Rev. Daniel J. Draper

The Reverend Daniel J Draper (1810-1866), Wesleyan Methodist minister, began his career as a carpenter, apprenticed to his father. In 1830 he joined the Methodist Society. Moving to Wales, he was appointed a preacher in 1834. Ordained in Southwark in October 1835, he left England the following week and arrived in Hobart Town in February 1836. Over the next thirty years, he worked in Parramatta, Bathurst, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne, overseeing the building of churches and schools in cities and surrounding towns. He clashed with Bishop Perry on the question of Wesleyan schools; Draper was the driving force behind the establishment of Wesley College. In 1859 he was elected fifth president of the Australian Wesleyan Methodist Conference. Throughout 1865 he represented Australia at the British Conference, speaking of the Methodists' achievements here. In 1866 he and his wife boarded the London to return; in the Bay of Biscay the ship sank, and all but seventeen on board were drowned. It was the day after the opening of Wesley College. Amongst memorials to Draper are the Draper scholarship at Wesley College, and the Draper Memorial Church in Adelaide.