DETAILS
Tuesday 23rd August, 2022 at 6:30pm (AEST), 9:30am (GMT)
Dr Matthew Grubits, Charles Sturt University
The Crisis of Captain Moonlite: Andrew George Scott in Australia
ABSTRACT
Andrew George Scott was born in County Down, Ireland in 1845. He was raised in a privileged family and as a member of the Irish Church. After moving to New Zealand with his family, his father was employed as a lay reader for the Church of England. Shortly afterwards, Scott relocated to Australia and was himself employed as a lay reader in Victoria. Scott’s father would go on to be ordained a priest and would serve his community in that capacity until his death. Scott would go on to become one of Australia’s most notorious bushrangers (Captain Moonlite) before being hanged in Sydney at the age of 35.
This paper explores how a young man who began his career in Australia in the service of the Church ended up as a convicted criminal. It will be demonstrated that no account of the extraordinary trajectory of Scott’s life is adequate without regard for his personal religiosity.
SPEAKER
Matthew Grubits has recently completed a PhD in history with St Mark’s National Theological Centre, Charles Sturt University. Matthew specialises in nineteenth-century Australian history, and Christianity in Britain and Australia in the nineteenth century. His PhD dissertation, titled The Crisis of Captain Moonlite: a case-study of unbelief in colonial Australia, is a microhistorical study of the religious life of Andrew George Scott during his time in Australia.
LOCATION (Zoom only)
This free public seminar will be streamed live online via Zoom. The Zoom room will be open from 6:20pm to allow everyone to get the technology sorted. Please keep your microphone on mute for the duration of the talk. There will be time for questions at the end of the talk. Please RSVP to Dianne.hall@vu.edu.au if you would like the zoom link.