One reason given for why Carroll expelled Campbell from the Work was because he confronted Jack about his relationship with Linda Heyes, a Sister Worker. Reportedly, Howard Mooney told Ron that Howard's father thought Jack and Linda were secretly married, and Howard also believed it was true. Ron thought they should ask Jack, but Howard refused, saying, " If we face him up, you will be sent back to Australia, and I will be sent back to the print shop." So Ron, believing Jack was a true Brother who had temporarily fallen, confronted Jack alone, and Jack put him out of the Work (Derkland, Sept. 5, 1957, to Malcolm Graham and Willie Jamieson, TTT ).

Ron returned to Australia in 1949, where for a time, he was allowed to preach on a limited basis but was not given a companion. In 1950, his relationship with the Workers seriously deteriorated when he began to openly criticize the Work in SA. Ron stood up against Willie Hughes, the former Head Worker of SA, for sexually harassing Ron's pretty sister Adelaide. Shortly after their confrontation, Willie Hughes returned to New Zealand where he had the oversight. Campbell wrote George Walker:

"Willie Hughes disgraced himself and let some of us down by his conduct, and my own family are amongst those who feel this the keenest...Willie later tried to assault her [Ron's sister]...she withstood him. She being offended later tried on two occasions to make things right, resulting that he further oppressed her to cover up his sin, and even used his position as her minister to crush her and justify himself"  (Campbell 1952 TTT ).

In 1951, Ron returned to America for about a year and tried unsuccessfully to straighten out matters. George Walker denied Campbell's request to preach in Eastern America. Ron returned to his family farm in South Australia where he spent the rest of his life, unmarried. A Uniting Church minister officiated at his funeral on December 16, 1978. He was survived by two sisters, ages 80 and 89, and was buried in a nearby cemetery.

THE PURGE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA (1950s)

In the 1950s there was a purge of Friends in South Australia, but information is scarce and documents are few, leaving gaps and questions. Reportedly, there was a Meeting in late January 1951, during preparations for the Strathalbyn Convention where Ron Campbell and some Fellowship Meeting Elders took issue with John Baartz. The former Head Worker, Willie Hughes, was a visiting Worker that year. Tensions were running high, particularly at Strathalbyn Convention grounds, where the owners, the Doeckes, were sympathetic to Campbell.

Then in June 1951, a Meeting was held at Ernie Wirth's home in Tusmore, Adelaide, South Australia, where nine Elders met with Head Worker John Baartz and Ian Reed and "pleaded for love to reign...Soon after, these nine Elders received letters stating that they and their families were to cease fellowship." For Walter Vogt, one of the nine Elders, that judgment included ten of his immediate family. Some of the nine Elders were Ernie Wirth, Con Doecke, Fred Ashman and Mr. Sharpe. About 70 Friends were "stood down."

Others were given the choice of not associating with those "stood down, " or leave the group. Ian Reed went to Marg Vogt's parents and told them they had to either give up contact with their two daughters who had married into the Vogt family who had been put out of fellowship, or cease attending Meetings. They left. Friends making contact with those who had been stood down risked being stood down themselves. Some of the affected families were: Vogts, Doeckes, Berritts, Sharpes, Wirths, Harrises, Bruses, Ashmans, Masons, Fergusons, Loechels and others. Some were Bethel Mission families. Only a few who left at that time returned later (Vogt 2008, TTT ). Ron Campbell wrote:

"Never before have [I] seen such a display of human and spiritual corruption in lies being told, false accusations, agreements broken, hate, bitterness, defiance and other unChristlike marks expressed. They are going like a storm hitting the country leaving behind them a trail of broken hearts, homes, churches and relatives, forcing people to submit to them--if not, they tell that they are cut off and doomed, stopping some from holding Meetings if they can, refusing them to attend Convention...telling them not to have anything to do with this one or that one, to walk off the street and out of the home if this one comes to see them. Christ is a secondary person. Workers are the supreme authority and gone as far as to say that no Saint can receive anything from God unless it comes through the Workers." (Campbell Oct. 20, 1952, TTT )

The closure in 1951 of the Strathalbyn Convention owned by Con and Daisy Doecke, a Bethel Mission family, was accommodated by holding two Conventions a year on the Oak Lodge, Kapunda grounds. Also, the first Wilmington Convention was held in January 1952.

