Alfred Samuel WILSON

WILSON, ALFRED SAMUEL (b. Charleston, SA, 14 Mar 1867; d. Auckland, NZ, 16 Oct 1954). Baptist minister, WA.

Born to farming parents at Charleston, SA, Wilson initially made banking his career. His strong interest in evangelism led him to undertake theological training at Way College and at the SA Baptist Theological College. In the summer vacation of 1895/6 he visited Perth, WA, where he favourable impressed the leadership of the newly formed Perth Baptist Church (founded 23 June 1895). The Church secretary, Perth businessman G H Cargeeg (originally from SA himself), wrote inviting him to become pastor. As a result, it was arranged for Wilson to complete his training in SA, then proceed to WA. He did so, was ordained in SA 26 Aug 1896, and on 20 Sept took up duties as pastor of the Perth Baptist Church. Later that year he was one of several involved in setting up the Baptist Union of WA (4 Dec 1896). On 7 Dec he married Blanch Mead at the Flinders Street Baptist Church in Adelaide where his father-in-law, Rev Silas Mead (q.v.), was minister as well as principal of the College at which he had trained.

Under Wilson's leadership, the Perth Church opened its first sanctuary in Museum Street in May 1899, on the site of the present Alexander Library. In 1901 Wilson was joined by his father-in-law who had earlier concluded a thirty-six year pastorate at Flinders Street and recently served a four-year term as Principal of Harley [missionary training] college in London. In initially taking a pastorate in the centre of the city, erecting a church building, being involved in setting up the state Union, Wilson's career closely paralleled that of his father-in-law. This parallel continued when in 1902 he began publishing and editing the WA Church Monthly (soon renamed the West Australian Baptist Monthly). An initiative of the Perth Church, from the beginning it functioned as a denominational newspaper, and in time became the official organ of the WA Baptist Union. Wilson pastored the Perth Church for almost eleven years, until 18 Aug 1907. From there he proceeded to Wanganui Baptist Church, NZ, for a ministry of five years. He returned to WA where he was general secretary of the YMCA 1914-18. Just after the close of the war, he lost his talented nineteen-year-old son, Colin, a victim of the 1919 influenza epidemic. The family went back to NZ where Wilson engaged in further work with the YMCA. Later he joined the Rev J Kemp as associate minister of the Baptist Tabernacle in Auckland; his final pastorate was the Grange Road Baptist Church.

Wilson published various booklets of an educational or devotional kind, including Faith's Fight; Definite Experience; A Handful of Grain. Like his father-in-law, he was an ardent advocate of 'open membership' arguing for it both in WA and in NZ. The theological ground which he found compelling was that we are to accept one another as Christ has accepted us (Rom 15.7). He was survived by his wife and second son, Rev Bernard Wilson.

Gordon S Freeman, 'Rev A S Wilson, first permanent pastor of the Perth Baptist church' Westralian Baptist 3:3 (1988)

RICHARD K MOORE