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	[[Doug Elliott]]'s article reconstructs [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s 1920–1921 Spiritualist lecture tour in Sydney, tracing his public appearances, press reception, séances, lectures, and controversial promotion of psychic phenomena during a period when he had become one of the world's most visible advocates of Spiritualism. Blending biography, historical research, newspaper accounts, and cultural context, the essay portrays [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Conan Doyle]] as a charismatic but deeply divisive figure whose certainty in Spiritualism transformed him from creator of Sherlock Holmes into what Elliott calls "The Prophet" in the eyes of supporters and sceptics alike.		[[Doug Elliott]]'s article reconstructs [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s 1920–1921 Spiritualist lecture tour in Sydney, tracing his public appearances, press reception, séances, lectures, and controversial promotion of psychic phenomena during a period when he had become one of the world's most visible advocates of Spiritualism. Blending biography, historical research, newspaper accounts, and cultural context, the essay portrays [[Arthur Conan Doyle\|Conan Doyle]] as a charismatic but deeply divisive figure whose certainty in Spiritualism transformed him from creator of Sherlock Holmes into what Elliott calls "The Prophet" in the eyes of supporters and sceptics alike.

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	== The Prophet: Conan Doyle in Sydney ==		== The Prophet: Conan Doyle in Sydney ==
	[[File:the-passengers-log-2009-04-p25-the-prophet-conan-doyle-in-sydney.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[The Passengers' Log]] (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009, p. 25)]]		[[File:the-passengers-log-2009-04-p25-the-prophet-conan-doyle-in-sydney.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[The Passengers' Log]] (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009, p. 25)]]
	[[File:the-passengers-log-2009-04-p26-the-prophet-conan-doyle-in-sydney.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[The Passengers' Log]] (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009, p. 26)]]		[[File:the-passengers-log-2009-04-p26-the-prophet-conan-doyle-in-sydney.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[The Passengers' Log]] (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009, p. 26)<br><br>The travellers: L-R: [[Alfred H. Wood\|Major AH Wood]], [[Adrian Conan Doyle\|Adrian]], [[Jean Elizabeth Leckie\|Jean]], [[Lena Annette Jean Conan Doyle\|Lena Jean]] ("Baby"), [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle\|Arthur]], [[Denis Conan Doyle\|Denis]], [[Mary Jakeman]] ([[The Wanderings of a Spiritualist\|Wanderings of a Spiritualist]]).]]
	[[File:the-passengers-log-2009-04-p27-the-prophet-conan-doyle-in-sydney.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[The Passengers' Log]] (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009, p. 27)]]		[[File:the-passengers-log-2009-04-p27-the-prophet-conan-doyle-in-sydney.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[The Passengers' Log]] (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009, p. 27)]]
	[[File:the-passengers-log-2009-04-p28-the-prophet-conan-doyle-in-sydney.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[The Passengers' Log]] (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009, p. 28)]]		[[File:the-passengers-log-2009-04-p28-the-prophet-conan-doyle-in-sydney.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[The Passengers' Log]] (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009, p. 28)]]
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	[[File:the-passengers-log-2009-04-p37-the-prophet-conan-doyle-in-sydney.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[The Passengers' Log]] (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009, p. 37)]]		[[File:the-passengers-log-2009-04-p37-the-prophet-conan-doyle-in-sydney.jpg\|thumb\|250px\|right\|[[The Passengers' Log]] (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009, p. 37)]]

	~~The LOG~~		Followers of Conan Doyle have no doubt read the details of his five-month trip to Australia in 1920-21 in his own account of the journey, [[The Wanderings of a Spiritualist\|Wanderings of a Spiritualist]], (1) which is still available in various modern editions. Since we are the Sydney Passengers and since I am newly transplanted into Sydney soil myself, I thought it would be fun to go back to primary sources — contemporary press reports to complement Conan Doyle's reminiscences — and focus on the author's time in this city and environs. Aside from fleshing out the details of the visit, I wanted to better understand some of the people, sights and experiences of which he wrote.
	~~The~~
	~~PROPHET~~
	~~CONAN DOYLE IN SYDNEY~~
	~~by Doug Elliott~~
	25
	Followers of Conan Doyle have no doubt read the details of his five-month trip to Australia in 1920-21 in his own account of the journey, Wanderings of a Spiritualist, which is still available in various modern editions. Since we are the Sydney Passengers and since I am newly transplanted into Sydney soil myself, I thought it would be fun to go back to primary
	sources - contemporary press reports to complement Conan Doyle's reminiscences - and focus on the author's time in this city and environs. Aside from fleshing out the details of the visit, I wanted to better understand some of the people, sights and experiences of which he wrote.
	I am aware that many readers of this journal are not from Sydney, nor indeed have they ever been here, so I have written with such readers in mind. For those long-time residents of the city by the harbour who are reading this on Bondi Beach or the Manly Ferry, my apologies in advance for telling you some things you already know.		I am aware that many readers of this journal are not from Sydney, nor indeed have they ever been here, so I have written with such readers in mind. For those long-time residents of the city by the harbour who are reading this on Bondi Beach or the Manly Ferry, my apologies in advance for telling you some things you already know.
	Saturday 13 November 1920: Arrival
			=== Saturday 13 November 1920: Arrival ===