1950S: THE PURGE IN VICTORIA. For about the last ten years of his life, after his wife died in 1942, Bill Carroll lived in a home located about 80K south of Melbourne provided by his daughter May and her husband, Dolph Schulz. Personal letters written by W. C. Carroll during this time bear the address of: Greenhaven, Rosebud West, Victoria, Australia.

In Carroll's later years, "Two Sister Workers and a Brother stayed with him at Rosebud to look after him, when there were open homes who would gladly receive him and cater for his needs and do the superintending of his meals, necessitated by the fact that he was a diabetic. This went on for ten years. Reportedly, these Workers held no Gospel Meetings while at Rosebud."

The other Australian Head Workers disapproved of a Worker overseeing a state from a permanent residence. They also did not approve of Carroll using Workers to tend to his physical needs when there were Friends willing to do so. In his latter years, Bill visited outside Victoria less and less. Victoria was self-sufficient regarding Workers and had also sent a large number of Workers overseas. The amount of interchange between Victoria and the other Australian states continued to decrease until it was almost isolated from the other states.

During the 1950s, Bill Carroll began excommunicating Friends in Victoria, including parents along with their children, sometimes without providing a hearing or a reason to the victims. Mervyn Schmidt, son of Otto Schmidt, wrote: "I professed at 12 yrs of age. At 13, in the 1950s, I was excommunicated, along with my parents and many others in the states of VIC and SA, as a result of a purge by William Carroll. In my case, my only crime was I was the son of my father." A Bethel Mission family member wrote, "Week after week numbers were put out including whole churches. No one knew why and appeals were sent to Senior Workers to come over and help us, and give us a hearing."

For about four years, separate Fellowship Meetings were held for the various divisions. Children and teenagers from the various divisions attended school together, but did not assemble together for Fellowship Meetings. Mervyn Schmidt wrote: "For approximately 4 years, about 16 of us met in our home, unofficially...with others who had been put out of fellowship...We were reinstated again after this with the help of George Walker, U.S., and Jack Forbes from England." ( Why We Left, TLC)

1953 NOVEMBER 13: WILLIAM "BILL" CARROLL DIED. He had been the Head Worker of Victoria since 1913, for 40 years, when he arrived in Australia. As Alfred Magowan aptly phrased it, "Very soon reverberations of Australian thunders began rolling and crashing over the Bill's grave. "

The oversight of the Work in VIC went to Chris Williams, who was at that time over the Work in Tasmania. Chris was from VIC and started in the Work in 1914 in QLD. In 1918, he went to NSW; then to Tasmania for 1925-55. There are two stories regarding how Williams was chosen as the replacement. One was that the Victorian Workers elected him. The other was that Carroll designated Williams as his replacement, and did not consult with the other Australian Senior Workers, who thought "the responsible Workers should have been consulted with regard to getting their approval of who should succeed our departed Brother in the oversight in Victoria."

In 1954, the divisions within the fold remained a problem and some Australian Senior Workers asked Senior Workers from other countries for help. Meanwhile in 1954, Edward Cooney (then 88 years old) travelled to Mildura, Victoria, at the request of some twenty Outcasts. In 1955, Jack Carroll, Jack Forbes and George Walker arrived to help settle the disputes. They held Reconciliation Meetings in various locations where the Outcasts as a group could be reinstated without reprofessing. At the Reconciliation Meeting scheduled in Mildura, Cooney went uninvited, along with Jack Schmidt, disfellowshipped owner of the Mildura Convention grounds and a few other Friends. Tom Turner met them at the door and turned Cooney away. His Friends left with him.

1954 GUILDFORD MEETING. About three months after Bill Carroll died on February 20-24, 1954, the two Senior Head Workers of Australia, John Hardie and Tom Turner, called a Meeting of all Head Workers in New Zealand and Australia at Guildford, NSW. Guildford was a Convention ground situated near Sydney. This was the first Meeting of the Heads of the various States in many years.

