Rolland Arthur Busch AO OBE ED (1920 - 1985)

Born 26 Oct 1920 in Windsor, Queensland, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Evelyn Mavis (Smith) Busch — married 14 Aug 1948 in Penshurst, New South Wales, Australia

Died 19 Jul 1985 at age 64 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Rollie Busch AO OBE ED is Notable.

Major General Rollie Busch AO OBE ED MA BD MRE ChStJ was an Australian theologian and Presbyterian and Uniting Church in Australia minister. He was Professor of Theological Studies at University of Queensland and later a university administrator. He served in the Second Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War and was a member of the Citizens Military Force and Army Reserve (Militia) from 1938 to 1981, attaining appointment as Chaplain-General of the Australian Army. He was active in pursuing Aboriginal rights and advocated for the church's ministry to hospitals. Rolland Busch was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

formative years

Born Rolland Arthur Busch on 26th October 1920 in Windsor, Queensland, Australia, Rollie was the firstborn child of German emigrant, Arthur Emil Busch, a pork butcher, and Queensland-born Harriet Beck. He spent his childhood in Toowoomba, attending local state schools until he was 15 when, to assist his family financially, he became a telegram-boy with the Post Master Generals office (now Australia Post). ^[1]

military service

Rollie Busch AO OBE ED is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Army Militia & Second Australian Imperial Force 1938-1946
Battle of Milne Bay; HQ New Guinea Force

As soon as he was old enough, in 1938, Rollie enlisted in the Militia and, after having been promoted to Sergeant in the 25th Australian Infantry Battalion, ^[2] in July 1942 transferred to the Second Australian Imperial Force, his nation's all-volunteer expeditionary force for the Second World War; then ominously affecting the security of Australia itself. ^[3] He took part in the Battle of Milne Bay as a Sergeant ^[4][5] and, on 2nd July 1943, was commissioned as a Lieutenant. ^[6] He served in a signals platoon with Headquarters New Guinea Force, and was promoted to Captain before returning to Australia in March 1945 as a railway transport officer, transferring to the Reserve of Officers on 1st May 1946. He was Mentioned in Despatches (equivalent to today's Commendation for Gallantry) for distinguished service in the south west Pacific, gazetted on 21st February 1946 at Sydney. ^[7] For his war service, Rolliw was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945 and Australia Service Medal 1939-1945.

marriage

On 14th August 1948 in St John the Evangelist Church of England (Anglican Church), Penshurst, in the St George district of New South Wales, Rollie married Evelyn Smith, a nurse whom he had met in New Guinea during the war. ^[8] They later had two children, Rhonda and Ian. ^[1]

academic service

Rollie was a pastor, theologian, chaplain, administrator and humanitarian

Rollie lectured on philosophy at the University of Queensland whilst also studying as an external student at Melbourne College of Divinity then at the Presbyterian Theological Hall within Emmanuel College at University of Queensland. Rollie was professor of New Testament studies in the Presbyterian Theological Hall from 1961 and in the Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian Joint Faculty of Theology from 1968. He was also principal of Emmanuel College (1962-78). In 1979-85 he was foundation principal of Trinity Theological College (now Trinity College Queensland), Auchenflower, Queensland. ^[1]

In 1974, he wrote a family history, Emil’s Children: The Story of a Saxon Immigrant Family in Australia.

pastoral and chaplaincy service

Rollie was a Presbyterian & Uniting minister

Rollie was ordained as a Presbyterian minister on 16th February 1954. He held pastoral charge of St Giles’ Presbyterian Church, Yeerongpilly, in Brisbane's inner southern suburbs. He was state moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Queensland in 1972-73. He played a leading role in the establishment of the Uniting Church of Australia (1977), and served (1977–79) as moderator of the Queensland Synod. He was President of the Assembly for a three-year term from 1982. ^[1]

Rollie Busch AO OBE ED is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Army 1954-1981
Chaplain General

Rollie renewed his military ties in 1954, as a chaplain in the Citizen Military Forces until he was placed on the retired list in 1981, having reached the position of Chaplain-General in 1968 with the Australian Defence Force rank of Major General.

Busch was a firm believer in Aboriginal rights and in the right of self-determination for many Aboriginal settlements. For his ongoing commitment to the indigenous people’s struggle for justice, the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress made him an honorary member in 1985. ^[1]

Rollie was also an advocate for the church’s ministry to hospitals. He was Queensland branch chaplain to the Order of St John of Jerusalem (1973-85) and to the Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem (1984-85). He supported the establishment (1984) of an in-vitro-fertilisation program at Wesley Hospital, Brisbane, and served on the hospital’s ethics committee. ^[1]

honours and awards

• 1939-1945 Star
• Pacific Star
• Defence Medal
• War Medal 1939-1945
• Australia Service Medal 1939-1945
• Mentioned in Despatches, 1946 ^[7]
• Bachelor of Divinity (BD), 1953
• Master of Arts (MA), 1954
• Efficiency Decoration (ED), 1974
• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), 1978
• Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), 1984
• MRE
• Chaplain of the Order of Saint John (ChStJ), c1985
• National Medal, 1977

higher duties

Rolland Busch passed away, aged just 64 years, on 19th July 1985 in Sydney, New South Wales. He was given a funeral service with full military honours in Brisbane.^[9] He was survived by his wife, their daughter and son, and six grandchildren. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Edmonds, Angus A. Busch, Rolland Arthur (Rollie) (1920–1985). Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 2007, accessed online 17 Jun 2018
2. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 25th Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 17 Jun 2018
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: 162656 / QX35689 Roland Busch; accessed 17 Jun 2018
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial: Battle of Milne Bay; accessed 17 Jun 2018
5. ↑ Department of Veteran's Affairs: Battle of Milne Bay; accessed 17 Jun 2018
6. ↑ Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: 162656 (QX35689) Sergeant Roland Busch; acessed 13 Oct 2020
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Australian War Memorial honours and awards: Mentioned in Despatches; accessed 13 Oct 2020
8. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #17507/1948
9. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #19868/1985

See also

• Wallis, Noel W. A Man called Rollie : Rolland Arthur Busch. Camden Theological Library, 2001.
• Wikipedia: Rolland Busch; accessed 17 Jun 2018.