Kingsley College Australia
Kingsley College was until 2008 a Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia school of theology located in Melbourne, Australia.
Its student body had always been largely non-Wesleyan Methodist, and without the students from other Christian denominations the school probably could not have survived as long as it did.
History
The college was founded by President of the Australian Wesleyan Methodist Conference and editor of the Australian Wesleyan Kingsley Ridgway in 1948, and was until 2008 a member institute of the Sydney College of Divinity.It was originally known as the Wesleyan Methodist Bible College of Australia; but in 1973 its name was changed to honour its founder upon his retirement.
It was funded initially from donations made by Wesleyan Methodist church members in North America, reported by Ridgway as being "in the neighbourhood of one dollar per member over the whole connexion". Its first principal was professor Leo G. Cox, an American who was elected Conference President in 1948 after Ridgway.
In January 2008 it merged with Tabor Victoria, with the majority of its staff and faculty and the whole of its library transferred to Tabor, with its original building and property scheduled to be sold.
What was left of Kingsley continues to provide Wesleyan Methodist ministerial and lay person training in Bible and theology through the Vocational Education Training sector.