Canon David John Garland

Canon David John Garland 1864-1939. David John Garland was born in Dublin in 1864. He trained for the law and migrated with his parents to New South Wales, joining the Church of England ministry in 1889. As a deacon he served in Grafton, Quirindi and Narrandera before being sent to Perth in 1892 where he was ordained as a missionary priest. He became canon of Perth in 1900-1902. In 1892 he married a widow, Mary Hawkins, nee Hadfield, and they had one son, David James Garland. In 1902 he moved to Queensland and became rector of Charters Towers and a canon of St. James Cathedral, Townsville. He was appointed archdeacon of North Queensland in 1903.

In 1907 he resigned to devote his full attention to the Bible in State Schools League in Queensland. At the outbreak of World War I Garland volunteered and was senior army camp chaplain in Queensland from 1914-1917. He served in 1918-19 in the Middle East where he founded eight clubs for Australian troops. He returned to Queensland in 1920 and became rector of Ithaca. Canon Garland was also an important originator of Anzac Day ceremonies and rituals, initiating the Anzac Day march, wreath-laying ceremonies and special church services. He was awarded the O.B.E. in 1934. Widowed in 1933, he died on 9 October 1939 and was buried in Toowong Cemetery. (Information taken from: Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1981, retrieved 12 October 2012, from http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/garland-david-john-6278).

Image number: 28069-0001-0003