Christopher Eipper
Encyclopedia
Christoph Eipper, was a pioneering missionary
and Presbyterian minister in Australia.
Christoph Eipper was born to Georg Christoph Eipper and Sophie Juliane Schaettler. He was the sixth of seven children, two of which were from his father's previous marriage to Elisabetha Dorothea Ohnmaiss.
He studied at the institutions of the Basle Missionary Society, Switzerland
, in 1832-36, and of the Church Missionary Society at Islington in 1836.
However, despite having received financial support from the Church Missionary Society on condition of accepting Church of England ordination, he and his German colleague Gottlieb Schreiner, father of the novelist Olive Schreiner
, refused episcopal ordination because they would not submit to vows of unlimited obedience to a bishop, although they were prepared to receive Lutheran ordination. They consequently ceased their connexion with the Basle Committee. Eipper, together with Schreiner, applied in March 1837 to Rev. John Dunmore Lang for appointment as missionaries to the Aboriginals
at Moreton Bay
. Schreiner decided to go to South Africa
, but Eipper was accepted, together with a party of missionaries under the pastoral care of Rev. Carl Wilhelm Schmidt
.
; they had five sons and four daughters. On 27 June he was ordained at an Evangelical service by German and French Protestant clergy resident in London
.
The united mission party arrived in Sydney
in the Minerva in January 1838. Schmidt and Eipper were admitted as members of Lang's Presbyterian Synod of New South Wales
on 15 March 1838, and were delegated to form a presbytery of Moreton Bay. Eipper and fourteen others of the party sailed to Moreton Bay in the government schooner Isabella in March 1838 and, on the recommendation of the commandant, Major (Sir) Sydney Cotton
, selected a site about seven miles (11 km) from Eagle Farm which they named Zion Hill
. Classes were conducted by Eipper, and Rev. J. C. S. Handt helped the newcomers to acquire the Aboriginal dialect.
Apart from the routine work, Eipper also travelled among the Aboriginals. When instructed that a new site for a mission was necessary the two ordained missionaries tried to find a suitable place in the Wide Bay district. In March 1843 Eipper joined Dr Stephen Simpson, acting administrator, in an expedition into this district, which Schmidt had already penetrated.
Eipper kept a detailed journal of the expedition, which reached the Mary River on 1 April. In July 1843 Schmidt and Eipper jointly reported to the Sydney committee of the Society in Aid of the German Mission to the Aborigines, and again in September, but in October the Sydney society decided to abandon the mission. Eipper approached the Church Missionary Society in London saying that he believed he had been wrong in refusing episcopal ordination and offering to serve in New Zealand or in India. He was conditionally offered the position of master of an English school in India. However, after remaining for a while with the lay missionaries, who proposed to support themselves by manual labour, Eipper was received by the Synod of Australia in connection with the Established Church of Scotland on 5 October 1843. He was Presbyterian minister at Braidwood, New South Wales
1844-46, at Strath Allan and district 1846 without state stipend, and at Paterson late 1847-February 1850.
, London
, England
. He was 23 and she was 22. They had eight children together:
Christoph and Harriet had 38 grandchildren.
. He died at Charleyong in the Braidwood
district on 2 September 1894. His eldest son, J. W. Christopher (1840–1905), was editor of the Maitland Mercury
. One grandson, Rev. Albert James, became a noted Presbyterian missionary to the Aboriginals at Broome
and Thursday Island. His other sons were pioneers in the Scone
, Tomala
and Warrah districts. He is the great-grandfather of Sir John Cornforth
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
and Presbyterian minister in Australia.
Christoph Eipper was born to Georg Christoph Eipper and Sophie Juliane Schaettler. He was the sixth of seven children, two of which were from his father's previous marriage to Elisabetha Dorothea Ohnmaiss.
He studied at the institutions of the Basle Missionary Society, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, in 1832-36, and of the Church Missionary Society at Islington in 1836.
