W C Brooker- Pastor, Mentor,Businessman,Family Man,Sports Administrator Photographer and Much More.

It is amazing how one can stumble across a treasure trove quite innocuosly.

I was invited to lunch one Sunday and my hostess showed me a small card commemorating the fact that the Queenstown Church of Christ Football team won their premiership in 1946.

It had an action pic on the front of a footballer.

(PRG-1316-4-34 State Library of South Australia)

Valmai told me a little bit about the footy club's background and this prompted me to to do an internet search.

Well it didn't take long to hit "gold".

Enter a vast collection of photography and some home movies all produced before 1946 by one W C Brooker.

W C Brooker  (PRG-1316-3-481 State Library of South Australia)

He was a Pastor, Businessman, Evangelist, Sports Enthusiast and much more.

His collection I found on the the Website of the State Library of South Australia.

The file numbers for the collection are noted with each picture and the State library has given permission for these images to be reproduced here.
For any similar use one should contact the State Library of South Australia.
Below is the link to the online collection.

https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+1316/3/1-1203

PRG-1316-6-11

PRG-1316-3-568

W C Brooker in his darkroom (PRG-1316-3-746)

Here are some extracts about his life.

"DEATH OF PASTOR  BROOKER (25/3/47 article in paper)

Church Of Christ Cleric For 42 Years Pastor W. C. Brooker, who died yesterday at the age of 72. was
preacher at the Church of Christ. Queenstown. for 42 years.
While still in the furniture business in Rundle street, city. Pastor Brooker preached at the church for
10 years. He gave up his business32 years ago to become a full-time preacher.
He made the decision to become a cleric after his seven-year-old son had recovered from serious injuries received in an accident.
He was born at Hindmarsh, and had lived at Alberton for 32 years.
He preached his first sermon at the age of 18, and delivered more than 10,000 addresses during his life.
He was Federal President of the Churches of Christ of Australia from 1916 until 1920. and was State
President in 1910.
He was on the State Home Mission committee for 30 years, and at the time of hisdeath was a member of the advisory board and a seal bolder. ,
Other official positions held by Pastor Brooker were chairman of the Port Adelaide Seamen's Mission for 17 years, president of the South Australian Alliance for five years, and a member and past chief
ruler of the Independent Order of Rechabites.
As a young man. he studied medicine for four years.
He leaves a widow and three children. Mr. William Brooker and Mesdames J. Hall and D. Broadbent."

I came across some of W C's photography last year in a Churches Of Christ Jubilee Pictorial Publication.
The book did not acknowledge the photographers.

When I found pastor Brooker's online collection I recognised some of the shots that were in that book.

At the time when I saw this book I thought how well the photographs had been done.

Obviously done by someone with a lot of photographic skill and knowledge.

I intend to do some more research on this man and his work and to do some more posts featuring his work.

PRG-1316-6-13

Faithfullness is so Impressive

Many years ago when I was in the formative stages of my new Christian faith I used to regularly read an Australian Christian newspaper called "New Life."
It is still available to day as an online magazine.
In the magazine I was interested in a regular advertisement from Ramon Williams who advertised himself as "World Wide Photos" and was preapred to go anywhere in the world taking pictures in the name of Christ.
When I was thinking about this the other day I thought that is probably where I got the idea of dedicating my Photographic craft to God.
Yet I still have never seen any of his pictures.
So I wrote to new life and they told me he is still doing his photography and pointed me to an article in the magazine about him.
I have since exchanged a couple of emails with Ramon now in his 80's.
What a marvelous testimony and dedication this man has.
I have repeated the article below.

