George Tulloch

The Reverend George Tulloch (1878-1946) was the Minister of St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Perth from 1923 until his death, and elected Moderator of the General Assembly of Western Australia in 1927, 1936, 1939 and 1944. He was born on the island of Fetlar, Shetland (population c. 60), his father George Scollay Tulloch, a fisherman who died was he was seven years old.

The church on Fetlar, giving some idea of the place where George Tulloch first lived.

Bayanne.info:
George responded to a call by Andrew Stewart to come to Queensland as a Home Missionary with the Presbyterian Church. He did some preliminary study at the Glasgow Bible Institute and arrived in Queensland in 1901. In 1905 he married Grace Hutchison MItchell whose father D.F. Mitchell was also a Presbyterian minister. They had seven children. In 1916 George moved to Goulburn in New South Wales and in 1923 to Western Australia, where he served as Minister of St Andrew's Presbyterian Church until his death.

REV. GEORGE TULLOCH
Praise from Prisoners.
To receive a testimonial from a number of long-sentence prisoners is a unique experience. The value of such evidence might be doubted in a court of law. Rev. George Tulloch, who received the tribute, after serving as chaplain to the Goulburn Gaol, in New South Wales, for a number of years is quite satisfied with the testimonial of character from these friends. He unrolled the scroll in his vestry at St. Andrew's Church, St. George's terrace, yesterday, and exhibited it with pride. Mr. Tulloch is the new minister of this city church in succession to Rev. J. H. Dabb, and he arrived in Perth yesterday morning. "Bon 'Voyage" and "God be with you till we meet again" were greetings flanking the text of the address, which was surmounted by a replica of the front of Goulburn Gaol, with a clock in the centre, which might suggest the flight of time, but on rather heavy wing. The signatures were unique. They consisted of numbers, prisoners not being allowed to sign their names. "The testimonial is the work of an artist who once worked in Doulton's famed pottery," explained Mr. Tulloch to a representative of the "West Australian" yesterday. He said the gaol at Goulburn was remarkable for having had painted on its windows by this man, beautiful Scriptural scenes such as "The Light of the World" and other similar subjects. At the valedictory service the prisoners sang anthems and took a keen interest in the proceedings. From his congregation and the towns folk of Goulburn Mr. Tulloch received a number of presentations to mark their appreciation of his seven years' work amongst them. Discussing Church work yesterday M. Tulloch said that he had always regarded home mission enterprise as the essential of every Church in this growing country of' Australia. One thing that h ad led him to come to Western Australia was the belief that he could help forward the immigration movement by meeting migrants and assisting to establish home missions amongst them in the various parts of the State where they settled. In 1915 he visited Britain at the request of the Presbyterian Assembly of Australia to secure ministers and missionaries and he was still in touch with many people in Scotland. "I regard Scotsmen as the salt of the earth," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "and I believe that there are plenty of suitable men in Scotland to take up work on the land here, especially the crofters of the North of Scotland, wonderfully hard-working and thrifty people, who till their little crofts and fish in the seasons.. I admire very much Western Australia's ,advanced legislation in regard to immigration and I believe these Scotsmen would come to Western Australia if its attractions were placed before them. I brought out a few crofters to Queensland when I returned from Britain and they did very well." Mr. Tulloch is a native of the Shetland Islands and he received his training in Scotland. Coming to Australia 21 years ago he filled pastorates of Dalby and Charters Towers in Queensland, and Goulburn in New South Wales. While in the latter charge he was instrumental in the founding of the Presbyterian Ladies' College at Goulburn. Not only was he the, author of the idea of founding the college, but he personally raised in the district £18,000 which made its creation possible. Mr. Tulloch's ministry has been marked by high organising ability and great energy and capacity for work: Mrs. Tulloch. who accompanies her husband and family, is a daughter of the manse. Her father, the late Rev. D. F. Mitehell, was during his; lifetime, one of the leading Presbyterian ministers of Brisbane.. Mr. Tulloch's induction will take place in St. Andrew's Church to-morrow evening at 8 o'clock, and his public ministry will open on the following Sunday when he will occupy the pulpit morning and evening. The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) Thu 8 Mar 1923, Page 6

MODERATOR-ELECT.
Rev. George Tulloch Nominated. The acting-clerk of the Presbyterian Assembly (the Rev. T. Gibson) announced yesterday that the voting by members of the various Presbyteries in the State and the Moderator's committee had resulted in the Rev George Tulloch (minister of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church) having been nominated as Moderator for 1936-37. This is the second time Mr. Tulloch has been chosen for the office, his previous term having been in 1927-28. The election will take place when the Assembly meets later in the year. Mr. Tulloch was born in the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland. He was brought up in the Church of Scotland and came to Australia in 1901. He ministered in Queensland until 1916, when he was called to Goulburn, New South Wales. During his stay there he established the Presbyterian Ladies' College. He came to Western Australia in 1923, so that when he takes office as Moderator in May he will have been minister of St. Andrew's for over 13 years, the longest period for which any minister has occupied the pulpit of that church. During his ministry there the membership has grown considerably and the Presbyterian causes at South Perth and Victoria Park, offshoots of St. Andrew's, have been established. Mr. Tulloch is senior chaplain of the Presbyterian Church in this State. He has been a chaplain for 23 years and was recently awarded the efficiency decoration given to chaplains with over 20 years’ service. The decoration will be presented at an investiture which will take place shortly in Government House. Apart from his work in his own church, Mr. Tulloch is convener of several committees of the Presbyterian Assembly and is Moderator of the Presbytery of Perth. During Mr. Tulloch's year of office as Moderator of the Assembly the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia will meet in Sydney and important matters affecting Western Australia will be discussed. The position of Presbyterianism in this State will be laid before the Assembly with a view to assistance being received with men and money to enable the Church's influence to be extended to distant parts' of the State. The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Mon 27 Jan 1936, Page 6.

On August 29, 1946. at Perth, dearly beloved husband of Grace Tulloch, of 182 Goderich-street, Perth. loving father of Basil (Sydney), Keith (Egypt), Marcia, Andrene (Melbourne), Selby (Scotland), Enid (Mrs. Reg Durack, of N.T.) and Ian (Berwick, Victoria); aged 67 years.
The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Fri 30 Aug 1946, Page 1.

The late Rev. George Tulloch left estate valued for probate at £11,967/6/8. Rev Tulloch, who lived at Goderich Street, Perth, died at the Mount Hospital on August 29. Beneficiaries are his widow and relatives.
The Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), Mon 21 Oct 1946, Page 1,

The death occurred, in Perth on Thursday last, of Rev. George Tulloch, who for a number of years was in charge of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Goulburn. He left Goulburn for West ern Australia about 1925 and achieved distinction over there, becoming Moderator while he was also until lately, in charge of St. Andrew's Church, Perth. Mr. Tulloch was a vigorous Christian and was not afraid to voice his views. He was extremely popular with his followers in Goulburn, where he had many friends and received warm welcome about ten years ago when he paid the city a visit. Goulburn Evening Post (NSW : 1940 - 1954), Mon 2 Sep 1946, Page 3

References and Links

Bayanne.info.

One of George Tulloch's children, Marcia, married Hallam Thorpe who was the minister of the Plympton/East Fremantle Presbyterian Church. One of their children, Bruce Thorpe, has written a [[../books/thorpebruce.html|memoir of the 1950s in East Fremantle]], which he has kindly allowed me to put on this site.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 25 January, 2022 and hosted at freotopia.org/people/tullochgeorge.html (it was last updated on 16 March, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.