Arch Grant

Archibald Wesley Grant, almost universally known as Arch Grant, (5 February 1911 – 21 February 2005) was a minister, army chaplain and historian that spent much of his life in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Early life

Grant was born at Timaru in New Zealand and was the son of Livesy and Eliza Grant and he attended his early schooling in that area. When he was in high school the family immigrated to Australia where they settled in Gosford in New South Wales.

Between 1943 and 1945 Grant served in other parts of Australia and overseas until returning to Darwin in 1945 and in 1946 he took his discharge from the Army. By April 1946 Grant was back in Darwin serving as a Presbyterian member, now with his family alongside him, while Darwin was rebuilt following the war. Soon after, alongside The Reverends CD Alcorn and John Flynn, formed the United Church of North Australia.

In 1978 he was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM).

He maintained an active interest in the Northern Territory and, in retirement, published a number of books on the history of Methodists and Presbyterians there. He was a long-standing member of the Historical Society of the Northern Territory.

Publications

Camel Train and Aeroplane: the story of Skipper Partridge (1981). Palmerston to Darwin: 75 years service on the frontier (1990). Australia's frontline matron: Edith McQuade White (1992); about Edith Alexandra White. Aliens in Arnhem Land (1995).

He also published several entries in the Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography and the Journal of Northern Territory History.

Grant's papers are also available through the National Library of Australia.

A number of oral history recordings of Grant are available through Library & Archives NT.