Lang, John Dunmore (1799-1878), the founder of the Presbyterian Church in Australia, also played an active part in that country’s political life. He fought to establish better facilities for education, to end the transportation of convicts to the colony, and to encourage the migration of free settlers. His blunt and forceful manner earned him many enemies, but his enthusiasm and energy also contributed greatly to the early development of Australia.
Lang was born in Greenock, Scotland, on Aug. 25, 1799. He was educated at Glasgow University. In 1820, Lang became a preacher and was ordained in 1822. He sailed to Sydney in 1822 to join his younger brother, who had immigrated to New South Wales a year earlier. John Lang immediately began to establish the Presbyterian Church in the colony.
In 1831, Lang persuaded the British government to assist 140 Scottish workers and their families in settling in Australia, so that they could help build a Presbyterian school. The scheme was successful, and Lang became a strong advocate for assisted migration from the United Kingdom. He made several visits to the United Kingdom to encourage free settlers to move to Australia, and he urged that money from the sale of Crown lands be used to assist them.
In 1843, the people of the Port Phillip district elected Lang as one of their six representatives in the Legislative Council, which governed New South Wales. He was later elected to the council several times representing other constituencies. Lang unsuccessfully led a campaign for the separation of Port Phillip from New South Wales. He led a similar campaign for the separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1854. He argued that Australia should become independent of the United Kingdom and wrote articles advocating a union of republican states in Australia. Lang died on Aug. 8, 1878.