Tom Turner led the Guildford Meeting of eleven Workers: John Hardie, J. Williamson, Chris Williams, Walter Pickering, Willie J. Hughes, John C. Baartz, R. Les Hawse, W. Schloss, Alec R. Mitchell and Harry Morgan. A report of the Meeting was prepared. The major issues addressed concerned Bill Carroll's successor; the exchange of Workers within Australia; cooperation of Victoria with the other Australian states; dealing with the Outcasts in Victoria and South Australia; and the Rosebud dwelling of Bill Carroll. The Workers "separated at Guildford with high hopes that unity and harmony would prevail and all would be well."

After Chris Williams and Walter Pickering returned to Victoria, they held a Victorian Workers Meeting at Dandenong to discuss the Guildford Report. T he Victorian Workers felt that the Meeting had been held to make a personal attack on the life and testimony of Bill Carroll. They also viewed the Meeting as an attempt by the other Heads of States to interfere with the Work in Victoria. They drew up a document expressing their viewpoints, signed by Chris Williams and delivered it to the Meetings in Victoria. Some Conventions were cancelled. Workers from other Australian states visiting in Victorian territory were considered intruders. In 1955, two South Australian and three New Zealand Workers were sent to preach in Victoria, but many did not welcome them.

Eventually Chris Williams wrote John Hardie that: "a breach even greater, seems imminent...Could it not all not be withdrawn? " George Walker and Jack Forbes traveled to Australia to help reconcile the situation. Over a year later, on April 20, 1955, all the Senior Head Workers, including Victoria indicated that they regretted their actions and unconditionally withdrew their statements. Three items they agreed upon were:

"Regarding the residence at Rosebud, we feel it is our duty to state that we cannot accept such an arrangement as a precedent that could be repeated."

"We would add that in our opinion, when an Overseer in any State or Country, through infirmities or other circumstances is unable to personally carry out his responsibilities, he should call to his aid a Brother who has the approval and confidence of his Brethren and who can eventually assume the oversight.

[They would] "find an impartial Brother from overseas who will supervise and cooperate in the Oversight of the Work in Victoria for such time as may be considered necessary." (Guildford Meeting 1955)

In late 1955, Chris Williams was replaced by Archie Turner , a Scotsman. Chris continued in the Work in Victoria. However, the situation was too much for Turner, and he returned to Scotland. Jack Forbes came and acted as the interim Head Worker for about six months until Willie Donaldson, age 57, from Ireland, arrived in August 1957. Donaldson was able to handle the situation and restored some harmony to the 2x2 Fellowship.

1957: WILLIE DONALDSON, NEW HEAD WORKER OF VICTORIA. Willie was born in Ireland in 1900 and entered the Work during the 1920s. In 1928, he pioneered the Work in Barbados, West Indies, and remained there for the next 30 years. In 1957, he assumed the oversight of VIC. He was sent to Australia with the difficult task of re-establishing unity among the Workers and Friends in VIC, as well as with the rest of the Australia states. He was successful, and was also much loved by the Workers and Friends who held him in high esteem. After a couple years, the holding of separate Conventions ceased and the Friends returned to common Conventions. Willie died in the West Indies in February 1987, and Evan Jones became the Head Worker of VIC.

After two of the divisions were reunited, the word United was added to their letterhead: "The United Christian Conventions of Australasia and New Zealand." Letterhead may be viewed in Telling the Truth Photo Gallery. Reportedly, the following names were also used at times: "Christian Assemblies of Victoria," "Christian Assemblies of Australia," "Christian Conventions of Australia and New Zealand. "

INDIGENOUS NATIVES. Australia became an independent nation on January 1, 1901. Immediately following, policies were designed to keep Australia white and British. Until 1973, Australia was under the White Australia Policy. This was primarily designed to restrict "non-white" immigration to Australia, but also tended to discriminate against the Aborigines, the black natives of Australia. It has been suggested that overall, the Australian Workers have not preached among the Aboriginal community. Reportedly, one Brother Worker wanted to preach to the Australian Aboriginals, but was instead sent to preach in Africa. To their credit, Australian Workers preaching in foreign lands have been involved in numerous indigenous cultures. In 1958, Cooper Sandosham , from Malaysia, was the first dark skinned Worker to visit Australia. At the Conventions he visited, he made a favorable, lasting impression. He preached in Indonesia and North Borneo, and died in 1981, aged 64.

