Edward S. Kiek

Edward Sidney Kiek (5 August 1883 – 24 April 1959) was a Congregationalist minister, and principal of Parkin College, that church's seminary in Adelaide, South Australia. He was married to Winifred Kiek (c. 1884 – 23 May 1975) who was in 1927 the first woman to be ordained minister of a Christian church in Australia.

Edward Sidney Kiek, known commonly as "Kiek", was born in London, a son of Sidney Kiek, a publisher and seller of religious literature, and his wife Susannah Kiek, née Berry. He was educated at the Central Foundation School, City Road, London and King's College London. He joined the Civil Service and served as clerk in the Admiralty for four years. He entered Wadham College in 1903 intent on the life of a Congregationalist missionary and was conferred BA by Oxford University in 1906 and MA in 1910. He undertook theological studies under Dr. Fairbairn at Mansfield College, Oxford, and was conferred BD in 1911 or 1912. His first charge was a Congregational church at Newcastle-under-Lyme, in Staffordshire, where he was ordained in 1910, then in 1913 was called to the Square Congregational Church, Halifax, West Yorkshire. He became associated with the YMCA and under its auspices worked in France during the Great War.

In 1919 he was appointed principal of Parkin Theological College, 64 North Terrace, Kent Town, South Australia, following the death of Dr. L. D. Bevan (1842–1918). He was noted for introducing Oxford-style intellectual rigor into the curriculum, a more liberal theology, and moving away from literal interpretation of Scripture.

He regularly wrote thoughtful essays for the newspapers: he was critical of John Curtin's advocacy of isolationism in response to the rise of belligerent dictatorships. He demonstrated in 1938 a clear understanding of the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany in a dispassionate address and was quick to denounce Nazi anti-Semitism. He was an opponent of racial discrimination, drinking and gambling.

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