William Witton
William Witton
(1811 – 1886)
“almost perpetual curate”
A Research Manuscript Prepared and Published by Rev Dr Barry T Brown
William Witton was the leading Local Preacher and Class Leader in Melbourne from 1837 and remained a major figure in lay ministry for 50 years.
Mr William Witton was one of the first lay leaders of the Wesleyan Methodist tradition in Melbourne. He was born in London on 12 April 1811. Orphaned at 15, he migrated to Tasmania when he was 18, and was a partner in a furniture business in Launceston by the time he was 21. He attended the Church of England and soon became involved with some Wesleyan Methodists associated with Saint John’s, Launceston. By 1836 he was married, a member of the local Methodist society and an accredited local preacher.
In March 1837 William Witton and his young family moved to the infant township of Melbourne. Here he was a pioneering local preacher, class leader and leading member of the Methodist society. He was instrumental in the establishment of the first permanent Methodist chapel (in Collins Street) and the appointment of the first minister (the Rev. Samuel Wilkinson). With others he assisted in the establishment of Methodist causes at Brighton and Williamstown. He played a key role in establishing the first mission to the aborigines at Buntingdale, near Colac.
In 1844 Witton went to Portland where he engaged in building works (the Gaol and Court House) and also had an overseeing role for the Wesleyan Methodist Church. There being another local preacher at Portland (Thomas Wilkinson),
Witton moved to make Belfast (Port Fairy) his base. He not only exercised pastoral oversight of existing Methodist groups, but played a leading role in establishing new Methodist causes, most notably Warrnambool in 1847. When the first minister was appointed for this region in 1850 (the Rev. William Lightbody), Witton remained in the area engaging in building and farming activities, and providing a key lay leadership role for the church throughout the coastal region – as “almost perpetual curate”.
When Gippsland opened up for settlement in the 1870s, Witton moved to the Warragul area where he helped pioneer a number of congregations, remaining active as a ‘well-seasoned’ local preacher, and also supporting his sons’ business
enterprises. At the Jubilee celebrations of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Melbourne’s Exhibition Building in May 1886, William Witton was recognized as the ‘Father of Methodism in Victoria.’ He died in Warragul on 5th September 1886, and the Local Preachers of Victoria honoured Mr Witton by erecting his gravestone.
Rev. Dr Barry Brown was minister of Wesley Church, Melbourne (1978 – 1987) and Warrnambool Uniting Church (1995 – 2001) – two congregations where William Witton had been a key ‘founder’. Dr Brown has maintained his interest in William Witton over a number of years.
This new book by Barry Brown was originally prepared as a research paper for a number talks, lectures and papers he is presenting in various situations during 2011.
The ‘research manuscript’ has been re-worked into a story and has been published to assist the Lay Preachers’ Association raise funds for the restoration of William and Mary Ann Witton’s grave in the Old Warragul Cemetery.
A contribution of $10 per copy of the book sold in 2011 will be provided for this purpose.
The Local Preachers of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, in 1886, erected the gravestone for the Witton’s in recognition of William’s pioneering role as a Class Leader and leading Local Preacher in Victoria for 50 years.
William Witton provided lay leadership in Melbourne from 1837, the Western District from 1846, and Gippsland from 1875. At the Jubilee gathering of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Melbourne’s new ‘Great Exhibition Building’ in 1886 William Witton was recognized as the ‘Father of Methodism in Victoria.’
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Rev Dr Barry Brown
2 Bartlett Avenue,
Croydon Vic 3136
Tel 9722 8837 Mob 0407 802 042
Email bbrow [at] ansonic [dot] com [dot] au
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