Dally Messenger III

Dally Messenger III CMC
Civil celebrant, author
Born	(1938-02-04) 4 February 1938 Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Education	STB (philosophy and theology), LCP (Licentiate of the College of Teachers: London), Dip. Lib. (Post Graduate Diploma of Librarianship, Melbourne University), Grad.Dip.Cel (International College of Celebrancy)
Alma mater	University of Melbourne (librarianship)
Notable works	Books on: The history of celebrancy Secular ceremonies - weddings, funerals and more History of rugby league History of Melbourne radio Children of separated parents Dance in Australia (Dance Australia Magazine) Education and training of celebrants (see book titles in text)
Notable awards	National Dance Award Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants Life Membership - Civil Celebrations Network Inc.
Spouse	Remi Messenger (nee Barclay formerly Bosseau
Children	Genevieve Messenger, Natasha Messenger, Julia Messenger, - step daughters Melissa Messenger and Rachel Ahern (formerly Messenger), Dylan Bosseau
Relatives	Grandfather was rugby league player Dally Messenger I
Website
Personal website Celebrant website - Celebrant website

Dally Messenger III (born 4 February 1938), is the grandson of the renowned Rugby Union and Rugby League footballer, Herbert Henry “Dally” Messenger. From 1974 he gained prominence as a developer and media spokesperson of the fledgling civil celebrant program founded by Australian Attorney-General, Lionel Murphy. He has also been credited with acknowledged contributions as an author, publisher, editor, historian, and social activist. After leaving the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1968, Messenger became a public critic of the Catholic Church on such issues as birth control, abortion, the place of women, celibacy of the clergy, human rights, and church authority. Messenger has written for various publications, including The Australian and Nation Review. Messenger was founder and editor of the magazine Dance Australia. His books cover diverse topics, including rugby league, children of separated parents, early Melbourne radio, how to design celebrant ceremonies, and the history of celebrancy.

Family background

Dally Messenger III (Dally Raymond Messenger) shares a lineage of sporting achievements with his grandfather, Dally Messenger, who was a prominent rugby player. The Messenger family boasts a legacy of noteworthy rowers and boat-builders, tracing its roots to James Messenger, a renowned Thames boat-builder. James held the esteemed positions of Queen's Waterman, barge master to Queen Victoria, and world sculling champion from 1854 to 1857.

Dally Messenger III's ancestry also includes Charles Amos Messenger, his great-grandfather, a sculling champion in Victoria in 1878, Rowing Champion of New Zealand in 1881, and contender for the world sculling championship in 1887. Notably, Charles Amos established the first boatshed on Sydney Harbour at Balmain, later relocated to Double Bay.

Early life

Born in Sydney in February 1938, Dally Messenger III is the son of Dally Messenger Junior and Dorothy (née Davidson). His upbringing took place in Sydney, with most of his school years spent in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains at St Bernard's College. Following this, he returned to Sydney and completed his final year of secondary schooling at Marist Brothers, Parramatta. Subsequently, he worked in banking and wholesale for several years before entering a seminary at the age of twenty-one, beginning his studies for the Catholic priesthood at St Columba's College, Springwood, NSW, and later completing them at St Patrick's College, Manly.

Reform and change in the Catholic Church

Dally Messenger III earned his degree (Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus (STB)) in 1964, along with teaching qualifications in 1965, before being ordained a priest in 1966. Renowned historian Christopher Geraghty notes that Messenger was known in the seminary for diplomatically challenging authority.

During the post-Vatican II era of upheaval in the Catholic Church, Messenger emerged as an activist and significant analyst, as documented by historians Michael Parer and Tony Peterson. They highlight Messenger's disillusionment with the conservatism of church leaders and the perceived lack of Christian values within the seminary and the church's organisational structure. Messenger took a stand against what he viewed as errors in church teaching and practice, including issues such as the role of church authority and the prohibition on all methods of birth control. His strong rejection of celibacy for the clergy, which he considered contrary to the church's teachings on human rights, led to his departure from the priesthood after only a year.

Regarding celibacy of the clergy, Messenger's argument was that, as the right to marry was inalienable ("nullo modo emancipari possit"), the law that forbade clergy in the Latin rite to marry was invalid.

Church historian Edmund Campion, referencing Messenger and others, notes the "great wastage of talent" that occurred during this period in the Catholic Church.

The New Earth Credit Union

Campion provides additional insights into Messenger's initiatives, highlighting the establishment of the New Earth Credit Union aimed at supporting former clergy through low-interest loans. During the era in question, securing loans for ex-clergy was generally challenging due to their typically limited assets and absence of a credit record, compounded by the absence of severance payments and superannuation.

