From valuing property to ministering value

Reverend David Baker delivering a sermon.

It’s quite reasonable to expect that the outgoing head of the Uniting Church in Queensland would be a UQ graduate. But what degree? Theology? Philosophy? Literature? History? Maybe even a higher degree?

No, the outgoing Moderator of the Uniting Church in Queensland, the Reverend David Baker, graduated in 1978 with a Diploma in Business (Property Valuation) from Queensland Agricultural College, now UQ Gatton.

“I’m a country boy at heart, mate,” he says.

“I was born in Longreach, and grew up in Barcaldine, Rockhampton and Townsville before we went to Brisbane. 

“My elder brother had gone to Gatton and he gave good reports. And, like a lot of people when they finish school, I didn’t quite know what to do, so I sort of fell into it.”

An image of David Baker (second from the left) with other students attending a meeting at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

David Baker (second from the left) with other students attending a meeting at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

David Baker (second from the left) with other students attending a meeting at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

The good reverend spent 10 years working as a rural valuer, based on the qualification he got at UQ Gatton, before he felt the call of the Lord and started the theology studies that would completely change his life and that of many Queenslanders.

Reverend Baker, now 63, finished up late last year after six years as Moderator of the Uniting Church in Queensland, but has continued his pastoral work this year in his new role of General Secretary of Queensland Churches Together, the main ecumenical body of the churches in Queensland. 

His own father, Aub Baker, was a Methodist minister, hence the regular moves of his childhood. But he still feels that a childhood steeped in rural Methodism was the greatest spiritual influence on his life.

So, the rural surrounds of Gatton – at once geographic, political and spiritual – were quite familiar to him, despite having just finished Year 12 at Kedron State High, where he had very long hair and fitted in easily with the suburban milieu. 

Gatton, some 90 kilometres west of Brisbane by road – but culturally thousands of kilometres further away – was at that stage home to a small, overwhelmingly male college, one with only about 600 students, a quarter of whom were women.

QAC students in 1977.

In 1977, only about a quarter of Queensland Agricultural College students were female.

In 1977, only about a quarter of Queensland Agricultural College students were female.

“That's when this son of a manse discovered beer, cigarettes and wild times," he says.

“I made a lot of good friends there. I lived on campus for a while but then five of us moved out into a farmhouse where we paid $50 a week rent – $10 each. You could get away with a lot of things in those days you couldn’t do now.

“We had a great time and I somehow managed to pass. Some of the others have gone on to become very respectable captains of industry, but what happened in that house will remain a closed secret to the five of us – plus visitors.”

QAC students with bull in 1976.

Some of the 'wild' activities at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

Some of the 'wild' activities at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

QAC students in 1975.

Students constructing a portable greenhouse at Queensland Agricultural College, 1975.

Students constructing a portable greenhouse at Queensland Agricultural College, 1975.

QAC students in a greenhouse in 1975.

Working in the greenhouse at Queensland Agricultural College, 1975.

Working in the greenhouse at Queensland Agricultural College, 1975.

QAC tug of war in 1976.

Tug of war competition at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

Tug of war competition at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

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QAC students with bull in 1976.

Some of the 'wild' activities at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

Some of the 'wild' activities at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

QAC students in 1975.

Students constructing a portable greenhouse at Queensland Agricultural College, 1975.

Students constructing a portable greenhouse at Queensland Agricultural College, 1975.

QAC students in a greenhouse in 1975.

Working in the greenhouse at Queensland Agricultural College, 1975.

Working in the greenhouse at Queensland Agricultural College, 1975.

QAC tug of war in 1976.

Tug of war competition at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

Tug of war competition at Queensland Agricultural College, 1976.

The historical role of Queensland Agricultural College, founded in 1897 and with a long history of training farmers, was one with which the Reverend Baker was both immensely comfortable and familiar with.

His father came off a dairy farm near Gayndah, and he had a good working knowledge of the rural cooperatives through which much rural business was done. 

His forebears had been on the committees of several rural cooperatives, including but not limited to the Gayndah District Cooperative, Golden Circle and ‘the daddy of them all’, the Woodmillar District Water Board – a group of enterprising farmers who ran a pipeline from the Burnett River several kilometres to their farms to water the dairy farms in the area.

“My uncle Ed was the inaugural chair, then my cousin Boyd took over; he’s still the chair,” he says.


“That’s the sort of practical measures they took to get on in the bush. That’s people making a better life. That was my family background, so a lot of what happened at Gatton was a natural fit.”

After graduation, Reverend Baker became a rural valuer in the Queensland public service, a job where the government gave him a four-wheel drive and sent him all around the state valuing property. 

“It was a great for a young man in his first real job,” he said.

“It was like … Go out and value Calliope Shire, go out and value Aramac Shire.”

Yet despite a satisfying job amid a rough ‘n ready exterior, he still felt the ‘calling’ of the church; however, he delayed acting on it for several years while travelling around rural Queensland.

“I loved the life, but I had a sense that charging around Queensland valuing properties was not the life journey for me. I had a sense of what Christian communities could offer, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

An image of Reverend David Baker.

After working as a property valuer in rural Queensland, David Baker went on to become a Uniting Church minister.

After working as a property valuer in rural Queensland, David Baker went on to become a Uniting Church minister.

In 1987, he ‘candidated’, which meant presenting himself to relevant Uniting Church authorities to see if he was suitable to become a man of the cloth. After obtaining this approval, he then acquired formal qualifications at the Brisbane College of Theology.

He also found time to marry Joan Whitney, a doctor and more conventional UQ graduate (Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery ’85), and they now have three adult sons.

His first posting as a minister was to Toogoolawah and Esk, an area where he had previously worked as a valuer.

“I had some of the people who’d taken me to court when I was a valuer popping up in my congregation. But they were great about it. I think they were used to getting ministers in their first posting and working with them to show them the ropes.”

After Esk and Toogoolawah, he was sent to Karana Downs on the outskirts of Brisbane to set up a new church in what was then a fast-growing area.

“I did the church, Joan did the medicine,” he laughs.

He performed this job from 1996 to 2008, when he was appointed to oversee the West Moreton district of the Uniting Church, until he was elected by the Uniting Church Synod in 2014 to become Moderator, and was successfully elected again in 2017.

A side-by-side image of David Baker as a Queensland Agricultural College student in 1977 and recently as Moderator of The Uniting Church Queensland.

David Baker as a Queensland Agricultural College student in 1977 and recently as Moderator of The Uniting Church Queensland.

David Baker as a Queensland Agricultural College student in 1977 and recently as Moderator of The Uniting Church Queensland.

As Moderator, he spent a lot of time in rural Queensland, and he credits rural Methodism as one of the major influences on his life.

“What it was about was helping others – look at institutions such as Lifeline and Blue Nurses, which came out of the Methodist Church. And in the bush, you have these links with local communities, so the church would link with the doctors, the police, local businesses, and you had a far greater community feel. That’s part of who I am.”

Another facet of his role as Moderator was to join with other churches, trade unions and community groups such as the Multicultural Development Association in the Queensland Community Alliance, a group which tackled the many community problems in mainly the outer areas of Brisbane, especially the Logan and Caboolture districts. 

“Social isolation in Mt Gravatt, transport problems in Logan, it’s all about getting people together to help others,” he says.

"And that’s what I hope to keep being able to do at Queensland Churches Together.”


Congratulate Reverend David Baker on a wonderful career

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