Matthew Grubits

Proposed Title

The Crisis of Captain Moonlite: a case study of unbelief in colonial Australia

Summary

Andrew George Scott began his career in Australia in 1868 as an unlicensed lay reader for the Church of England.  He subsequently gained notoriety as the bushranger Captain Moonlite and was hanged in Sydney in 1880.  The dramatic nature of this trajectory raises questions as to the reality, nature, and depth of Scott’s Christian faith.  This dissertation examines Scott’s relationship to religion during his time in Australia.  It also considers what Scott’s relationship to religion reveals about Scott as an individual and about the experience of unbelief in colonial Australia.

Engagement and memberships

• Religious History Association
• Australian Historical Association
• Golden Key International Honour Society

Publications

• “Reassessing Russell and Beamish.”  Paper presented at the Australian Historical Association Conference, November 30, 2021.
• “‘Two Young Clergymen’: Francis Cusack Russell and Peter Teulon Beamish in New South Wales.”  Paper presented at the St Mark’s National Theological Centre postgraduate seminar, August 4, 2021.
• “‘the truest best friend that man has had’: James Nesbitt in the condemned-cell writings of Andrew George Scott.”  Paper presented at the St Mark’s National Theological Centre postgraduate seminar, September 4, 2019.