Aurora Australis : or Specimens of sacred poetry, for the colonists of Australia.

A$12,500 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

Limited edition

Sydney : printed by G. Eagar, 1826. Octavo, modern half morocco over cloth, spine in compartments with raised bands, contrasting title labels lettered in gilt; pp. x, [2 contents], 166, printed notice on The Australian Magazine ; some staining and spotting. Ferguson, 920. The earliest [Australian] volume of literature that a collector can realistically aim for (Wantrup). Rev. John Dunmore Lang (1799-1878), clergyman, educationalist, and politician, was educated at the University of Glasgow where he graduated Master of Arts in 1820. In the same year, he was licenced to preach as a Presbyterian minister. Lang emigrated from Scotland to New South Wales at the end of 1822, arriving in Sydney May 1823, where he was warmly welcomed by the local Presbyterian community as their first minister. He saw the construction of a church as a priority, and to this end sought government financial assistance to bolster funds raised by private subscription. Despite existing government support for Sydney s Catholic and Anglican communities, Governor Brisbane flatly refused Lang s petition, and Lang s subsequent outspoken criticism of this perceived inequity resulted in his alienation from the authorities and loss of favour with certain influential figures in Sydney society. The building of Scots Church was, however, able to be undertaken through private donations. The foundation stone was laid in July 1824, and the church was opened on 16 July 1826. Completed at a cost of £3000, the Norman-Gothic

• Binding: Hardcover

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