Father Gerard Tucker OBE (OM 1902), founder of The Brotherhood of St Laurence, was a determined force for good during one of Australia’s toughest eras. With a fiery passion for justice, he refused to stand by while families struggled through the darkest days of the Depression and let nothing stand in his way – even his own shortcomings or when his decisions agitated local community members, politicians, and other Church leaders.
Difficult beginnings and a chance for change
Born the son of an Anglican clergyman in 1885, Tucker was described as “small and slight”, and his time as a Melbourne Grammar student was overshadowed by struggles with a severe stammer. Following his father into the ministry seemed impossible given his speech impediment, but early failures in factory and farm work meant the priesthood became his best option.
At St John’s Theological College, 23-year-old Tucker failed his final exams due to extreme anxiety. From there, he attempted to serve as Deacon in the remote West Australian town of Onslow. Tucker soon contracted fever, and was brought home to Melbourne by his father within months.
Despite these many setbacks, Tucker remained focused on finding a role for himself where he might benefit the lives of others. His opportunity came with the outbreak of WWI.
The making of a community leader
After being refused the role of Chaplain for Australian soldiers overseas, Tucker decided to enlist in the Ambulance Corps, and sailed for the Middle East in 1915. He was promoted to Chaplain within three months, and went on to officiate at the burial services of more than 800 Australian soldiers.
Tucker detailed his experiences in his collected letters, As private and padre with the A.I.F. “I can but thank God that it has been my privilege to be with [these soldiers], and pray that I may never forget the lessons learnt at the death-beds of many hundreds of the noblest sons of the Empire,” he wrote.
Transforming Fitzroy on 10 shilling a week
The Brotherhood of St Laurence was born out of Tucker’s commitment to helping those in need in Newcastle, New South Wales in 1930, but the work began in earnest when he returned to Melbourne in 1933 to become Curate of St Peter’s in Eastern Hill and Missioner of St Mary’s Mission in Fitzroy, bringing two dedicated Brotherhood members with him.
“We were appalled at the conditions under which the people in the vicinity of the Mission were living,” Tucker wrote in his in autobiography. It seemed that they were faced with an overwhelming task. But with the support of a single benefactor – an anonymous young man who pledged ongoing donations of 10 shillings per week – they went to work.
From the very start, it was Tucker’s philosophy to provide a hand-up rather than a handout. Within a few years, the Brotherhood was providing safe, clean accommodation for over 100 people. A settlement at Carrum Downs, initially resisted by local residents, came soon after, as did a hostel, a pensioners’ club, a seaside family retreat, and the Brotherhood’s first op shop.
Despite his “horn-rimmed spectacles and hesitant voice,” Tucker became an early example of a community leader who used the media to his advantage. In an article published in 1950 he said: “…I want the public to know that I feel the general housing problem is being pushed to one side by Parliament…For 16 years I have called on all [Victorian} State Governments to pull down the slums. I’ve called public meetings, led deputations to Ministers, [and] conducted them on slum inspections. Various Premiers and Ministers have told me they were ‘shocked’ with conditions – but next to nothing has been done. The slums grow worse. And now politicians are tackling the housing shortage in the same manner.”
The Brotherhood also produced a short film, wryly titled Beautiful Melbourne, which revealed the true living conditions of Fitzroy families. But perhaps Tucker’s most well-known action was the so-called ‘Verandah Vigil’ – a controversial 37-day sit-in during which he and his supporters campaigned to remove a temporary tenant from the house of an elderly disabled woman, and finally succeeded.
A life sustained by faith
“Gerard had been fighting doubters since childhood,” writes one biographer. “The only way he had been able to keep his self-confidence was by brushing them aside and following his own counsel.”
Reflecting on his life, Tucker acknowledged the enormity of the challenges he faced, and emphasised the role of faith in his work. “It did not seem possible to do much with 10 shillings weekly,” he wrote. “[But] it is not so much a question of what we can do by our own small efforts, but rather, what God can do through us.”
Today, the Brotherhood of St Laurence continues to provide services focused on employment, disability, and aged care. Its Carrum Downs settlement, which includes a cottage funded by Old Melburnians and presented to the Brotherhood in 1937 by then-Old Melburnian President Russell Grimwade (OM 1895), is still operational.
Tucker and his supporters were also instrumental in the founding of Community Aid Abroad, which continues today as Oxfam Australia.
As current Grimwade House Chaplain, Rev’d Helen Dwyer said in her 2017 Gerard Tucker Oration: “Tucker understood the power of compassion…The simplicity of compassion and honouring human dignity are so often underestimated in their ability to transform lives… enabling a shift from a life of shame, to life abundant.”
