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Record #27090
Name :
: Wilfred Henry DOUGLAS (1917 - 2004)
  aka : Wilfrid Henry


Father
:
Mother
:
BMD and other details
Date of Birth
: 4 Jul 1917   Notes : Source: Fairbridge Kids; WWII record

Marriage (1)
: 1945   Spouse/Notes : Elizabeth WEIR (Perth district, reg 897)
Marriage (2)
:

Date of Death
: 22 Mar 2004   Notes : Source: MCB WA (as Wilfrid Henry)
Abode (1) : Place of BirthIreland, Belfast
Abode (2) : Place of Death / BurialAustralia, Western Australia
Sailing Information
Date of Arrival
: Jun 1929
Country
: Australia

Ship
: Largs Bay

Placement Family
:
Homes / Agencys
Institution (GB)
:

Agency
: Fairbridge Homes
NotesWilfred Douglas, 11, arrived in a group of 35 bound for Fairbridge Farm School, Pinjarra, Western Australia.

After two years at Fairbridge he went to Perth to work on a poultry farm, then ticket writing until 1937 when he entered Perth Bible Institute.

In 1938 at the age of 21 he went to the siding of Badjaling in the Western Australian wheatbelt as a school teacher for the United Aborigines Mission (UAM) and in those early days started to take an interest in the language of the Noongar people who lived at Badjaling.

He enlisted during WWII (NAA RecordSearch):
DOUGLAS WILFRED HENRY : Service Number - W23616 : Date of birth - 04 Jul 1917 : Place of birth - BELFAST NTH IRELAND : Place of enlistment - QUAIRADING WA : Next of Kin - DOUGLAS HENRY

After a period in the Australian Army from 1941–45, working at Hollywood Military Hospital, Karrakatta Military Camp and Rottnest, he went to Gnowangerup Mission then in 1945 married Elizabeth Weir.

The following year after the birth of their son, John, they went to the Kimberley, and it was at Sunday Island that Wilf attempted to translate verses from the Bible into the Bardi language. This struggling attempt, initially with John 3:16, led to a long association with the Wycliffe Bible Translators through their annual Summer Institute of Linguistics and a lifetime of Bible translation and detailed study of Aboriginal languages.

After he undertook some linguistic studies at Sydney University, an opportunity arose in 1951 for the Douglas family to go to Ooldea on the Transline in South Australia to do language work with the UAM. Here he worked for the first time with speakers of the Western Desert Language and produced a phonology and grammar. A year later they moved to Warburton Ranges and during this time their second son Robert was born. It was here that he produced his works Introduction to the Western Desert Language (pub. Sydney Uni 1957) and his Illustrated Topical Dictionary of the Western Desert Language (1959). Wilf’s concern for the establishment of an indigenous Church with a Bible in its own language became a central factor in his work, leading to the establishment in 1955 of the Western Desert Bible School and Translation Centre at Mt Margaret.

In 1957 the family moved to Kalgoorlie and the following year Wilf established the UAM Language Department which he headed up for another 24 years, until the establishment of the Aboriginal-run Ngaanyatjarra Bible Project. The Language Department provided oversight of Bible translators in the Western Desert and Kimberley regions of Western Australia and led to opportunities for many hundreds of people in these regions to read and understand the Bible in their own language.

Douglas continued his work with the Noongar language and in 1968 he published his The Aboriginal Languages of the South-West of Australia (AIAS press).

He also carried out work in the Geraldton region on Wajarri (which he spelled 'Watjarri').

In 2002, the Bible Society in Australia presented him with the Elizabeth Macquarrie Award for his contribution to Bible translation.

Douglas continued his work throughout his life, continuing work on a new edition of his Illustrated Dictionary of the South West Language until just before his death.

Source: Wikipedia 
ContributorsCreated : 2017-04-09 04:03:10 / mollipops1

Last Updated :

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Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  30 Entries        
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IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
3040 ABBOTT, James1893IRL,    , Carlew May 1906 : Tunisian CAN Smyly Homes of Dublin  
3059 ABBOTT, James1896IRL, MEA, Trim May 1911 : Corsican CAN Labourers & Domestics  
3008 ABBOTT, Thomas1865IRL,     Sep 1876 : Waldensian CAN Unknown  
3112 ACHESON, Rachel1893IRL,    , Ringwash Jun 1911 : Lake Manitoba CAN Labourers & Domestics  
3114 ACHSON, Elizabeth1864IRL,     Jun 1874 : Sarmatian CAN Agricultural Labour Union  
3115 ACHSON, Sarah1865IRL,     Jun 1874 : Sarmatian CAN Agricultural Labour Union  
3143 ACKROYD, Mabel Emma1904IRL,     Jun 1915 : Carthaginian CAN Middlemore  
22143 AIKIN, David1892IRL, ANT, Belfast Mar 1901 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
14545 ALLAN-VALLIS, Agnes1916IRL,    , Glasgow Jun 1930 : Duchess of York CAN Crusade of Rescue  
4995 ALLEN, Kathleen1916IRL, ANT, Belfast Sep 1930 : Duchess of Bedford CAN Barnardos  
22107 ALTRIDGE, George1917IRL,     Apr 1932 : Duchess of Richmond CAN Unknown  
7974 ANDREWS, John William1914IRL, ANT, Carrickfergus Apr 1930 : Letitia CAN British Immigration and Colonisation Association  
7702 ANTHONY, John1887IRL,     May 1900 : Numidian CAN Catholic Emigration Society  
4303 ANTISELL, Palmer Evans1897IRL,    , Dublin May 1911 : Tunisian CAN MacPherson Homes suemccall  
4304 ANTISELL, Thomas Christopher Monsell1895IRL,    , Dublin May 1911 : Tunisian CAN MacPherson Homes suemccall  
8191 BAILEY, William 1912IRL,    , Whitehead Sep 1928 : Antonia CAN National Childrens Home  
8193 BALL, John A1913IRL, ANT, Belfast Sep 1928 : Antonia CAN National Childrens Home  
11419 BANNON, Bartholomew1910IRL,     Aug 1924 : Montcalm CAN Unknown Catholic Group  
11420 BANNON, John Joseph1911IRL,     Aug 1924 : Montcalm CAN Unknown Catholic Group  
11468 BARRETT, William Joseph1910IRL,    , Dublin Sep 1923 : Montcalm CAN Catholic Emigration Association  
4736 BARZARKIE, Mary Catharine1869IRL, COR Apr 1880 : Sardinian CAN Liverpool Sheltering Home  
5846 BEATTIE, Richard1891IRL,     Jul 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
5845 BEATTIE, Walter1894IRL,     Jul 1900 : Tunisian CAN Barnardos  
10495 BELL, Nelson1907IRL, ANT, Belfast Oct 1920 : Scandinavian CAN Barnardos  
3808 BEST, Olive Margaret1900IRL, ANT, Belfast May 1908 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
3811 BEST, Samuel James1897IRL, ANT, Belfast May 1908 : Dominion CAN Barnardos  
9286 BEST, William1895IRL,     Jul 1904 : Southwark CAN Barnardos  
12561 BETHELL, Bertram 1899IRL,     Apr 1911 : Corsican CAN Unknown Catholic Group  
12562 BETHELL, Francis1898IRL,     Jun 1909 : Tunisian CAN Catholic Emigration Association  
4449 BLACK, Christopher (Christie)1897IRL,    , Dublin Aug 1909 : Tunisian CAN Smyly Homes of Dublin  
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
Page: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 188 Entries        
Surnames starting with:   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  30 Entries