A cache of documents hidden for decades reveals the role of Melbourne Christians in inviting Billy Graham to his crucial 1959 Australian crusades.

Ridley Melbourne made the exciting discovery recently, uncovering in their library original documents which include the 1957 telegram from Billy Graham, accepting Stuart Barton Babbage’s invitation to visit Melbourne.

“There was a pile of books and documents in the library which had been waiting for a review for some time,” says Rhys Bezzant, lecturer in evangelical church history at Ridley. “Among them was a large but thin portfolio, a hard covered scrap book with a few loose documents.” It was in this portfolio that they discovered the telegram from Billy Graham, along with other correspondence between him and Stuart Barton Babbage, the then Anglican Dean of Melbourne and Principal of Ridley College.

“We didn’t know that we had this correspondence. We certainly didn’t know we had the telegram,” says Bezzant. In the meantime, they have identified the folio as a gift which was given to the college by Stuart Barton Babbage, presumably in 1963, when he left Melbourne.

Some preliminary research into the documents has begun, and Bezzant says, “This discover is of national importance.”

“Apparently multiple people were encouraged to invite Billy Graham to Australia. Presumably he received an invitation from Sydney and other places. Yet it appears, from this telegram, that Graham responded to Stuart Barton Babbage to accept the invitation. It appears the response in this telegram was on behalf of the country, an acceptance not to just visit Melbourne but Australia.” Bezzant says it is unknown at this stage whether Graham responded to any other invitation issued to him from elsewhere in Australia.

Alongside the telegram was found correspondence between Billy Graham and Stuart Barton Babbage, a total of three or four letters. “The correspondence shows a growing warmth of intimacy in the relationship between Graham and Barton Babbage. It seems they may have hit it off.”

“The last letter is really extraordinary,” Bezzant says enthusiastically. “It’s three pages long, filled with personal discussions about issues they needed to address in their follow up.” The letter also refers to the 1961 crusade in Philadelphia which Billy Graham invited Stuart Barton Babbage to, with Graham thanking him for his involvement.

This discovery serves as a reminder of the impact of the Billy Graham crusade in Melbourne in 1959. “In the documents, Billy Graham expresses that in his estimation, Melbourne was one of the best and moral places to live in. The mission held at the MCG during the crusade is still one of the largest ever attended. It has a lot of significance for Australia and internationally as well,” says Bezzant.

Jorge Rodrigues, executive director of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in Australia says, “Any documentation that refers to the visit of Billy Graham to Australia is amazing, because not many people realise today that Billy Graham, during his public addresses in Australia in the 1959 crusades, spoke to roughly one third of the Australian population. His visit had a major impact on the culture of this country.” Rodrigues is currently in PNG in preliminary discussions with Christian leaders about a 2014 crusade there with Will Graham, Billy Graham’s grandson.

The discovery serves as an encouragement to Australian Christians, especially those in Melbourne, about our gospel heritage. Bezzant says, “We easily forget that in the first half of the twentieth century Melbourne was one of the gospel centres of the world. I like to remind my students that Melbourne has an extraordinarily rich gospel heritage, which is often overlooked, because Sydney is now so rich in influence and resources now.”

While the discovery has only just been made, Bezzant says there’s a lot of excitement about the possibilities to analyse the material further.

Featured Image: Billy Graham preaching at the final service of the Melbourne Crusade, from the Billy Graham Centre Archives, Wheaton College