Good work Doug, I am John Dunmore Lang- Presbyterian clergyman, politician, educationist, immigration organizer, historian, anthropologist, journalist, gaol-bird and, in my wife's words engraved on my statue in Sydney, 'Patriot and Statesman'. I was born on 25 August 1799 at Greenock, Scotland.
"He was the first prominent advocate of an independent Australian nation and of Australian republicanism."
That is yet another first for him, however the first I was referring to was the fact he was the first Presbyterian minister in Sydney and the mainland, the second in Australia because Rev. Archibald Macarthur had settled in Hobart just before him in December 1822.
He was quoted as saying that New South Wales was "the dunghill of the empire".
His prime purpose was to cleanse Australian society and his solution was to encourage the emigration of thousands of Scottish highlanders!
What strikes me about Lang is that although he was a man of the church he was a real rebel. A patriotic and passionate man who stood for what he believed in, his words and actions often landed him in hot water and in gaol, being sued and even receiving lashes!
I learnt about Lang from a great book I am currently reading called Caledonia Australis by Don Watson. It is all about the Scottish Highlanders on the Australian frontier. Great reading if you can pick up a copy. I got my copy from the local trash n treasure for 50 cents!
Over to you Doug.