However, despite having received financial support from the Church Missionary Society on condition of accepting Church of England ordination, he and his German colleague Gottlieb Schreiner, father of the novelist Olive Schreiner
Olive Schreiner
Olive Schreiner was a South African author, anti-war campaigner and intellectual. She is best remembered today for her novel The Story of an African Farm which has been highly acclaimed ever since its first publication in 1883 for the bold manner in which it dealt with some of the burning issues...
, refused episcopal ordination because they would not submit to vows of unlimited obedience to a bishop, although they were prepared to receive Lutheran ordination. They consequently ceased their connexion with the Basle Committee. Eipper, together with Schreiner, applied in March 1837 to Rev. John Dunmore Lang for appointment as missionaries to the Aboriginals
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
at Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
. Schreiner decided to go to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, but Eipper was accepted, together with a party of missionaries under the pastoral care of Rev. Carl Wilhelm Schmidt
Carl Wilhelm Schmidt
Reverend Carl Wilhelm Schmidt , also known as Karl Schmidt, was a German missionary, and an ordained minister of the Prussian United Church. Schmidt's missionary work took him to Queensland and Samoa, where he founded a number of Lutheran institutions and settlements.-Early life:Schmidt was born...
.
Biography
On 15 June 1837 at Shoreditch, London, Eipper married Harriet, daughter of John Gyles, a former missionary agriculturist at TahitiTahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
; they had five sons and four daughters. On 27 June he was ordained at an Evangelical service by German and French Protestant clergy resident in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The united mission party arrived in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in the Minerva in January 1838. Schmidt and Eipper were admitted as members of Lang's Presbyterian Synod of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
on 15 March 1838, and were delegated to form a presbytery of Moreton Bay. Eipper and fourteen others of the party sailed to Moreton Bay in the government schooner Isabella in March 1838 and, on the recommendation of the commandant, Major (Sir) Sydney Cotton
Sydney Cotton
Lieutenant-General Sir Sydney John Cotton GCB was a British Army officer.-Military career:He was the second son of Henry Calveley Cotton of Woodcote, Oxfordshire, England, and his wife Matilda, daughter and heiress of John Lockwood of Dews Hall, Essex.He joined the British Army in 1810 as a Cornet...
, selected a site about seven miles (11 km) from Eagle Farm which they named Zion Hill
Zion Hill Mission
The Zion Hill Mission was a Christian mission founded in the area now known as Nundah, Queensland by German Lutheran missionaries. The mission is notable as being the first free European settlement in what is now the state of Queensland...
. Classes were conducted by Eipper, and Rev. J. C. S. Handt helped the newcomers to acquire the Aboriginal dialect.
Missionary Work
The early history of the mission was first recorded by Eipper in his Statement of the Origin, Condition, and Prospects of the German Mission to the Aborigines at Moreton Bay (Sydney, 1841).Apart from the routine work, Eipper also travelled among the Aboriginals. When instructed that a new site for a mission was necessary the two ordained missionaries tried to find a suitable place in the Wide Bay district. In March 1843 Eipper joined Dr Stephen Simpson, acting administrator, in an expedition into this district, which Schmidt had already penetrated.
Eipper kept a detailed journal of the expedition, which reached the Mary River on 1 April. In July 1843 Schmidt and Eipper jointly reported to the Sydney committee of the Society in Aid of the German Mission to the Aborigines, and again in September, but in October the Sydney society decided to abandon the mission. Eipper approached the Church Missionary Society in London saying that he believed he had been wrong in refusing episcopal ordination and offering to serve in New Zealand or in India. He was conditionally offered the position of master of an English school in India. However, after remaining for a while with the lay missionaries, who proposed to support themselves by manual labour, Eipper was received by the Synod of Australia in connection with the Established Church of Scotland on 5 October 1843. He was Presbyterian minister at Braidwood, New South Wales
Braidwood, New South Wales
Braidwood is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Palerang Shire. It is located on the busy Kings Highway linking Canberra to Batemans Bay on the coast. It is about 200 kilometres south west of Sydney and about 60 kilometres inland from the coast...
