At the age of 47, Burns joined the Free Church secession from the Church of Scotland. The proposal for a Free Church settlement in New Zealand gained Burns's interest, and he was offered the position of minister of the New Edinburgh scheme (later the Otago scheme) in June 1843. Burns and William Cargill established a lay association to promote the settlement in May 1845.[2]
On 27 November 1847, Burns and 239 settlers sailed on the Philip Laing from Greenock, among them his wife, five daughters, and one son, Arthur John Burns. They arrived at the new settlement of Dunedin on 15 April 1848. A firm and devout churchman, he also possessed farming skills from his childhood upbringing, and as such, he was a strict but practical man in the early days of the new settlement.
Burns created a strong Presbyterian church as a cornerstone of the new settlement. He presided over the setting up of the Synod of Otago and Southland in 1866, and established the presbyteries of Dunedin, Clutha and Southland. A strong supporter of education, he helped establish both Otago Boys' High School and Otago Girls' High School during the 1870s, and was on the founding committee of the University of Otago,[3][4] of which he was first Chancellor from 1869 until his death on 23 January 1871.
At the age of 47, Burns joined the Free Church secession from the Church of Scotland. The proposal for a Free Church settlement in New Zealand gained Burns's interest, and he was offered the position of minister of the New Edinburgh scheme (later the Otago scheme) in June 1843. Burns and William Cargill established a lay association to promote the settlement in May 1845.[2]
On 27 November 1847, Burns and 239 settlers sailed on the Philip Laing from Greenock, among them his wife, five daughters, and one son, Arthur John Burns. They arrived at the new settlement of Dunedin on 15 April 1848. A firm and devout churchman, he also possessed farming skills from his childhood upbringing, and as such, he was a strict but practical man in the early days of the new settlement.
Burns created a strong Presbyterian church as a cornerstone of the new settlement. He presided over the setting up of the Synod of Otago and Southland in 1866, and established the presbyteries of Dunedin, Clutha and Southland. A strong supporter of education, he helped establish both Otago Boys' High School and Otago Girls' High School during the 1870s, and was on the founding committee of the University of Otago,[3][4] of which he was first Chancellor from 1869 until his death on 23 January 1871.
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