Australian Commemoration Bibles Distributed

We have had a presence in Australia from the earliest years of the Society’s formation in 1831 and there are reports in Australian newspapers dating back to 1832 regarding our Annual General Meetings held in London.  Since the branch’s official establishment in 1992, our Australian branch has been vital to promoting our work and witness in Australasia.

In late 2022 the Australian Board of Directors commissioned a unique Australian Bible to be printed for distribution, mostly free of charge to school children, although they were also available for purchase. The Bible commemorated the first Christian worship service held on Australian soil, on 3 February 1788. A congregation numbering almost 1,500 people gathered under a large tree and consisted of convicts, soldiers, sailors, political prisoners, and officials, all having just arrived in the new colony from Great Britain, as part of the ‘First Fleet’. The text of that first service was from Psalm 116.12-13, ‘What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.’  The Bible has a distinctive cover featuring an oil painting of the tall ships entering Sydney Harbour and commemorative pages.

The commemorative Bibles have been distributed and we pray that the children and all those who received a copy of this Bible would be blessed by the words contained therein. ‘I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me’ (Proverbs 8.17).