William LONGBOTTOM

LONGBOTTOM, WILLIAM (b. Bingley, Yorks, England, 10 Nov 1799; d. Adelaide, SA, 29 July 1849). Wesleyan Methodist minister.

Longbottom entered the ministry in 1827 and served as a WMMS missionary in Madras, India. In 1835 he went to Cape Town to recover his health. He returned to India but the Society then appointed him to the Swan River mission in Perth, WA. By a roundabout route he arrived in Hobart early in 1838. After a further delay he sailed with his wife and son in a small brig, the Fanny, for Fremantle. The vessel was wrecked off the coast of SA and, after various vicissitudes, the party reached Adelaide on 17 Aug 1838.

A Wesleyan society had been formed in Adelaide on 11 May 1837, under lay leadership with John C White (q.v.) as the pastor. There were 70 members on the roll when Longbottom unexpectedly arrived, an event that was seen as providential. Following pleas by the officials of the Adelaide circuit the WMMS allowed Longbottom to remain. He organised the church along Methodist lines and a new and larger building was opened in July 1839.

In 1840 Longbottom was transferred to Hobart. He was again appointed to Adelaide in 1844 but a couple of years later was forced to retire because of ill health.

A portrait is held by the Uniting Church (SA) Historical Society.

J Haslam, The History of Wesleyan Methodism in South Australia (Adelaide, 1886)

ARNOLD D HUNT