MEET
Ramon Williams – Unsung Hero
Of The Australian Christian Media
IF you have read any published Australian Christian news article over the past
50 years, it has almost certainly been distributed by one of the greatest un­
sung heroes of the Australian Christian movement, the ‘AAP­equivalent’ of
Christian wire news, Ramon Williams, now aged 81. For nigh­on 50 years
Ramon Williams has exercised a unique and important ministry in the procla­
mation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with his catch cry, ‘Telling others what others are doing for the Lord.’ ‘Go And Tell’ Becomes ‘Show And Tell’
In 1959 the newly married Ramon and Dorothy arrived as missionaries in Indonesia with Worldwide Evan­ gelisation Crusade (now Worldwide Evangelisation for Christ). During this time, their first three children were born. After triplets arrived in 1967 they concluded their overseas stint. Then their audio­visual work for WEC grew and became an independent mission, now called ‘Worldwide Photos’, whose aim was to serve missionaries and Christian organisations by enabling them to better ‘show’ their work as well as ‘tell’ of it. This has helped many of them to raise increased interest and support. Today Ramon Williams’ work is recognised as he has established a leading Religious Media Agency throughout the world. His distributions have the byline ‘Ramon A Williams – Worldwide Photos’ with his trade mark email ‘rlgmedia’ (short for ‘Re­ ligious Media’).
This all functions as a faith­financed mission. Only a very few organisations or individuals make a contri­ bution to the service; most ask whether their story may be of interest, hoping it will be sent around the world for nothing! His coverage of Cyclone Larry with five radio interviews, the stories and photographs cost him $2,000. No­one paid a cent.
Ramon Williams’ photography is renowned, with pictures of such notables as Billy and Franklin Graham, Princess Diana, Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, Malcolm Muggeridge, Mother Theresa, Mary White­ house, and many political leaders and musicians.
‘All For Jesus’
Ramon is a silent type, unobtrusively floating around during Christian functions, and his subsequent news items are sent to leading daily religious news services around the world. He has won photographic awards, including the prestigious Australasian Religious Press Association’s Gutenberg Award in 1987, and has un­ dertaken many media and photographic assignments overseas. Ramon Williams has an eye for media high visibility. His service has been invaluable to many missions including Well­Being Australia and New Life.
Ramon’s effort has been Herculean, his great joy is to see that whatever he ‘distributes’ is published somewhere (newspapers, magazines, bulletins, on­line), in order that someone might read of the Lord’s work. Ramon Williams doesn’t have public honours and titles after his name, but his achievements will be ‘published’ in Heaven, where they will be written in ‘Capital Letters’.
Recently Ramon was taken ill and hospitalised for a short period of time, but is home now and under the care of his extensive family. We are praying for his continuing recovery.
The Lord constantly raises up ordinary people such as Ramon Williams who then engage in extraordin­ ary, wonderful, even miraculous Kingdom endeavours for specific needs within the life of a nation’s Chris­ tian community. Ramon Williams reflects this true history of Australian Christendom. We thank God for him and his extraordinary ministry, and we can say that, like Nathaniel, he is a follower of Christ in whom there is no guile.
– Dr Mark Tronson, retired Baptist minister, author, artist and director of Press Service International. His archive of articles can be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark­tronson.html

NEW LIFE – 15 February 2013 – Page Fourteen

A Challenge for Photographers and Bloggers and Facebookers

I found the article linked below on Chrsitianity Today Magazine.
Some timely thinking expressed well.
Sometimes it is more important to just talk to people rather than take their photograph.
I am often way too guilty on this point.
Time to cut back I think.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2013/april/our-over-captured-over-shared-picture-perfect-lives.html

Calvary Love for Christian Photographers

Calvary Love for Christian Photographers

On this blog you will find the booklet "If" by Amy Carmichael.
Part 2 is particularly challenging for the Christian.

 http://geoffthompsonsblog.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/if-by-amy-carmichael-calvary-love.html

In the same spirit of this book I offer the following for Christian Photographers.
I am sure fellow Christian Photographers can come up with more "Ifs"
These are just thought starters.
I do not claim to be speaking in all authority on this subject but this is how it seems to be to me.
Note I am not speaking for or to Photographers who do not claim Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Photography can be used for much gain for Humanity but also much evil.
Where do you Christian Photographer draw the line?
It would be an interesting exercise to do this in the use of Social Media such as Facebook also.

"If I can take a photograph of someone in an unfortunate situation and all I am thinking is I can make money or win an award I know nothing of Calvary Love.

If I can ridicule or laugh at someone by publishing a photo of them then I know nothing of Calvary Love.

If I put the idea of "getting the image" above the welfare, feelings or emotions and safety of my subject and others close to them then I know nothing of Calvary Love.

If I think it ok to publish and/or take so called "fine art" photos of the naked human form and indeed "softcore" or "hardcore" pornography whether or not I have my own personal motives including voyeurism, then I know nothing of Calvary Love.(You know the type of photography I mean.)

There was a time when it was ok for  christian people  to take photographs of the naked human form but only two people had that privilege.
That was Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before the Fall when they did not know they were naked.
Problem is I don't think they had cameras.
There is of course a place for medical photography for medical purposes.

If I am taking photos when my conscience tells me not too and yet I still go ahead then I am sinning and not practising Calvary Love.

If I pass off someone else's work as my own for my own gain or otherwise then I know nothing of Calvary Love.

See also my post on using your camera for God.

http://geoffthompsonsblog.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/using-your-camera-for-god.html