	The Saturday morning travellers at Sydney's Central Station must have wondered what kind of invasion it was. It was apparent that the arrival of the Melbourne express was a major event. Crowds of eager Sydneysiders clutching flowers and manic journalists gripping notebooks all jockeyed for position as the train chuffed to a halt. Disembarking passengers emerged wide- eyed into the waiting mob and somehow managed to extricate themselves with some difficulty. But the motley welcoming committee was not interested in them.		The Saturday morning travellers at Sydney's Central Station must have wondered what kind of invasion it was. It was apparent that the arrival of the Melbourne express was a major event. Crowds of eager Sydneysiders clutching flowers and manic journalists gripping notebooks all jockeyed for position as the train chuffed to a halt. Disembarking passengers emerged wide- eyed into the waiting mob and somehow managed to extricate themselves with some difficulty. But the motley welcoming committee was not interested in them.
	Shortly a tall, heavy-set man with a substantial moustache stepped somewhat tentatively onto the platform. He had clearly not expected the November Sydney heat wave and was perspiring freely in his grey suit, his thin greying hair pasted to his head. The crowd pressed forward with a cheer and he responded with a practised formal smile, though his eyes revealed a touch of apprehension. If he'd only himself to worry about it would be one thing, but his family waited behind him in the carriage Somehow he needed to get them and their luggage safely through the throng and off to their hotel.
	The man was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, arguably the world's most famous living author and certainly its most famous spiritualist. Sydney was far from his first stop on his Australian tour and he knew something of the ordeal ahead of them. Later he would write of the experience: I have a great shrinking from such deputations as they catch you at the moment when you are exhausted and unkempt after a long journey, and when you need all your energies to collect your baggage and belongings so as to make your way to your hotel. But on this occasion it was so hearty, and the crowd of faces beamed such good wishes upon us that it was quite a pick-me-up to all of us. "God bless you!" and "Thank God you have come!" reached us from all sides. My wife, covered with flowers, was hustled off in one direction, while I was borne away in another, and each of the children was the centre of a separate ~~London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1921. Hereinafter Wanderings.~~		Shortly a tall, heavy-set man with a substantial moustache stepped somewhat tentatively onto the platform. He had clearly not expected the November Sydney heat wave and was perspiring freely in his grey suit, his thin greying hair pasted to his head. The crowd pressed forward with a cheer and he responded with a practised formal smile, though his eyes revealed a touch of apprehension. If he'd only himself to worry about it would be one thing, but his family waited behind him in the carriage Somehow he needed to get them and their luggage safely through the throng and off to their hotel.
	26
	~~The LOG~~		The man was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, arguably the world's most famous living author and certainly its most famous spiritualist. Sydney was far from his first stop on his Australian tour and he knew something of the ordeal ahead of them. Later he would write of the experience:
	group. Major Wood had gone off to see to the luggage, and Jakeman was herself embedded somewhere in the crowd, so at last I had to shout, "Where's that little girl? Where's that little boy?" until we reassembled and were able, laden with bouquets, to reach our carriage. One of the reporters applied himself to his notebook and penned a colourful account of the event that appeared in the next day's paper:
	When Sir Conan Doyle, his wife and their three children arrived from Melbourne by the express this morning, an assembly of Spiritualists accorded them a splendid greeting. Men swung their hats high and cheered, women danced in their excitement, and many of their number rushed the party with rare bouquets. The excitement was at its highest, and Sir Conan being literally carried along the platform by the pressing crowds, when a digger arrived on the outskirts. "Who's that?" he asked of nobody in particular: Almost immediately an urchin replied, "The bloke that wrote 'Sherlock Holmes.""		: ''I have a great shrinking from such deputations as they catch you at the moment when you are exhausted and unkempt after a long journey, and when you need all your energies to collect your baggage and belongings so as to make your way to your hotel. But on this occasion it was so hearty, and the crowd of faces beamed such good wishes upon us that it was quite a pick-me-up to all of us. "God bless you!" and "Thank God you have come!" reached us from all sides. My wife, covered with flowers, was hustled off in one direction, while I was borne away in another, and each of the children was the centre of a separate group. Major Wood had gone off to see to the luggage, and Jakeman was herself embedded somewhere in the crowd, so at last I had to shout, "Where's that little girl? Where's that little boy?" until we reassembled and were able, laden with bouquets, to reach our carriage.''
	As he and his wife and their servants struggled to muster children and luggage into the waiting carriage, Conan Doyle wasn't thinking about Holmes. He was a man on a mission, what he believed to be the greatest mission of his life, to deliver to the Australian masses the greatest news they would ever receive, that life did not end with death and that the living could communicate with their dead as easily as picking up a telephone.
			One of the reporters applied himself to his notebook and penned a colourful account of the event that appeared in the next day's paper:

