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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-09-25 Daily Xml
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Armstrong, Rev. G.

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:16): Some months ago now, on 7 July, I attended a celebration service at Para Vista Uniting Church. On behalf of the church council and the congregations at Para Vista and Modbury Uniting Churches, I would like to acknowledge and extend thanks to the Reverend Gowan Armstrong for the wonderful contribution he has made to our community over the past 26 years, and I am grateful to the Reverend Lyn Leane and chair, Marlene Matthews, for the following remarks.

Gowan has spent much of his time on the road, much of it with his wife, Shirley, and their family. Gowan grew up in the rural Mid North of South Australia, near Robertstown, a farming area, and Gowan has always had a strong affinity with people from farming areas. By the mid-1940s, Gowan had left South Australia for Canberra and that was where he tried his hand at preaching. That practice in local preaching and the recognition of his gifts led to Gowan studying at Wesley College in Wayville for four years, from 1947 to 1950.

In April 1951, Reverend Gowan Armstrong became the probationer Methodist minister stationed at Mount Gambier and was allocated the task of conducting monthly services. In May, he broke his leg while playing football and so he arrived on crutches the following Sunday. Gowan was reprimanded by the Adelaide office of the Methodist Church, who said he had been sent to preach the gospel, not to play football.

Gowan was ordained in 1952 and was then sent to Hallett/Terowie in the heartland of merino stud farming. Four years later he was on the road again, this time further to the north, to the industrial centre of Port Augusta where he interacted with Stirling North, Willsden and Port Augusta West congregations and where he saw to the building of new church halls.

In 1959, Shirley, his soon to be wife, became the infant mistress at the school in Port Augusta and something special sparked between them. They were married in 1960, in Woodville, where Shirley had grown up. And then another big change: Shirley agreed to go with Gowan to Maningrida, a government-run Aboriginal settlement of about 1,200 people in Arnhem Land where Gowan became a chaplain in 1963.

Gowan says this was a very special chapter in their lives and by now, children John and Roslyn had joined the family. The first baptisms were held at Maningrida, the church was built and Gowan did some further study in anthropology. One of Gowan's achievements was his assistance in setting up the Maningrida Arts and Cultural Centre in 1973. Today, it is one of Australia's largest Aboriginal art cooperatives and represents over 700 artists. After the 10 years at Maningrida, Gowan and Shirley moved back to Darwin, where Gowan was an early staff member of Nungalinya College, which he helped set up.

Then came all the drama of Cyclone Tracy between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day in 1974. That great cyclonic wind blew the Armstrongs south, when they came to minister at Athelstone/Dernancourt and where they stayed until 1982. Gowan's last years as a minister in placement were in Prospect North, where he and Shirley spent 11 years. From there, Gowan became a minister in association and has spent an amazing 25-year plus period ministering selflessly to so many in the neighbourhoods and congregations of Modbury and Para Vista.

When Gowan and Shirley came from Prospect North to the Modbury/Para Vista linked churches in 1993, they attended the Modbury church at first and then the Para Vista church trying to decide which church to worship in permanently. They decided in the end that, as Para Vista had a choir and they loved singing, they needed to alternate between both churches. They sang in the choir each fortnight under the guidance of Elsie Hall. Gowan still comes to choir practice and, while some believe that he is there to practise singing, Gowan often has other ideas. The choir would like to thank Rosslyn for bringing him more recently as driving at night has become difficult.

Gowan continues to be a vibrant part of the church communities. He is now no longer with his beloved Shirley, whom he cared for until her death in December 2017 aged 92. His insight and experience have been extremely helpful at church council meetings and he is still looked to for guidance in decision-making and for his quiet, thoughtful suggestions. On Monday morning, there is a prayer meeting led by Gowan, who then attends Mainly Music for a short while to dance and sing with children.

Tuesdays is the award-winning International Community Group at Modbury, which Gowan attends. It was previously the African Women's Day and was recognised as the top volunteer community program in the state of South Australia in 2011. Bible studies have been conducted at Gowan's home for many years, encouraging and discussing with others his interpretations of the scriptures, with people from both churches participating. Messy Church is once a month and it sees Gowan participating in the church service with children and activities, after he has cut and buttered the bread for the shared Sunday tea.

A community breakfast is held monthly at Modbury on Saturday mornings, which Gowan also attends. Pastoral care is his forte and there would not be many who have not had a visit from Gowan at home or in hospital at some stage. When Para Vista had the Work for the Dole program, Gowan spent time teaching the lads how to cook and how to make pizzas as he conversed with them over the stove.

Gowan is known everywhere for his laugh. You can hear if he is in the shops at Clovercrest, or anywhere else for that matter, from far away. He may mix up names occasionally, but people from both Para Vista and Modbury all love Gowan and we are so enriched by all his contributions to our spiritual and daily lives. Thank you, Gowan, for your contribution to both churches and your remarkable life of service, which continues to this day.

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