Founders of the Royal Australian Historical Society: Archdeacon William James Günther

by Ken Cable (Fellow and Past President)

William James Günther was a clergyman of the Church of England. His inclusion in a list of foundation councillors of the Australian Historical Society is not surprising; it was the kind of project with which an Anglican cleric would be expected to be involved. What is curious is that the clergyman was Günther.

Günther (he always spelt it Günther, with an umlaut) is a German name and James, the father of William James, was born in Germany; it is an unlikely origin for an Anglican clergyman. James Günther had a strong vocation for the mission field and, after many vicissitudes, entered the training college of the Church Mission Society in London. Ordained deacon in 1832 and priest in 1836, both for colonial service, James Günther went out to the Aboriginal Mission in the Wellington Valley. Here he worked until he became minister of the Mudgee district in 1843.

James Günther remained at Mudgee until his death in 1879. Over these thirty-six years, he saw Mudgee grow from a scattered district to a prosperous town. The German missionary ended his remarkable career as an Anglican Archdeacon.

Born on the mission station in 1839, William James was educated, along with the sons of other country Anglican clergy, at The King's School, Parramatta. At a school whose standard was improving, Günther did well. By gaining the coveted Broughton and Forrest exhibition in 1857, he received support to study at an English university. After thinking of medicine, he settled for an Oxford classical degree at Queen's College.

Graduating in 1862, Günther, now about to enter the Church, had the support of Frederic Barker, Bishop of Sydney. Barker arranged for his ordination by the Bishop of Lichfield and for him to serve a curacy at Stapenhill, Derbyshire, under his (Barker's) brother-in-law. To the hard-pressed colonial bishop, young Günther's return home would be a coup.

And so it happened. Günther came back to Sydney in 1866 to be curate at St Philip's Church Hill. Two years later, the removal of the Rev Robert Lethbridge King to Moore College, Liverpool, left St John's, Parramatta vacant. Günther, aged 28, was appointed to this, one of the most prestigious parishes in Australia. He stayed there for 42 years.

Günther did not remain at Parramatta for want of opportunity elsewhere. He declined the Archdeaconry of Ballarat, The Bishoprics of North Queensland and the Riverina and the Deanery of Sydney. He stayed at Parramatta because he was committed to the district, which was full of opportunities for expansion, and to the Diocese of Sydney.

Günther contributed to Sydney on a large scale. He served Barker loyally, became Archdeacon (in 1887) to the mercurial Bishop Barry and eventually became Vicar-General to the reclusive Archbishop Saumarez Smith. Even after he left Parramatta in 1910, Günther remained in diocesan office until 1916. He died in 1918.

Why did Günther join the new Australian Historical Society? Being the man he was, he was not content with membership. He was a councillor from 1901 to 1917, was several times Vice-President and was President in 1906. The reason was not just an interest in history. Günther needed history. It helped him to understand Parramatta; so he wrote pamphlets on its first minister, Samuel Marsden, on The King's School and on St John's. The appearance of the Society helped the appearance of these works.

Even more, Günther lived through a time when his Church was coming to terms with its Australian environment and character. He appealed to its local history so that he, and his people, might understand the nature of its development. For William James Günther, history was a key to his Australian ministry.