			: ''When Sir Conan Doyle, his wife and their three children arrived from Melbourne by the express this morning, an assembly of Spiritualists accorded them a splendid greeting. Men swung their hats high and cheered, women danced in their excitement, and many of their number rushed the party with rare bouquets. The excitement was at its highest, and Sir Conan being literally carried along the platform by the pressing crowds, when a digger arrived on the outskirts. "Who's that?" he asked of nobody in particular: Almost immediately an urchin replied, "The bloke that wrote '[[Sherlock Holmes]].'"''

			As he and his wife and their servants struggled to muster children and luggage into the waiting carriage, Conan Doyle wasn't thinking about Holmes. He was a man on a mission, what he believed to be the greatest mission of his life, to deliver to the Australian masses the greatest news they would ever receive, that life did not end with death and that the living could communicate with their dead as easily as picking up a telephone.

	The spiritualist movement had started in 1848 in Hydesville, New York, when two young sisters Kate and Margaret Fox had begun exhibiting		The spiritualist movement had started in 1848 in Hydesville, New York, when two young sisters Kate and Margaret Fox had begun exhibiting
	~~The travellers: L-R: Major AH Wood, Adrian, Jean, Lena Jean ("Baby"), Arthur, Denis, Mary Jakeman [Wanderings of a Spiritualist]~~
	mediumistic powers - the word did not even exist at the time. Through table liftings and disembodied tappings, they claimed to deliver messages from a former resident of their house who had been murdered. The fame of the sisters soon spread. Before long others demonstrated similar powers and the new religion spread across the world. The staggering loss of life in World War I affected. literally every home in England giving Spiritualism a tremendous boost as bereft families clutched at the possibility of talking with their lost loved ones.		mediumistic powers - the word did not even exist at the time. Through table liftings and disembodied tappings, they claimed to deliver messages from a former resident of their house who had been murdered. The fame of the sisters soon spread. Before long others demonstrated similar powers and the new religion spread across the world. The staggering loss of life in World War I affected. literally every home in England giving Spiritualism a tremendous boost as bereft families clutched at the possibility of talking with their lost loved ones.
	In 1916, after years of dispassionate investigation of psychic phenomena, Conan Doyle dramatically and unreservedly embraced Spiritualism. Unwilling to accept any possibility of doubt in the matter, he determined that the rest of his life should be dedicated to delivering the new truth to the world and immediately set himself a gruelling schedule of lectures around Britain, forgoing financial gain and neglecting much of his other writing. He was faced with ridicule and derision on many fronts, but also with gratitude and relief from those who he convinced.		In 1916, after years of dispassionate investigation of psychic phenomena, Conan Doyle dramatically and unreservedly embraced Spiritualism. Unwilling to accept any possibility of doubt in the matter, he determined that the rest of his life should be dedicated to delivering the new truth to the world and immediately set himself a gruelling schedule of lectures around Britain, forgoing financial gain and neglecting much of his other writing. He was faced with ridicule and derision on many fronts, but also with gratitude and relief from those who he convinced.

TCDE-Team: Created page with "{{Cargo_Research_Articles |date=2009-04-01 |author=Doug Elliott |topic=Spiritualism }} ''The Prophet: Conan Doyle in Sydney'' is an article written by Doug Elliott published in The Passengers' Log (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009). Doug Elliott's article reconstructs Arthur Conan Doyle's 1920–1921 Spiritualist lecture tour in Sydney, tracing his public appearances, press reception, séances, lectures, and controversial pr..."

2026-05-19T16:40:19Z

Created page with "{{Cargo_Research_Articles |date=2009-04-01 |author=Doug Elliott |topic=Spiritualism }} ''The Prophet: Conan Doyle in Sydney'' is an article written by Doug Elliott published in The Passengers' Log (Vol. 13 No. 3 & 4 and Vol. 13 No. 1 & 2, April-October 2009). Doug Elliott's article reconstructs Arthur Conan Doyle's 1920–1921 Spiritualist lecture tour in Sydney, tracing his public appearances, press reception, séances, lectures, and controversial pr..."

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