Theodore Delwin (Noffz) Noffs (1926 - 1995)

Born 14 Aug 1926 in Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia

Died 6 Apr 1995 at age 68 in Paddington, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Ted (Noffz) Noffs is Notable.

Born Theodore Delwin Noffz on 14th August 1926 at Mudgee, New South Wales, Australia, he was the second of three children of Theodore Noffz, a travelling salesman, hunter, and artist, and his second wife, Leila Roth, from a winegrowing family at Eurunderee, near Mudgee. The family moved to Concord, on the Parramatta River, to escape poverty in the bush during the Great Depression.^[1] Ted completed his primary school education at Parramatta, and went on to Parramatta High School (1939-41), before studying engineering at night at North Sydney Technical College. Ted Anglicised his surname to Noffs.^[2]

Ted married Margaret Lorraine Tipping on 17th March 1951 in the Methodist Church, Crows Nest, New South Wales.^[3]

He was ordained as a minister in the Methodist Church of Australasia (from the mid-1970s the Uniting Church of Australia) in 1952, and the Noffs were posted to Wilcannia, a large circuit with a sizable Aboriginal population, and which involved long desert visitations. From 1953 to 1957 he served at Lockhart, in the Riverina. The young, discerning churchman sensed depths in Aboriginal spirituality, and conceded ordinary piety lost relevance in the realities of survival in the bush. In 1957 he travelled with his family to study at the Garrett Biblical Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA, gaining a Master of Arts in 1959. During this time his parish duties included inner suburban Chicago. He returned to Australia to become the new associate minister of Central Methodist Mission, Sydney (now Wesley Mission).^[2]

Ted founded The Ted Noffs Foundation, co-founded the Aboriginal Affairs Foundation in 1962 (with Charles Perkins) and co-founded Lifeline in 1963 (with Sir Alan Walker), however his pioneering initiatives for young people really commenced once he began ministering at the Kings Cross Methodist Church Parish Mission in 1964. When he encountered his first drug overdose victim, Ted was shocked at the lack of support and expertise in drug and alcohol treatment. He set up the first drug referral centre in Sydney in 1967 and established Sydney’s first twenty-four hour crisis centre in 1968. The mission was renamed the Wayside Chapel. Just as Jesus used His gift of healing to give people a fullness in life and to turn them to God, Ted Noffs sought to rehabilitate those who had wrecked their lives, and turn them to God also.^[2]

He published several books, including The Wayside Chapel: A Radical Christian Experiment in Today’s World (1969), By What Authority? (1979), The Summit of Daring (writings selected by Marilyn Stacy, 1981), and The Mark of God: Towards a New Australian Spirituality (1984).

His work was recognised through awards such as Australian Humanist of the Year, Advance Australia Award, and Australian Humanitarian of the Year.^[2]

Ted passed away following a stroke, aged 68 years, on 6th April 1995 at Paddington, New South Wales^[4] and is buried in Macquarie Park Cemetery, New South Wales.^[5] He was survived by his wife, son Wesley and daughter-in-law, Amanda, who continued his work.

Sources

1. ↑ Sands Directories: Sydney and New South Wales, Australia, 1861–1933. Balgowlah, Australia: W. & F. Pascoe Pty, Ltd. Directories reproduced from microfiche copies courtesy of W. & F. Pascoe Pty, Ltd
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Trompf, Garry W. 'Noffs, Theodore Delwin (Ted) (1926–1995)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published online 2019; accessed online 30 Apr 2020
3. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #9819/1951; registered at North Sydney
4. ↑ Newspaper death notice (Rootsweb)
5. ↑ Sydney, Australia Cemetery Headstone Transcriptions, 1837-2003