Following his departure from the priesthood, Messenger relocated to Melbourne, where he dedicated six years (1969-1975) to teaching at the Presbyterian Haileybury College. During this period, he entered into marriage and became the father of three daughters. In 1976, Messenger achieved a post-graduate diploma in Librarianship (teacher-librarian) from the Melbourne State College, now integrated into the University of Melbourne.

Dance Australia Magazine

Campbell Smith in 1986, Dance Australia's pioneer graphic artist, and editor

Messenger served as the founding editor and publisher of Dance Australia Magazine, established in 1980 in collaboration with individuals such as Brian McInerney, Marjorie Messenger (children's editor), Dennis Ogden (design artist), Jean Nugent (office management), Russell Naughton (photography), June Joubert (illustrator), Robyn Summers (public relations), Ted Pask (history features), Patricia Laughlin (reviewer and writer), Dawn Dickson (office management), and Campbell Smith (relief editor, art, and design). Early contributors included writers Blazenka Brysha and André L'Estrange, along with photographer Jeff Busby.

Messenger's contributions to the magazine earned him recognition through two national arts awards. The first, awarded for "Services to Dance," was presented during the inaugural National Dance Awards at the Sydney Opera House in May 1997. The citation on the official website commends Dally's vision and determination in establishing the first dance magazine in Australia, stating that Dance Australia, initiated in 1980, continues to offer quality news, advice, reviews, and advertising for the dance industry.

In acknowledgment of Messenger's achievement, tributes were published in Dance Australia by Keith Bain, Noel Pelly, Vicki Fairfax, Alan Brissenden, and Pamela Ruskin. Vicki Fairfax, in particular, expressed gratitude for Messenger's pioneering efforts, emphasizing the significant impact the magazine had on preserving the history of dance in Australia.

The second accolade came in the form of an Australian Dance Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Dance Education" in 2008, presented at the Arts Centre in Melbourne on June 15. In an article titled "A Pioneer's Reminiscence" written for the 25th-anniversary edition, Editor Messenger reflected on the early struggles faced in establishing Dance Australia. He noted the immense satisfaction derived from chronicling a pivotal period in Australian dance development and asserted that the magazine, created against all odds, played a crucial role in boosting both the art form itself and the broader performing arts scene in Australia.

As of 2023, Dance Australia is published by Yaffa Publishing of Sydney, which acquired the magazine around 1990.

Civil celebrancy

Dally Messenger III is recognised for his extensive involvement in the civil celebrant program, initially within Australia and subsequently in other English-speaking countries. On 26 January 1970, Messenger achieved historical significance by being the first individual to apply for the position of a Civil Marriage Celebrant under the provisions outlined in the Commonwealth Marriage Act of Australia of 1961.

Later in the 1970s, he emerged as a pivotal figure among advocates for civil marriage reform, supporting the Whitlam Government’s Attorney-General Lionel Murphy who, on 26 July 1973, by appointing Lois D’Arcy, had introduced civil marriage celebrants into the Australian cultural scene. Messenger was appointed as a Civil Marriage Celebrant by Attorney-General Lionel Murphy in February 1974. He shared Murphy's disdain for the humiliating treatment of couples during the Registry Office civil marriage ceremony. Murphy appointed him first secretary of the Association of Civil Marriage Celebrants of Australia (ACMCA). Following Murphy's selection, Messenger committed himself to near full-time celebrant work, ambitious to progress Murphy's vision.

Ray Dahlitz, author of the Secular Who's Who, characterised Messenger as a humanist, educationalist, and defender of cultural rights. Throughout his five decades of involvement, many sources have chronicled Messenger's career in celebrancy, his published articles, and his underlying principles. Campion detailed how Messenger assumed the role of the national media spokesperson for the collective body of civil celebrants, earning titles such as the "Don of Celebrancy," the "Doyen of Celebrancy," and "Pioneer Celebrant.”

Murphy's reforms subsequently served as a template for similar initiatives in other English-speaking jurisdictions, albeit without achieving the same level of success as witnessed in Australia. By 2015, civil celebrants were chosen by 74.9% of couples in Australia, by 2021 the figure was over 80%.

Funeral Celebrants

Messenger was a founder and inaugural president of the original Funeral Celebrants Association of Australia. In this significant role he was appreciated for his passionate advocacy for freedom of choice, standards of service, proper selection and training, and cultural and artistic content of ceremonies.

In January 1994 he was elected the foundation president of the Australian Federation of Civil Celebrants Inc who, on 26 May 1996, honoured him with Life Membership.

