Page:History of Adelaide and vicinity.djvu/497

 Rev. w. Longbottom ADELAIDE AND VICINITY 471 the Murray River, and were then able to continue their journey to the whaling station near Victor Harbor. The whalers and natives gave them a hearty welcome, and, in a litde vessel called the Lady Wellington, they sailed up the Gulf to Port Adelaide. A few months later the brig Maria was wrecked near the same spot in Lacepede Bay, and, after reaching the shore, all hands were murdered by the natives. The shipwrecked minister and his family were hospitablv received in Adelaide, and a subscription to recoup their losses was started. The Rev. W. Longbottom was prevailed upon to remain in the Province, and a small chapel was erected for him in Hindley Street, about where the Theatre Royal now stands. There he began his ministrations, and his congregation speedily grew in numbers and in strength. The chapel in Hindley Street became so popular that a larger building was erected in Gawler Place, where the warehouse of Messrs, D. & W. Murray now stands, and there the Rev. W. Longbottom continued his work. On November 27, 1838, Governor Gawler laid the foundation-stone. The cost was about ^3,000, and it provided seating accommodation for 500 persons. But his spirit was stronger than his body, and he was compelled by ill health to relinquish the charge in 1840, and again seek recuperation in Tasmania. He was succeeded in Gawler Place by the Rev. John P2ggleston, who was soon afterwards relieved by the Rev. J. C. Weatherstone. The latter was not able to keep the congregation together, and Mr. Longbottom was asked to return. From his pretty Tasmanian station at New- Norfolk he came back to Adelaide in 1844, and his earnestness and enthusiasm soon re-joined the dissatisfied and scattering flock. F"or three years he occupied the pulpit. It was then clear that his missionary work in India, his privations by shipwreck, and the energy he infused into his local labors had permanently ruined his health ; and in 1847 his congregation (says Mr. George E. Loyau in his " Representative Men of South Australia"), "out of pure respect and gratitude to him, consented to his retirement, and made such provision as enabled him to pass his declining years in comfort." He was succeeded by the Rev. D. J. Draper, who, whilst returning from a visit to flngland, was lost in the London, on January 1 i, 1866. Mr. Longbottom did not long survive his retirement. His strength, never very good, wasted away, and on July 31, 1849, he died at his residence in Hackney, aged 50 years. But he had accomplished his mission, and started the Wesleyan Church in South Australia on a splendid career. A memorial tablet to his memory has been placed in the Pirie Street Wesleyan Church. Mrs. Longbottom, who was Mi.ss Eagland, of Wakefield, Yorkshire, was an excellent helpmeet to her husband. She had remarkable skill in acquiring languao-es, and, six months after her arrival in India, conducted classes in Tamil and Portuguese. Her long life was devoted to good works. She died in 1873. The son, Mr. William Longbottom, wrecked with his parents in Lacepede Bay, still lives in Adelaide. He was born in India in 1832, and, though but six years old at the time, possesses a clear recollection of the wreck incident. Mr. Longbottom, who was educated in Adelaide, adopted a commercial career, and eventually became a partner with Sir John Colton in a harness and hardware business.