself as 'a Methodist preacher, plain, expository, evangelical, earnest and soul-saving'. He was a man of wide interests, a contributor to the daily press, and a temperance advocate. He upheld a high view of the Wesleyan minister as evangelist, pastor and circuit administrator. A memorial window is in Epworth church, Parkside.

J Bickford, Christian Work in Australasia (London, 1878); J Bickford, An Autobiography of Christian Labour (London, 1890)

ARNOLD D HUNT