SHADES OF THE PAST. Almost 50 years later, a parallel to the purges and divisions in South Australia and Victoria took place in Alberta, Canada, when over twenty-one churches were closed and hundreds of Friends were excommunicated at the direction of the Alberta Overseer, Willis Propp. Similar events took place in Vietnam in 2009-14.

1960, JUNE 20: EDWARD COONEY DIED. Aged 93, Edward Cooney died in Mildura, VIC, in the home of loyal Cooneyite followers, Richard and Emily Greenaway, 32 years after his excommunication in 1928. 

Report of Guildford, NSW, Australia Meeting, February 20–24, 1954
and
Withdrawal of the Guildford, NSW, Australia Report, April 20, 1955

As reports have gone forth regarding recent happenings in Victoria, we feel that it is necessary to put on record events which have led up to the present and so clarify the situation.

After the late leader of Victoria, W. C. Carroll,* passed away and was buried, Tom Turner returned via Sydney to Queensland. While in Sydney, he had a talk with John Hardie and they thought a Meeting with the Elder Workers was due to consider matters of general concern to the Work in Australia, including the matter of the oversight of the Work in Victoria. An Elder's** Meeting of this sort had often been wished for and suggested in past years, but William Carroll was not in agreement, not considering it necessary, stating that Conventions were sufficient.

As John Hardie was not well, he asked Tom Turner to convene the Meetings.

All States and New Zealand were asked to send a representative and each leader, including Chris Williams, (appointed leader of Victoria by William Carroll) accepted the invitation, but the other Workers in Victoria wrote back to Tom Turner, in a letter signed by all the Workers except Chris Williams, that they did not see the need for a Worker's Meeting. This was done while Chris wrote from Tasmania accepting the invitation.

The Meetings at Guildford were to be held from February twentieth and notice to that effect was sent out. Others invited to the Meetings were Walter Pickering, Alex Mitchell, Les Hawse and Harry Morgan. Altho Chris had earlier accepted the invitation, at a later stage he began to object to coming and it was only by telephoning him at the last moment that his confirmation as leader in Victoria was sure, that he and Walter Pickering agreed to come.

In all, eleven attended the Meetings which began with prayer and were conducted in a godly manner. Each day for four days, the same procedure was followed and many items were brought forward. Tom Turner was asked to lead the Meetings. It was recognized that the three youngest members at the Meetings were not representing any State in Australia and their voting in the Meetings did not influence the affirmation or negation of the matters in discussion. Alex Mitchell asked if it would be in order for them to vote and the Chairman said, "Why not?" If each State in Australia and New Zealand had one representative, giving each one a vote, then the findings at Guildford would remain the same. Without the extras, W. Pickering, J. Williamson, A. Mitchell, L. Hawse, and H. Morgan, there would have been no alteration to the decisions made. This should be borne in mind, as some objections have been made regarding the constitution of the Meetings.

MEETINGS HELD IN GUILDFORD N.S.W. February 20-24, 1954

Present: John Hardie, T. M. Turner, J. Williamson, C. Williams, W. Pickering, W. F. Hughes,  J. C. Baartz, L. Hawse, W. Schloss, A. Mitchell and H. Morgan.  In Chair: T. M. Turner.

FIRST MEETING:

1. Confirmation of Chris Williams as Worker in charge of Victoria.

2. Exchange of Workers between States as a good thing to encourage.

3. The 'border' question. Reference to perplexities--that they would be done away with as much as possible and all concerned seek to foster a spirit of love and give and take.

4. Agreed that Victorian Workers cooperate with other States and consider the opinion of others.

SECOND MEETING:

5. The question of Saints being put out of fellowship in Victoria without a hearing. Some cases dealt with. (Deferred until next day).

THIRD MEETING:

6. That all are agreed that we, as Servants of God, should be on the same lines as at the beginning. (unanimous)

7. We are agreed that anything which would cause contention should be avoided. It would have been more expedient if objections to the permanent residence at "Rosebud", Victoria had been considered. The "Rosebud" dwelling had been a cause of contention in other countries as well as in Australia and it should have been done away with to save trouble and brethren from stumbling. Paul said, "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth." It is agreed that anything similar should not occur again. (eight for, three against)

8, 9, 10 omitted

FOURTH MEETING:

11. Proposed that for unity between countries on this side of the world, each country: India, Ceylon, Malaya, Indonesia, each State of the commonwealth and New Zealand, at any future Meeting of the Elder Workers be represented. (A Senior Worker should be appointed to oversight.) 11 Workers (Elders) in all and one with the power to convene Meetings to decide matters when called upon by Elders of any State of country. Something without a leader tends to lack of unity. The Elder appointed would also give the advice necessary.

