Australia in Records from Colonial Missionaries, 1808-1967 - Key Data

This collection contains records compiled by the United Society Partners in Gospel (USPG), a UK-based Anglican missionary organisation that operates around the world. From the 18th to the early-20th century, the USPG went by the name of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG).

In 1783 the British Government sent 1,500 people on a fleet of 11 ships, now known as the First Fleet, to establish a penal colony in New South Wales. The first missionaries from the SPG arrived a decade later in 1793.  In the generations since the arrival of the mission, Christianity has become the main religion practised in Australia. 

This collection includes letters, journals and supplementary material composed by the SPG’s Australian branches during the period 1808-1967. These documents contain reports on the progress of the mission, relations with the indigenous people, the passage to Australia, and insights into how monetary grants were spent. The papers provide an unparalleled insight into the establishment and subsequent development of the Church of Australia.