Fortitude

This book tells the story of first united Protestant church in Brisbane Australia, the United Evangelical Church, formed by migrants from Dr John Dunmore Lang's ships, the Fortitude, the Lima and the Chaseley in 1859. It was led by Rev Charles Stewart, and composed of Baptists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists. Dr Lang, the pioneer Presbyterian minister of Sydney, had a grand vision for the colony of Queensland to bring it out of its shady past as a penal settlement; he believed that with strong, moral and devout Protestants, the colony could become a leading agricultural, pastoral and economic force in the new land of Australia. He organised the migrants, the ships they traveled on and the chaplain, who was a young Scottish Baptist minister trained in England and serving in Birmingham at the time. From this united church, there emerged the three denominations which have served Queensland well. This book was originally published on the 150th anniversary of the formation of the church.