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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  48 Entries        
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
27084 BELL, Vernon1919ENG, MDX, Brentford Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21063 BENNETT, Florence 1920ENG,     May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27085 CASTLE, Arthur Charles1915ENG, KEN, Thanet Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes Pinjarra1929  
27086 COLES, Arthur William1916ENG, LND, Lambeth Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27088 COUCH, Basil William1915ENG, CON, Liskeard Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27087 COUCH, John Lewis1920ENG, CON, Liskeard Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27089 COUCH, Winifred Mary1918ENG, CON, Liskeard Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27090 DOUGLAS, Wilfred Henry1917IRL,    , Belfast Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27091 DUNN, Kathleen Mary1918ENG, WOR, Kings Norton Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27092 EDWARDS, Alfred William1918ENG, STS, Wolverhampton Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27093 ERNEST, Herbert Francis1920ENG, KEN, Greenwich Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21065 FARNELL, Elsie1920ENG, WAR, Aston May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27094 HALLEWELL, Reginald Stanley Colville1916ENG, NFK, Downham Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27300 HEAD, George1915ENG, SRY, Croydon Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21071 HINTON, Arthur1918ENG,     May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27095 HOLYOAK, Thomas Ernest1916ENG, STS, Wolverhampton Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27096 HOLYOAK, Victor John1918ENG, STS, Wolverhampton Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27097 HUNT, Beatrice Sara Georgina1916ENG, LND, Hackney Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27098 HUNT, Mary Emma1918ENG, LND, Hackney Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
5446 INGRAM, Elsie May1918ENG, LND, Lambeth Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27099 JONES, David William Dennis1916ENG, CAM, St Ives Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
14629 KNOCKER, Malcolm Amos1920ENG, LND, Lambeth Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27290 LEAT, Stephanie1919ENG, WAR, Kings Norton May 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
5495 MATTHEWS, Frederick Noel1922ENG, LAN, Liverpool May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27291 MCSHEE, Phyllis1918ENG, ESS, West Ham Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21072 NEWMAN, Reginald1920ENG, SSX, East Preston May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21067 NORTON, Lilian Rose1921ENG, WAR, Birmingham May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27292 PARKES, Winifred Frances1917ENG, WAR, Birmingham Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27293 PAYNE, William Vernon1916ENG, LND, Lambeth Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27301 PHILLIPS, Mary Ann1918ENG,     Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21069 PRINT, Mary Florence1919ENG, WAR, Birmingham May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27294 PULLINGER, Leslie1917ENG, LND Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27295 ROBERTS, Edward Albert1918ENG,     Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21073 SAUNDERS, Richard1923ENG, LND, Paddington May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21127 SAUNDERS, Thomas1920ENG, LND, Holborn May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21128 SEIFFERT, Denis1919ENG, KEN, Medway May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27296 SMEATON, Andrew1918SCT, STI Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27297 SMITH, Louisa Emma1917ENG, YKS, Thorne Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27298 TEAGER, Elsie Joyce1917ENG, WOR, Droitwich Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21129 TOOZE, Reginald1920ENG, SOM, Wellington May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21070 TURNER, Dorothy Maud1919ENG,     May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
21130 WARWICK, Charles1917ENG, NTH, Kettering May 1931 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
11928 WILSON, Victor George1919ENG, LND Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27299 WILSON, William1915ENG,     Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27302 YORK, Ellen Mary1915ENG, LND, Lambeth Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27303 YORK, Hilda1918ENG, LND, Wandsworth Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27304 YORK, Maud1919ENG, LND, Wandsworth Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
27305 YORK, Rose Laura1920ENG, LND, Lambeth Jun 1929 : Largs Bay AUS Fairbridge Homes  
IDNameDOBPlace of birthArrivals & ShipsDest.AgencyFamily links
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  48 Entries