Keeper of the faith

By Andrew Humphries

As the keeper of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania’s history, Dr Jennifer Bars loves being immersed in the past every day.

In her role as Synod Archivist, Jennifer is responsible for about 10,000 boxes of records, approximately 40,000 photos, and several hundred physical items, ranging from badges to furniture.

The items date back to the earliest days of the Colony of Victoria, and capture the pre-1977 history of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches, and post-1977 history of the Uniting Church.

Jennifer says she loves the sense of stepping back in time her role allows.

“Oh yes, absolutely, that’s such a wonderful thing to experience,” she says.

“At the moment I’m in the process of transcribing a Minister’s diary from the 1820s and, with a project like that, there is that sense of stepping back fully into the past.

“It’s just wonderful to be able to read and to handle items that were created such a long time ago.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of the job, and I think this is also something our volunteers appreciate, is the sense that you’re handling important physical evidence from the past.”

Jennifer says she is incredibly fortunate to lead a dedicated and experienced group of volunteers, whose range of expertise means they can tackle any request.

“We have volunteers who have been with us for more than 40 years, and they have an incredible depth of knowledge about the collection, and of the denominations that preceded the Uniting Church,” she says.

“The depth of knowledge that we are able to tap into is phenomenal, and our volunteers are just a terrific group of people.

“Last year we received 232 requests for information and research assistance.

“These requests come from members of the public, as well as congregation members who might be seeking genealogical information, or information on local and church history, as well as lots of requests for records of baptism.

“We’re also approached for heritage and architectural information and by people undertaking academic projects and theses, and we also receive a lot of requests from Synod operations seeking assistance with property information and details around trusts and bequests.”

The oldest item in Synod Archives is a bible from the 16^th century, with most items dating from post-colonial settlement in Victoria.

“We have items that were obviously very precious to families, who brought them with them when they came to Australia,” Jennifer says.

“The very oldest items would be some of the bibles that came with families.”

Jennifer, who completed a thesis in Modern History at Oxford University and specialises in 19^th century social history, has been Synod Archivist since 2015.

She says helping people with archival requests and questions remains the most rewarding aspect of the work carried out by her and the centre’s volunteers.

“Our role is to help people, we put a lot of effort into doing that, and we have been able to help some people out of some tricky situations,” Jennifer says.

“For example, a few years ago we were contacted by a woman whose name had been incorrectly registered on her birth certificate, creating all sorts of problems for her because her name never matched up with what was on official documents.

“She needed to be able to prove what her name was at birth and the only way to do that was to provide an official record of baptism, which we were able to do.

“The registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria accepted that proof and actually made a retrospective change to this woman’s birth certificate.

“She was incredibly grateful to us for that, and it’s wonderful to be able to help people in that way.”

New volunteers are always welcome at Synod Archives, and anyone interested can contact the centre on 9964 4080 or send an email to [email protected]

History at your fingertips

The archives were established by the Uniting Church Records and Historical Society in 1979. The records were mostly from the Methodist Historical Society Collection, with the later addition of some Presbyterian Church materials. Most primary material from Congregational churches was deposited in the manuscripts section of the State Library of Victoria.

The collection dates back to the earliest years of the Colony of Victoria, featuring many topics of public interest and social relevance.

­genealogists and family history enthusiasts will find useful resources.

The main collections

Wesleyan Methodist/Methodist

This collection includes manuscript and printed minutes of conferences, districts, circuits, missions, departments, commissions, series of correspondence, building files, plans and photographs. There are holdings of denominational journals, serials and newspapers for Victoria. A wide range of educational materials relates to ministerial training, denominational board schools, Sunday schools and youth work.

Minor Methodist denominations, Congregational and Presbyterian

This collection comprises printed and manuscript minutes, parish records, financial and building records.

Organisations

There are a variety of collections relating to the many denominational and parish organisations created for fellowship, missions, church aid and moral welfare. Many of these were women’s groups located throughout Victoria.

Ministers

Some personal records are held for ministers of the Independent, Methodist and Presbyterian churches, including their appointments and stations.

Uniting Church

This collection contains parish and congregational histories, registers, minute books, paintings, prints and photographs. There are also bibles, hymnals, memorabilia, artefacts, and architectural plans and specifications for churches, schools, halls and ministers’ residences.

Synod Archives is located at 54 Serrell St, Malvern East and is open every Thursday (except holidays) from 9am-4pm and on Fridays by arrangement only.

For bookings, phone 9964 4080 (Monday, Thursday, and Friday only) or email [email protected]