REGARDING WORKERS BEING SENT TO THE EAST: 

It was proposed that John Hardie be appointed to this place. (Carried unanimously)

12. Will we all give an assurance that, as much as is in our power, we will go back to our States to show to our fellow laborers that we are all united and that we will foster this spirit of cooperation in this work of God? (Assurance given unanimously)

13. It is with great reluctance that we Brothers should have to register our disapproval of certain things that happened in connection with our departed brother's life.  Two Sister Workers and a Brother stayed with him at "Rosebud" to look after him, when there were open homes who would gladly receive him and cater for his needs and do the superintending of his meals necessitated by the fact that he was a diabetic. This went on for ten years. These Workers had no Gospel Meetings while at "Rosebud"--this, we greatly regret. We feel that what happened has been a digression from the way in which the Work began--both in our day and Jesus' day. We trust there will never be a repetition of these happenings. We feel the responsible Workers should have been consulted with regard to getting their approval of who should succeed our departed Brother in the oversight in Victoria.

This last paragraph was unanimously voted to be included in the report. Each of the Workers present was given a copy and others were sent to responsible Workers throughout the world.

We separated at Guildford with high hopes that unity and harmony would prevail and all would be well. Harry Morgan, Les Hawse and Alex Mitchell parted on friendly terms from Chris Williams and had his approval re-visiting in Victoria. Within a few days of the return to Victoria of Chris Williams and Walter Pickering, a Meeting of the Victorian Workers was held at Dandenong to discuss the Guildford Report. Those Workers drew up a circular which was signed by Chris Williams and delivered by hand to the Melbourne churches and sent by post to the churches throughout the State. After making a solemn promise before God to cooperate with all States and work for peace and harmony, Chris and Walter sent this circular which showed that there was no desire whatever to cooperate. Men who were at Guildford were branded as traitors. It was stated that a personal attack had been made on the life and testimony of the late William Carroll and that the Meetings were held for that purpose. Others at the Guildford Meetings can state that there was no such purpose and no attack was made on William Carroll's life and testimony. It was all thru a matter of principles, not personalities. Many matters were brought up and dealt with concerning all States, New Zealand and overseas.

Then the Victorian Workers convened a Meeting at the Dandenong Town Hall of all in and around Melbourne where the full report of the Workers Meeting held the previous week was read. This report was later read at various centers throughout the State. The following are extracts from this report.

"for these days are very evil and we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against principalities, princes (those who have great dominion) and principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places. Very subtle enemies and very powerful--"

"They explained about the Victorians not being willing to cooperate with other States. Well I don't think there was any Brother more willing to cooperate with other States than our Elder Brother, but we know that the others would not cooperate unless they could dictate or interfere with Victoria, so therefore, they really would not cooperate with us unless they had that privilege, as it were. We know it is not the right thing for any man or Elder to interfere with another State. We know that the reason for this thing happening is because there is such lust for power and place.

"It is really only ungodly men that could speak against the Work of God in Victoria and all their Meeting was really against Victoria and they got all their evidence from ungodly men who had departed from the faith--"

Following a reading of this report in Geelong by John Hardie and helpers, at which Chris Williams and several Workers and Elders from Melbourne were present, Chris stated that he meant to stand behind the testimony of William Carroll, and John replied that he means to stand by the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

March, 1954, the day on which the Meeting was held in Dandenong Town Hall, Chris wrote to John Hardie as follows:

"My dear John: 

We have plunged into a sea of sorrow since we came back from the Meetings at Guildford. All the Victorian Workers and some of the Elders and Saints have felt it very much that the "Rosebud" question was brought up, involving our Brother who was so much loved and respected for the Christ he loved and preached.

