Kingsley College Australia

Kingsley College was until 2008 a Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia school of theology located in Melbourne, Australia.

Its student body had always been largely non-Wesleyan Methodist, and without the students from other Christian denominations the school probably could not have survived as long as it did.

History

The college was founded by President of the Australian Wesleyan Methodist Conference and editor of the Australian Wesleyan Kingsley Ridgway in 1948, and was (despite being in Melbourne) until 2008 a member institute of the Sydney College of Divinity.

It was originally known as the Wesleyan Methodist Bible College of Australia; but in 1973 its name was changed to honour its founder upon his retirement. It was funded initially from donations made by Wesleyan Methodist church members in North America, reported by Ridgway as being "in the neighbourhood of one dollar (six shillings) per member over the whole connexion". Its first principal was professor Leo G. Cox, an American who was elected Conference President in 1948 after Ridgway.

In January 2008 it merged with Tabor Victoria, with the majority of its staff and faculty and the whole of its library transferred to Tabor, with its original building and property scheduled to be sold. What was left of Kingsley provided only Methodist ministerial training under the umbrella of Tabor, with the tertiary education moving to Tabor.

Kingsley was a member of the South Pacific Association of Bible Colleges, and was previously associated with the Australian College of Ministries.

Currently theological education is provided under the auspices of Unity College Australia.

Principals

Principals of Kingsley College

Name	Years of Service
Dr Leo G. Cox	1949-1955
The Revd Robert Mattke	1956-1961
The Revd James Ridgway	1961-1966
The Revd Arthur Calhoun	1967-1969
The Revd Aubrey Carnell	1970-1971
The Revd Dr James Ridgway	1972-1984
The Revd Dr David Wilson	1985-2002
The Revd Lionel Rose	2003
The Revd Peter Dobson	2004-2010
The Revd Kevin Brown	2010 – present

Sources

• Emilsen, William; O'Brien, Glen (2016). "The Continuing Methods Legacy, 1977–2014". In O'Brien, Glen; Carey, Hilary M. (eds.). Methodism in Australia: A History. Routledge Methodist Studies Series. Routledge. ISBN 9781317097099.
• O'Brien, Glen (2018). Wesleyan-Holiness Churches in Australia: Hallelujah under the Southern Cross. Routledge Methodist Studies Series. Routledge. ISBN 9781351189217.
• Kostlevy, William (2010). "Ridggway, Kingsley Mervin". The A to Z of the Holiness Movement. Vol. 164. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810875913.
• Dr Wynand J. de Kock, Principal Tabor Victoria; The Revd Peter J. Dobson, Principal Kingsley College. "Kingsley College and Tabor Victoria - United Press Release: Christian Colleges Unite with 100 years' experience" (Press release). Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
• Patton, Don (2010). "A brief history of the Pacific College of Graduate Studies". Melbourne, Australia.

External links

• Kingsley College