James Egan Moulton
James Egan Moulton (4 January 1841 – 9 May 1909) was an English-born Australian Methodist minister and headmaster and school president.
Early life[]
Moulton was born in North Shields, Northumberland. Many members of his family were Methodist ministers and he attended the Wesleyan school Kingswood in Bath. In 1863 he was the founding headmaster of Newington College while awaiting a posting to Tonga. Before leaving, he married Emma Knight and they had three sons and three daughters together.
Tongan ministry[]
In Tonga he presided over the Methodist church and established Tupou College, patronised by King George Tupou I. During his time in Tonga, a schism formed within the church leading to the creation of the Free Church of Tonga. Throughout the dispute, Moulton managed to stay on good terms with the new movement. He translated several texts into Tongan, including Milton's Paradise Lost.[1]
Australian ministry[]
Moulton returned to Sydney in 1893 and took up the presidency of Newington College. In 1895, Moulton was the inaugural President of the Old Newingtonians' Union.[2] During this time, he completed translating the Bible into Tongan, which is still in use today in Tonga. In 1896 the first Tongan students arrived at Newington. They appear in admission records with anglicised names as Moulton Finau, Saul Funaki, Tonga Latu, Charles Liu, John Otuhoume, Egan Tatafu and Tugi William Tuboulaki. The initial seven arrived at the beginning of the school year with Solo Ula arriving some time between April and June of that year.[3]
Death[]
Moulton died, aged sixty-eight, in Lindfield and is buried in Gore Hill cemetery.
See also[]
- John Fletcher Moulton, brother
- Richard Green Moulton, brother
- William Fiddian Moulton, brother
- James Hope Moulton, nephew
- John Egan Moulton, great grandson
- Bible translations into Oceanic languages
References[]
- ^ http://nla.gov.au/nla.aus-vn1909669 Tongan translation of Paradise Lost at National Library of Australia
- ^ Newington Across the Years, A History of Newington College 1863 - 1998 (Syd, 1999) pp 347
- ^ Gapps, Stephen; Newington College (2012), Newington College : a sesquicentenary history 1863-2013, Stanmore, NSW Newington College, ISBN 978-0-9873016-1-1
External links[]
- Works by or about James Egan Moulton at Internet Archive
- S. G. Claughton, 'Moulton, James Egan (1841 - 1909)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, MUP, 1974, pp 305–306.
Bibliography[]
- D. S. Macmillan, Newington College 1863-1963 (Syd, 1963)
- P. L. Swain, Newington Across the Years 1863-1998 (Syd, 1999)
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- 1841 births
- 1909 deaths
- Australian Methodist ministers
- Australian headmasters
- Methodist theologians
- Moulton family
- English theologians
- Translators of the Bible into Polynesian languages
- Staff of Newington College
- People educated at Kingswood School, Bath
- Old Newingtonians' Union presidents
- 19th-century Methodist ministers
- 20th-century Methodist ministers
- People from North Shields
- Australian expatriates in Tonga
- Burials at Gore Hill Cemetery
- Protestant ministers and clergy in Australia