Historical information

1911–2005: Gordon George Powell, who has died at 94, was for many years the highly influential minister at St Stephen's Presbyterian Church in Sydney and a popular radio broadcaster and author.
He began Wednesday services at St Stephen's in Macquarie Street soon after arriving in Sydney from Melbourne in 1952. They grew to become the biggest regular lunch-hour services in the world, with up to 1300 people crowding the church and the hall below.
In 1953, with the help of Vernon Turner of the Christian Broadcasting Association, services were broadcast on radio. The broadcasts continued even when Gordon moved back to Melbourne, so for 30 years he maintained a successful weekly radio ministry.
While at St Stephen's, he was also involved in the 1959 Billy Graham Crusade in Sydney, attended by 980,000 people over two weeks.
Gordon was born in Warrnambool, Victoria, the son of a dentist, George Powell, and his wife, Louisa (nee Clarke). He went to school at Scotch College.
He gave up plans to become an electrical engineer after hearing a call to the ministry and studied arts and then theology at the University of Melbourne, where he formed a close friendship with Edward (Weary) Dunlop.
Gordon rowed in the Ormond crew, winning the university's inter-college trophy five times. He was a passionate sports lover all his life.
He was awarded a scholarship to Trinity College, Glasgow University, in 1935, and for three months stayed with the great Scottish churchman George (later Lord) MacLeod. While on a cycling trip around Scotland, he stopped by the shores of Loch Ness and saw a long neck appear. The monster swam about 300 metres at great speed; Gordon counted three or four humps. Later, when he saw a skeleton of a plesiosaurus at the Victoria and Albert Museum, he recognised it as Nessie. For the rest of his life, he retained an avid interest in the Loch Ness Monster and its attendant scientific debate.
While in Scotland, Gordon wrote a weekly article for The Messenger, the official journal of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. This led to a life as an author of articles and books. He also wrote long letters home to his mother, a habit that later led to his weekly "Dad's Diaries", which were distributed to the wider family. Failing eyesight put an end to his reading and writing two years ago.
On returning to Australia in late 1936, he became assistant minister at Toorak, the second-biggest Presbyterian church in Melbourne. There, at last, Gordon married Gwen Gilchrist, whom he had courted for nine years.
They moved from the wealthiest church to one of the poorest, at Port Adelaide, which was still in the grip of the Depression. There, he was finally ordained, in May 1938, and the first two of their four children, Rosemary and David, were born.
In 1941, Gordon became assistant minister to Scots Church in Melbourne and the following year, after the birth of his third child, Mardi, he reluctantly volunteered as an RAAF chaplain. He was a pacifist but felt bad at not being in uniform.
For the following three years, he was stationed in New Guinea and Australia. His war reminiscences were published as Two Steps to Tokyo and sold 6000 copies in 1945 alone.
At 34, by then the father of four children, he was invited to be minister of the Collins Street Independent Church in the heart of Melbourne, now St Michael's Uniting Church
Before being inducted, he undertook a lecture tour of the US, speaking to Rotary clubs in 48 centres, from Michigan to Maryland. He met, and was impressed by, the liberal theologian Harry Emerson Fosdick, and the US religious leader and author Norman Vincent Peale, who became a close friend and mentor.
Back in Australia, Gordon founded and fostered the first Alcoholics Anonymous group in Melbourne. In 1952, he took up what was to become his happiest ministry, at St Stephen's in Sydney.
When Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip toured two years later, Gordon and Gwen were not only invited to lunch with them, but sat beside them. This was a highlight for Gordon, an ardent monarchist.
In 1960, Gordon and Gwen embarked on a world tour that included the US, where he was invited to give the opening prayer in the Senate, with vice-president Richard Nixon presiding.
After another five years at St Stephen's, Gordon returned to Scots Church in Melbourne. It was a time of bitter debates over church union with the Methodists and Congregationalists. Gordon was in favour, but Scots ultimately voted to stay out and remain Presbyterian.
By then in his mid-60s, he and Gwen moved to New York, where Peale was his neighbour. They had six happy years there before retiring to Melbourne.
Gordon is survived by Gwen, and children David, Mardi and Jenny (daughter Rosemary died in 1992), 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
[From the obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald, 2005, written by Jenny (Powell)]

Physical description

Gwen and Gordon Powell coming out of the Toorak Uniting Church 50 years after they were married there.

Inscriptions & markings

Gwen and Gordon Powell coming out of the Toorak Uniting Church 50 years after they were married there.