1844-46, at Strath Allan and district 1846 without state stipend, and at Paterson late 1847-February 1850.
Marriages and Children
Christoph Eipper married Harriet Gyles on 15 June 1837 in Saint Leonards, ShoreditchShoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was 23 and she was 22. They had eight children together:
- Maria Jane Eipper (1839–1930)
- John William Christopher Eipper (1840–1905), editorEditor in chiefAn editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
of The MaitlandMaitlandMaitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" , or it may be a locational reference to Mautalant, a place in Pontorson, France...
Mercury NewspaperNewspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. - Sarah Harriet Louisa Eipper (1842–1844), died young.
- Sophia Matilda Eipper (1843–1915), married William Ralph Hush, grandson of Ralph HushRalph HushRalph Hush was a convict sent from Northumberland to Australia in 1820. He was also one of the first convicts ever to receive a pardon from a life sentence after less than 5 years.-Early life:...
, in 1865 in BraidwoodBraidwood-Places:* Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia* Braidwood, South Lanarkshire, Scotland* Braidwood, Illinois, United States of America-People:* Thomas Braidwood , founder of a school for the deaf in Scotland...
. - George Hugh Coghill Eipper (1845–1895), married Louisa Beck in 1877 in SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. - Frank Ross Eipper (1847-1942), married Maud Campbell in Singleton, New South WalesSingleton, New South Wales-Industry & Commerce:Major industries near Singleton include coal mining, energy generation, light industry, vineyards, horse breeding and cattle production. Dairying was once a mainstay in the area, but has declined....
, then Leila Sarah Ayling in Newtown, New South WalesNewtown, New South WalesNewtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west is located approximately four kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, straddling the local government areas of the City of Sydney and Marrickville Council in the state of New South Wales, Australia....
. - Albert Edward James Eipper (1849–1925), married Mary Johnston Allen in 1878 in SconeScone, New South WalesScone is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Scone had a population of 4,624 people. It is located on the New England Highway north of Muswellbrook about 270 kilometres north of Sydney, and is part of the Hunter and Upper...
. - Samuel Frederick Eipper (1852–1935), married Eliza Hannah Ayling in 1880 in SconeScone, New South WalesScone is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Scone had a population of 4,624 people. It is located on the New England Highway north of Muswellbrook about 270 kilometres north of Sydney, and is part of the Hunter and Upper...
.
Christoph and Harriet had 38 grandchildren.
Later Life and Death
In 1851 he retired from the ministry. Bridges' assessment is that he was not successful as a missionary or a minister. Eipper later held several teaching positions at Muswellbrook and AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
. He died at Charleyong in the Braidwood
Braidwood
-Places:* Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia* Braidwood, South Lanarkshire, Scotland* Braidwood, Illinois, United States of America-People:* Thomas Braidwood , founder of a school for the deaf in Scotland...
district on 2 September 1894. His eldest son, J. W. Christopher (1840–1905), was editor of the Maitland Mercury
Maitland Mercury
The Maitland Mercury is Australia's oldest regional newspaper. It was originally a weekly newspaper, with the first issue published on 7 January 1843. The Mercury is still in circulation serving the city of Maitland and the surrounding Lower Hunter Valley.Even when it was first published the...
. One grandson, Rev. Albert James, became a noted Presbyterian missionary to the Aboriginals at Broome
Broome, Western Australia
Broome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season...
and Thursday Island. His other sons were pioneers in the Scone
Scone, New South Wales
Scone is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Scone had a population of 4,624 people. It is located on the New England Highway north of Muswellbrook about 270 kilometres north of Sydney, and is part of the Hunter and Upper...
, Tomala
Tomalá
Tomalá is a municipality in the Honduran department of Lempira.Tomalá is one of the smallest municipalities of the Lempira department in Honduras. It is situated 10 minutes away from Tambla municipality.- History :...
and Warrah districts. He is the great-grandfather of Sir John Cornforth
John Cornforth
Sir John Warcup 'Kappa' Cornforth, AC, CBE, FRS , is an Australian scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions....