George Alfred JUDKINS

JUDKINS, GEORGE ALFRED (b. Glendaruel, near Clunes, Vic, 1871, d. 1958). Methodist minister.

Judkins was converted at the age of 13. He was deeply affected by the ravages of alcohol abuse among neighbouring families and vowed to give his life to the eradication of the evil. He worked as a telegraph operator in Melbourne and Ballarat, becoming a Methodist local preacher. In 1890 he began work as a Methodist home missionary at Coleraine in 1890 and went to Katamatite in 1891. He studied for four years at Queen's College under Dr Sugden (q.v.), before being stationed at Queenstown, Tas, in 1897. His powerful preaching and supportive pastoral work doubled the size of the congregation and showed that he was both an effective evangelist and deeply interested in social questions. For the next twenty years he consolidated that reputation in a variety of Victorian Methodist circuits—Richmond, Yarram, Bendigo, Echuca, Horsham, Ballarat, Malvern and Surrey Hills.

In 1925 he was appointed director of the Social Service Department, which was chaired by the formidable Henry Worrall, whose denunciations of social evils had made him a very controversial figure. The stated aim of the Department was to secure the elimination of the social evils that hinder the progress of the Kingdom of God. Judkins passionately believed that Christianity was the only enduring basis for national life. Therefore parliament should legislate in harmony with the will of God, and Judkins worked assiduously to ensure the election of members, such as R G Menzies, sympathetic to such goals, as well as reminding parliamentarians of the expectations of the Almighty. His wide network of contacts in Methodism was complemented by his ecumenical activities in the Council of Churches of which he was secretary for many years. Anglicans and Presbyterians were not always sympathetic to his concerns.

Judkins travelled widely on deputation, though some circuits were unenthusiastic about his emphases. His supporters kept him closely in touch with breaches of legislation in their area, or with supportive local bodies who cherished the Sabbath's sacredness and resisted the pressures for Sunday sport. His Department was vigilant against breaches of public decency on beaches, suggestive film and play posters and books which undermined evangelical moral standards. They suggested that the sale of contraceptives should be on the same basis as the sale of poisons and kept a close watch on the sale of liquor to minors. Methodists who broke ranks on social ethics were sternly rebuked. O Snowball, MLA suggested divorce after three years separation, but the Department opposed this on the grounds that if the family was so undermined the fabric of Christian civilisation would disappear. Judkins wrote frequently to the Commonwealth Film Censor.

Judkins wanted no truck with legalised vices and fought against forces he believed were corrupting youth, so that all would have the opportunity to grow up honourable and worthy citizens. He pressed for Bible teaching in State schools as a counter to juvenile delinquency, but his greatest effort was directed against the liquor industry. He wanted local option by simple majority and worked tirelessly in the Victorian campaigns of 1930 and 1938 distributing literature and arranging for speakers. The Methodist Church's efforts failed to win a majority, but Judkins was undaunted, believing that the redeemer of the world could not be conquered by sin. In 1934, the Department asked Federal parliamentary candidates if they were in favour of just and humane treatment of Aborigines.

Judkins was secretary of the State Methodist Conference in 1936 and president in 1937. In 1939, he retired because of ill-health, but served till his death as chaplain at Epworth Hospital. Few embodied more effectively an evangelical passion and commitment to social righteousness.

IAN BREWARD