Messenger's commitment to personalised civil funerals brought him into a protracted conflict with Australian funeral directors. He contended that the celebrant's role should encompass the creation or oversight of a well-researched "eulogy," considered by him as the pivotal component aspect of the funeral ceremony. He argued for celebrants to receive fees commensurate with the demanding nature of the work, and the maintenance of professional standards.

He has consistently challenged funeral directors who set and enforced low fees for celebrants. He argued that the ceremony was more important to families than they were prepared to acknowledge. He further argued that the power of funeral directors to set low fees for celebrants was a conflict of interest inevitably led to compromising standards of preparation and delivery of the funeral ceremony.

The ACCC and the fees for funerals

However, his efforts to encourage celebrants to reject inadequate fees came under scrutiny by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). He was prosecuted for violating Victorian consumer law, accused of attempting to manipulate the fees charged by civil celebrants for funeral services. Messenger strongly contended that his intention was not to fix fees but to pressure funeral directors into raising the fixed fees established through long-standing collaboration among themselves. He also lamented the impossible financial burden of contesting the ACCC's arguments, citing his status as a private citizen and old age pensioner.

In 2007, a plea bargain was reached between Dally Messenger and the ACCC. He pleaded guilty to attempting to induce individuals to contravene section 45(2)(a)(ii) of the Competition Code of Victoria and was fined $46,000, in addition to covering his own legal costs amounting to $20,000.

This outcome sparked protests from several prominent figures who argued that the ACCC had taken the side of exploiters rather than the exploited. Messenger and his supporters persist in asserting that the Australian public is poorly served by a system that grants funeral directors significant control over the conditions and compensation of celebrants.

Same-sex marriages

Messenger was an early and persistent advocate for the legalisation of same-sex marriages, a milestone achieved in Australia in December 2017. As early as 1979, he introduced commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples. Moreover, he provided training to graduates of his International College of Celebrancy (ICC), encouraging them to incorporate into their legally prescribed Monitum the expression "Marriage, as most of us understand it in Australia ...” implying that it was not a universally understood definition.

This inclusive language, however, faced a setback in 2014 when the Attorney-General's Department prohibited the use of the phrase "as most of us understand it" and mandated the wording "the union of a man and a woman”. This prohibition lasted until 2017 when the law was changed.

Honours

In addition to the other honours mentioned above, on 8 May 2014, Messenger was made a Life Member of the Celebrants and Celebrations Network (CCN) in recognition of his services to celebrants. The citation with this life membership calls Messenger "The Don of Celebrancy" and refers to "his unique contribution to the development of civil celebrancy in the Western World."

Civil celebrancy extending beyond Australia

English law had long attempted to give clergy, and especially the clergy of the Established Church of England priority if not monopoly in solemnizing marriages. Similar rights had gradually been extended to clergy of other denominations; and perfunctory “registry office marriages” were now permitted for non-believers and those divorced persons whom the clergy refused to marry. However, it was a major innovation when, in the 1970s, Attorney-General Murphy created independent civil celebrants who were not bureaucrats but had license to devise and perform ceremonies with substantial and meaningful content.

Messenger regarded registry office staff as legal functionaries, licensed to record and validate marriages, rather than as authentic creators and providers of ceremonies. To make the distinction clear, he and other reformers introduced the term celebrancy. They insisted that celebrants must be trained in practical skills such as creative writing and effective ceremonial public speaking. Messenger promulgated that to be powerful and effective, such ceremonies had to be framed by the visual and performing arts. Great care had to be taken in creating and choosing the poetry, prose, stories, personal journeys, myths, silences, dance, music and song, as well as the shared meditations, choreography and symbolism which comprised a ceremony.

In these legal and cultural changes, Australia led the way among those nations whose marriage laws were primarily modelled upon Britain’s. Non-bureaucratic civil celebrancy, at least as defined by Messenger and his allies, evolved first in Australia. Yet it required apostles and advocates before it could spread to other Anglophone or British-influenced countries. Messenger played a pivotal role in this, as did the college of civil celebrancy that he founded in Melbourne. After it began to enroll aspiring civil celebrants from countries including New Zealand, the USA, and UK, Messenger changed its name to the International College of Celebrancy, to express its agenda of spreading the concept of celebrancy to other countries.

Civil celebrancy in New Zealand

In the 1990s Dally Messenger was active in spreading the civil celebrancy movement to New Zealand and the UK, countries where it was less well established. He was invited to New Zealand as guest keynote speaker at three annual conventions in the 1990s and in 2000. These were in Christchurch, organised by celebrant Frank Crean on 27 June 1998; in Hamilton, organised by celebrant Yvonne Foreman on 23 July 1999 and in Auckland, organised by celebrant Sherryl Wilson on 27 July 2001.