"We have told all the people around Melbourne that we did not stand for it ever being discussed and testimonies have been given by the Workers that lived with William Carroll and we cannot deny that they received 'treat' benefits that helped in the gospel. It has raised such a feeling that a breach even greater, seems imminent." "Could it not all not be withdrawn?" "If you would receive it, a copy of all that was said at the Meeting would be sent to you." "Only desiring that Christ shall be upheld in us and for His sake,

Yours by mercy,

Chris Williams."

To this, John replied on March 16, 1954: that he expected if his health permitted, to be in Albury in the near future and invited Chris to meet him there and talk the matter over, which would be far better than writing. Chris did not answer this letter, and although he was in Wodonga, just across the river, the weekend John came to Albury, he made no attempt to meet him, or even speak to him on the telephone. Instead of taking the matter to the responsible Workers who were at Guildford, Chris Williams vented his feelings and the whole matter amongst the people of God. The circular was sent out to the churches and this followed by the Dandenong report, caused great shock and suffering and confusion and even separating of the people. As a result of this, many wrote to John from Victoria appealing for help, saying they could not associate themselves with the stand the Victorian Workers had taken. These appeals for help came not from those who were out of fellowship, but from those who were still in fellowship. Many had declared their determination to stand by the older Workers before any attempt was made to acquaint them of the true facts.

It was felt that these appeals could not be ignored, especially as Chris took no notice of John's offer to talk things over with him and accordingly, early in April, John came into Victoria to help those who cried for help--those such as had been told by Workers that if they were not satisfied, the door was open. Alex and Harry Morgan also came with John, followed later by Tom Turner and Willie Hughes. True fellowship for many had almost ceased since Workers and Saints in many churches were constant in their "preaching against" those in their midst who they felt were questioning the stand taken by the Victorian Workers. As a result of this end, the true facts being made known, a great many expressed their desire and determination to stand behind the Elder Workers in fellowship with the other States and countries against which the Victorian Workers have stood out.

Beside the attempt at conciliation made by John Hardie, before the trouble was ventilated by the Victorian Workers, a further attempt was made by Tom Turner and Alex Mitchell with Chris Williams and Walter Pickering, but the latter two refused to discuss the matter.

Signed by: 

John Hardie, T. M. Turner, W. J. Hughes, J. C. Baartz, W. Schloss, A. R. Mitchell, R. L. Hawse and H. Morgan

The Guildford Report Withdrawal

Dandenong, Victoria

April twentieth 1955

The Overseers of Australia and those from Overseas being met together to consider the difficulties that exist concerning the Work in Victoria, are agreed that the statement contained in the Guildford Report reflecting on the life and ministry of our late Brother (W.C. Carroll) is now unconditionally withdrawn.

The Victorian Workers and Saints who met at Dandenong also wish to express their regret for the statements made reflecting on the Elders and Workers from other countries and these are unconditionally withdrawn, also the letter sent out from Dandenong to the several Churches in Victoria.

Regarding the residence at Rosebud, we feel it is our duty to state that we cannot accept such an arrangement as a precedent that could be repeated.

We would add that in our opinion, when an Overseer in any State or Country, through infirmities or other circumstances is unable to personally carry out his responsibilities, he should call to his aid a Brother who has the approval and confidence of his Brethren and who can eventually assume the oversight.

In order to give assurance to all concerned that every effort will be made to restore confidence and promote unity and true fellowship amongst Workers and in the several Churches in Victoria we will endeavour to find an impartial Brother from overseas who will supervise and cooperate in the Oversight of the Work for such time as may be considered necessary.

Dandenong, Victoria

April twentieth 1955

George Walker, J. Forbes, J. T. Carroll, W. J. Hughes, J. Hardie, T. Turner, J. Baartz,

J. Williamson, C. Williams 

*William "Bill" Charles Carroll was born August 15, 1876, at Newtown, Moynalty, Kells, County Meath, the eldest of 6 children. Bill Carroll and Margaret "Maggie" Hastings were married on June 6, 1901, in the Church of Ireland at Rathmolyon, County Meath. Their only child, a daughter, May (Carroll) Shultz, was born in 1902 in Ireland. They entered the Work in 1903 and arrived in Australia in 1913. Maggie died in 1944, and Bill died on November 13, 1953. 

**In Australia at this time, an "Elder" was the term used for the Senior Head Worker or Overseer of a state.