SPITTAL, James, Rev (1859-1943)
Assembly memorial minute, 1943
Rev. James Spittal. —The Rev. James Spittal was born in Glasgow in August, 1859. He obtained his education at the University of Glasgow, where he did the Arts Course. He was a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and did his Theological Course at their College in Edinburgh. He was ordained on September 25th, 1893, and was inducted into the Charge of Lismore, near Oban, in the Highlands. He remained there about seven years, but ill-health made it imperative for him to seek a more congenial climate. About this time Dr. Meiklejohn, of Dorcas Street Church, was in search of an assistant, and Professor Orr recommended Mr. Spittal for this important post. Mr. Spittal accepted the invitation, and came to Australia in 1902.
Dr. Meiklejohn was Moderator of the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, which met in Sydney in July, 1901. Mr. Spittal collaborated with him in pulpit and parish work, and acted as locum tenens for him while on a trip home. After a holiday in New Zealand, Mr. Spittal accepted a call to the parish of Healesville- Yarra Glen, where he was inducted on December 15th, 1904. During his tenure there he married Miss Jean Reid, a granddaughter of the Rev. John Reid, first minister of Essendon (1852-1856), and daughter of Hugh Ronald Reid, a founder of the Melbourne Steamship Company. Mrs. Spittal threw herself into the work with great enthusiasm. But all through his life Mr. Spittal contended with ill-health, and in 1912 a strenuous pastorate was brought to an end by his resignation.
After a trip to the Old Country, he accepted a call to Lake Rowan, and his induction there on September 6th, 1917, was the beginning of an exceedingly happy ministry of six years. On account of his wife’s health he resigned from Lake Rowan on October 8th, 1923, and their home was made in Toorak. He did not seek another charge, but from 1930 to 1941 he acted as an elder in the Toorak Church, where his services were greatly valued. He and Mrs. Spittal shifted to East Malvern, but, after a few weeks’ painful illness, he died on February 27th, 1943, in the membership of the Toorak Church, which he so deeply loved.
The Rev. James Spittal was a man conscientious and self-sacrificing in all his work. He was a single-minded servant of Christ, courageous in his preaching. Of a sensitive and shy disposition he shrank from public appearances. Hence he was not widely known in our Assembly. The memorial minute passed by the Toorak Session included the following words: “The Rev. James Spittal was a man who walked with God, and, by his kindly disposition and consistent life, won the affection and esteem of all who knew him. ”
To his widow the Assembly tenders its sincere sympathy.
Gender
- Male