Davis McCaughey

McCaughey was born in Belfast, Ireland, on 12 July 1914. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1941 and during the next decade he also worked for the British Council of Churches. In 1953 the McCaughey family emigrated to Australia for him to become the Professor of New Testament Studies for the theological hall at Ormond College, University of Melbourne. ==Uniting Church in Australia==

McCaughey was a key architect in the formation of the Uniting Church in Australia, which brought together many congregations of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, the Methodist Church of Australasia and the Congregational Union of Australia. He was the primary author behind the Basis of Union, the foundational theological document which led to the formation of the new denomination, and the president of the first assembly of the Uniting Church from 1977 to 1979. ==Governor of Victoria==

In 1986, McCaughey was appointed as Governor of Victoria by the premier, John Cain, and served until 1992. He also served during the premiership of Joan Kirner. McCaughey was not an Australian citizen at the time his appointment was announced in December 1985. He took up Australian citizenship in January 1986, prior to the start of his term as governor the following month. McCaughey's approach to this largely symbolic vice-regal role differed from his predecessor, Sir Brian Murray. He opened Government House, Melbourne, to the public, exchanged the Rolls-Royce car for an Australian-made vehicle, flew business class instead of first class and dispensed with military aides de camp. Cain said of McCaughey: "He was unassuming, down-to-earth, unfailingly courteous to everybody and unaffected by the trappings of the office." Kirner commented: "He was one of the few people who could bring common good and a broad sense of morality to life." ==Family==

McCaughey married Jean in 1940, the year of his ordination as a minister. Their five children are the former National Gallery of Victoria director Patrick McCaughey, theatre director and classical scholar James McCaughey, primary school teachers Brigid McCaughey and Mary Nicholson, and director of the Astra Choir John McCaughey. ==Bibliography==