Bible belonging to a founding father of South Australia discovered in charity shop

A rare 1726 Bible once owned by George Fife Angas, a founding figure of South Australia, has been discovered in a charity storeroom and donated to the South Australian Parliamentary Library, where it is now being studied for its historical significance and personal annotations.

The Bible, found among donated goods at an Australian Red Cross store in Mount Barker, contains handwritten annotations spanning decades, including personal reflections and family records from both George Fife and his descendant, George Fife Angas. Angas, a prominent businessman and philanthropist, founded the South Australia Company and played a key role in shaping the colony’s early economic and social development.

A spokesman for the Australian Red Cross told Christian Daily International that the Bible came to be owned by George Fife Angas in the early 1800s. His family played a significant role in the development of modern South Australia with landmarks and institutions today such as Angaston itself, named after the family, Angas Street in Adelaide, and the Division of Angas, a former federal electoral district.

“George Fife Angas was one of the founding figures of South Australia, who was elected to the Legislative Council in 1857,” said the spokesman. “Fife Angas was a prominent businessman, whose influence helped shape the colony’s early economic and social development, including the migration of German Lutherans who contributed significantly to agriculture and culture in the region.”

The Bible was found in a bag of goods given to the charity’s store at Mount Barker, a town in South Australia (not its namesake in Western Australia). The Australian Red Cross is a secular organization, so the Bible could not be sold at the store and put aside in a store room. 

“The significance of the Bible only became apparent a few weeks after the donation when the store manager was going through items in the storeroom,” recalled the spokesman for Australian Red Cross. “This manager understood its historic significance and raised the discovery through the proper internal channels.

“To come across such a remarkable piece of South Australian history, owned and passed down through generations of some of the most prominent South Australian figures has been fascinating for all of us here at the Australian Red Cross.

“The Bible consists of many handwritten annotations from Fife himself across almost his entire life, including many religious thoughts or words that meant something to him, as well as dates referring to the births and deaths of his children.”

Meanwhile, politician Cressida O’Hanlon, a member of the Australian Labor Party, happened to visit a new store opened by the charity in Norwood, a suburb of Adelaide, following an invitation. She was joined by SA State Director for the Australian Red Cross, Sarah Strathearn, and asked out of curiosity if any unusual or rare goods had been donated to the stores. 

Strathearn mentioned the 1726 Bible of George Fife Angas in storage and O’Hanlon, intrigued, offered to organize a meeting about the Bible between the charity and the Parliamentary Library of South Australia and its historian, Dr John Weste.

Weste has since been working on deciphering Fife’s annotations in the Bible and notes he made in the book as well.  

“We are extremely happy the artifact has gone to those who cannot only preserve it, but understand some of the amazing annotations from Fife and Fife Angas,” said the spokesman for Australian Red Cross. 

“The Australian Red Cross Shops actively make any contributions to preserving local historic or cultural items, however, if an item of high value or historic significance is donated to Australian Red Cross shops, our team will take great care with resale and/or distribution of that item, with the item most likely being reported to our Head of Retail to decide on the appropriate action for the item.”