William Henry Fitchett
| William Henry Fitchett | |
|---|---|
| Born |
9 August 1841 Grantham, Lincolnshire, England |
| Died | 25 May 1928 (aged 86) |
| Cause of death | Haemorrhage of duodenal ulcer |
| Occupation | Journalist, writer, minister, educator |
| Known for | Founder of the Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne |
William Henry Fitchett (9 August 1841 – 25 May 1928) was an Australian journalist, minister, newspaper editor, educator and founding president of the Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne.
Fitchett was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, third son of William Fitchett, a perfumer, hairdresser, clog and Patten-maker, toy-dealer and Wesleyan preacher. He came with his parents to Australia in 1854, his father died in 1851. Fitchett first worked in a quarry near Geelong, then became a jackaroo on a station in Queensland, and largely self-educated, entered the Methodist ministry in 1866.
Fitchett's first parish was at Mortlake, Victoria, and for 16 years he was a circuit minister at Echuca, Bendigo, South Yarra and Hawthorn. He continued his studies after entering the ministry and in 1876 took the degree of B.A. at the University of Melbourne. In 1878 he moved and carried a resolution at the Methodist conference that a committee should be appointed to seriously consider the question of starting a secondary school which would do for girls what Wesley College was doing for boys. Nothing was done at the time but in the following year he became secretary of a new committee which, after three years work, succeeded in starting the Methodist Ladies' College at Hawthorn. The financial difficulties were great but they were overcome, Fitchett became the first principal and held the position for 46 years. Under his guidance it developed into one of the largest and most successful girls' schools in Australia.
He also served as President-General of the Methodist Church of Australasia from 1904 to 1907.
Fitchett at this time had already entered journalism, having during the seventies contributed a regular column to the Spectator, the Methodist church paper, signed XYZ. Some time later he became editor of the Southern Cross, a Sunday magazine for the home, and held this position until his death, a period of over 40 years. Articles by him appeared in its pages a month before he died. From 1883 to 1892, when it ceased publication, he was editor of the Melbourne Daily Telegraph. But what really brought him before the general public was a series of articles published in The Argus (Melbourne) under the title of Deeds that Won the Empire. They were collected and published in book form in Melbourne in 1896 and by Smith Elder and Company, London, in 1897. The book eventually ran into 35 printings, and about 250,000 copies were sold. Similar volumes (many under the pseudonym "Vedette") followed in steady succession:
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