John MCGIBBON

MCGIBBON, JOHN (b. Glasgow, Scotland, 14 June 1828, d. Woolloomooloo, NSW, 22 June 1882). Presbyterian minister.

McGibbon was educated in Glasgow parish and night schools. The Rev Dr J D Lang (q.v.) recruited him for NSW in 1849 and he arrived in Sydney on the Clifton, 19 March 1850. He was assistant at Lang's Scots Church, Sydney. After a bitter dispute in 1853, he and some members left to found a new church in Palmer Street, Woolloomooloo and joined the 'established' Presbyterian Synod. He was active in church courts and Assembly committees, and was elected moderator of the NSW Presbyterian Assembly in 1875. He gained arts and law degrees and finally LLD from the University of Sydney and taught in the Theological Hall, 1873-82.

He was strong campaigner against Rome, as speaker, editor and chief publicist of the Orange Lodge. He supported Henry Parkes' educational reforms, was a dogged supporter of temperance and Sunday observance, and an opponent of racing, gambling, the stage and dancing. His battles for evangelical Protestantism won him both strong friends and enemies. They also wore him out. He had the loyalty and affection of his congregation.

ADB 5; B J Bridges, Ministers, Licentiates and Catechists of the Presbyterian Churches of New South Wales 1823-1865 (Melbourne, 1989)

MALCOLM D PRENTIS