Celebrant Yvonne Werner records that the New Zealand government recommended Dally Messenger's book, Ceremonies for Today, as a basic text for all their celebrants.

Civil celebrancy in the United Kingdom

Celebrant Yvonne Werner also records,

"During this same period (the late 1990s) Dally followed up an invitation by Roberto Pravisani and Carol Pool who had established a small group of celebrants in England. He gave a number of lectures and teaching sessions in the UK before returning to Australia."

The Scottish author and celebrant Neil Dorward, acknowledges Messenger's contribution to funeral celebrancy in the UK and refers to him as "the father of civil celebrancy".

Civil celebrancy in the United States

In 2000-2002, supported by Gaile and Pat Sarma, Messenger was the key training instructor in establishing civil celebrancy in the US. He gave the launching address to the newly formed Celebrant USA Foundation in New Jersey on 5 June 2002 at the Montclair Library. For two months prior to this, Messenger lived in Montclair, New Jersey, training the first civil celebrants, five of whom, at that stage, had graduated with diplomas from the International College of Celebrancy, including the newly appointed director, Charlotte Eulette.

International College of Celebrancy

In 1995 he established the International College of Celebrancy, and has since been active in endeavouring to achieve "best practice" in civil celebrancy.

In later decades Messenger has often been a critic of bureaucrats in the Australian Attorney-General's department who tried to reduce the training requirements for persons appointed as celebrants, or who wished to train them primarily as marriage-orientated paralegals rather than as skilled in creatively combining the evocative use of language, symbolism, poetry, history, storytelling, music and ritual into powerful ceremony.

Messenger now lives in Melbourne with his wife since 2005, Remi Barclay Messenger(née Barclay, a.k.a. Bosseau).

Books

Ceremonies for Today (1979)

Ceremonies for Today, 1979.

This is a book of example civil celebrant ceremonies, mainly weddings, funerals and namings, together with a collection of quotations and poetry suitable for readings, sample vows and other components. It was designed to provide celebrants and their clients with resources from which clients could compose their own personal secular ceremonies.

The book's stated aim was to suggest poetry, music and other artistic components which would lift civil celebrant ceremonies to a level of substance, beauty and meaning that was not generally a part of civil weddings and funerals in the Western world at the time. The book contains poetry and prose from distinguished writers and poets including William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, D.H. Lawrence, Rabindranath Tagore, and Percy Bysse Shelley.

James A. Murray criticised Messenger's ceremonies as "a phenomenon without historical or cultural roots". On the other hand, commentator Dick Gross credits Messenger as recognising the importance of traditional cultural and religious frameworks in composing his "top-selling compendium of civil ceremonies".

Ceremonies and Celebrations (2003)

Ceremonies and Celebrations, 2003.

This is a heavily revised and expanded fifth edition of Ceremonies for Today (1979). This edition expands the range of civil ceremonies to include ceremonies for most of the major milestones of a human life. It is widely acknowledged as a basic text for civil celebrants.

So Mum and Dad have Separated

This book was written to assist children of separated parents. The issue was widely discussed at the time in the early 1980s. The book was recommended to divorcing couples with children by the Family Court of Australia. It was described by reviewers as "easy to read and practical", "positive, reassuring", "in depth and mature" and "very comforting information during the trauma of a parental divorce".

Being a Chum was Fun

This was the Story of Nicky and Nancy Lee, notable children oriented radio personalities of the 1930s and 1940s This is a history of pre-war and postwar Melbourne radio and of the children's program The Chums of Chatterbox Corner. It chronicles the careers of Kathleen Lindgren (Nancy Lee), Nicky Whitta and Graham Kennedy. Graeme Blundell, the biographer of Australian and TV broadcaster Graham Kennedy, refers to Lee and Messenger's book as "priceless".

The Master 1982

This book is an account of the H.H. "Dally" Messenger story and the beginning of Australian rugby League. It is factually inaccurate in some details.

The Master (2007)

The Master: The Life and Times of Dally Messenger, Australia's First Sporting Superstar, 2007.

Murphy's Law and the Pursuit of Happiness

This is a semi-autobiographical account of the history of civil celebrancy in Australia since its establishment in 1973 until the turn of the century in 2000. It describes the role of the reform-minded Attorney-General Lionel Murphy who provided the legal framework that inaugurated independent civil celebrancy, and helped it progress much faster in Australia than in other English-speaking countries. It praises Murphy for his awareness that the celebrants' grasp of poetry, music, symbolism, storytelling, choreography and ceremony-continuity was more important than legalities.