Launch Speech for “Eugene Stockton: Blue Mountains Hermit” 

Eugene Stockton is a Blue Mountains treasure.
In no way do I wish to embarrass him but Eugene is truly a special person.
Actually, he is much more than special; he is unique.
He is inspiring and creative.
He is exceptionally generous and unworldly. 
He has a delightful sense of fun and an extraordinary capacity for friendship. 
He is academically brilliant in many fields (archaeology, languages, biblical studies, theology, spirituality), yet completely modest about his achievements. 
He is a person of grace and deep Christian faith.
His spirituality is epitomised in four qualities: 
Eugene, himself, names compassion, gentleness, patience and simplicity as being central to his way of living. You could say, with all honesty, that Eugene is not only a Blue Mountains treasure, he is also a gift to our nation.

I have known Eugene for about six or seven years. Before then I knew very little about him. I knew he was a priest. I knew he had written some books. But I didn’t know about his archaeological work in the Blue Mountains and in the Middle East. I didn’t know that he had written two doctoral theses:  one on the Holy Spirit in John’s Gospel and the second on Arabian Cult Stones. I didn’t know that he taught Scripture to seminarians and had worked among and with Indigenous people. And, probably like most of you, I didn’t know that Eugene was a hermit!

The more I came to know Eugene, the more I came to the conviction that such an extraordinary life ought to be celebrated, so, eighteen months ago, I asked Peter Smith, who, like Eugene, practised and taught meditation, if he would work with me on preparing and co-editing this book in time for Eugene’s 89th birthday.

Almost miraculously, the book arrived from the printers last Wednesday, the day before Eugene’s birthday and just in time for today’s launch, three days later! This could not have happened if the nine contributors, Professor Grace Karskens who wrote the beautifully-crafted Foreword, and Allan Walsh who did the superb layout, had not been willing to work to rather tight deadlines. The fact that they did so is an indication of their esteem for Eugene.

Eugene –priest, archaeologist, scholar, educator and friend – you have given so much to us;
with affection and love we offer this book to you.

William Emilsen

2 December 2023