Series 001/32 - John Francis Cash Memorial Chapel papers

Moore Theological College (M.T.C.), Australia's oldest theological college, began tuition in the home of Thomas Moore (1762-1840) at Liverpool on March 1st, 1856. Moore was a wealthy pastoralist and benefactor of the early Church of England in Australia who bequeathed property and funds for the establishment of a theological training college. The Reverend William A. Hodgson was the first tutor of the new college, which remained at its Liverpool site until 1888. For three years the College was closed, re-opening at its present Newtown site in 1891. The "Moore Theological College Ordinance of 1919" placed the government of the College under the Church of England Synod, and established a committee to administer its various functions. In 1921, a Synod Ordinance was passed empowering the College's Trustees to use the Liverpool assets for the Newtown College's use. In 1933 a Board of Reference was established to assess prospective applicants, and 1937 saw the establishment of the College's Women's Auxiliary.

Born in 1887, Edward Francis Nicholson [Frank] Cash graduated from Moore Theological College in 1913 and obtained an M.A. (Honours in Philosophy) from Sydney University in 1922. He was the Rector of Christ Church, North Sydney from 1922 and Registrar of the Australian College of Theology from 1945 to 1961. He and his wife, Violet Elizabeth, donated The John Francis Cash Memorial Chapel to Moore Theological College, completed in 1950. He was a keen amateur photographer and the only one to be permitted onto the construction site of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and took photographs throughout the building process. His photographs also include images of his family: his wife Elizabeth, son John who joined the RAAF and was killed in action in 1941, and three daughters Mary, Miriam and Elizabeth.