Early Baptist Ministry

Within two years of the changeover to the Baptist denomination the large congregation at the Morphett Vale Church made it necessary to provide increased seating. A block of land was purchased on the Main South Road and the foundation stone for a new building was laid by Mr. David Fowler, a prominent Adelaide businessman, in June 1867.(Notes and References 12) The new Church was capable of seating 300 adults and the opening ceremony took place on Good Friday, 10th April, 1868. In April 1869 the half-yearly meetings of the Baptist Association were held at Morphett Vale to coincide with the Church's anniversary.
David was appointed Chairman of the SA Baptist Association in 1871 and his address to the annual meeting on 25th October, 1871 is reproduced in Appendix A. At the same meetings there was a plea for Church extension to keep pace with the growing population and it was unanimously approved
resolved 'that this meeting expresses its deep conviction that the time has come for the Baptist Association to employ an efficient evangelist to overtake the work in the thinly populated districts'.(Notes and References 13)
The Committee of the Baptist Association invited David to undertake this task and he agreed to do so. His letter of resignation from the pastorate at Morphett Vale was read at a Church meeting held on 8th January, 1872.
His first engagement in this new capacity was at Mt. Gambier where the Church had been left without a pastor. The move to Mt. Gambier was quite an'undertaking as the family by that time had increased to six sons. In order to save expense the journey of 300 miles was undertaken in a wagonette drawn by a pair of horses. At night Emily and the younger children slept in the wagon, while David and the two elder boys slept on the ground.
David began his ministry at Mt. Gambier on Sunday, 11th February, 1872 and a welcome tea was held two days later. The town, at that time, had a population of about 2,500 with about 5,000 in the surrounding district It was well-endowed with churches, seven other denominations being represented apart from the Baptists. During David's ministry there, he was called upon to preach in some of these other churches as well as his own. In the absence through illness of the scheduled speaker he preached at the first anniversary services of the Primitive Methodist Church and shortly afterwards at the Wesleyan Church anniversary. He is reported to have lectured in the Oddfellows' and Foresters' Hall on Duncan Mathieson, the Scottish evangelist.
After spending almost twelve months at Mt. Gambier, David was confronted with a new challenge. With the opening up of new areas for farming purposes in the northern part of the State, large numbers of people were leaving the settled parts in the south and migrating northwards. The conviction had been expressed that the Church should move north with the flowing tide of population and it was decided that David should devote his attention to this area. The plan was that he would be stationed at Saddleworth and devote a portion of his time to the districts north of that town.
A farewell tea was held at Mt. Gambier on 9th January, 1873 and David was presented with a purse of sovereigns as a mark of esteem and appreciation of his services. In responding he said he would have liked to have stayed longer but, as an evangelist, he had to move on. Following a final service on 12th January the family departed on 13yh January .
The journey back from Mt. Gambier was a tragic one. There were now seven sons, the youngest, Irvine David, having been born on 12th September, 1872. The baby was not well and Emily suggested that their departure be delayed until the child was better but David insisted on proceeding with the journey. The baby became feverish, worsened and finally died on 16th January. The weather was extremely hot and David had to act quickly. He rode some fifty miles on horseback to obtain a certificate of burial. The baby's coffin was made by the boys from a packing case and covered in white calico. The exact place of burial was not marked but is believed to have been at Reedy Creek. The death was registered at Mt. Gambier and the cause of death was stated as whooping cough.
This tragedy throws some light on a side of David's character that needs to be recognised. His attitude towards his wife, Emily, seems to have been that of the typical Victorian patriarch. His rejection of Emily's desire to delay their departure, while understandable in his anxiety to move to his new sphere of work, suggests a tendency to disregard her wishes whenever they conflicted with what he regarded as his mission. It would seem that he regarded his wife's role as one of bearing and rearing his many children and performing the household chores, while decisions relating to his mission were his alone.