This book describes a significant part of Australia's journey from a convict colony to a nation seeking its own identity. In the late 19th century, Australians grappled with a sense of inferiority as a lower status component of the British Empire. Second and third-generation Australians who visited Britain were called “colonials". Even with the primitive cable communication of the time, news, including British newspapers, and the “royal” mail had a six-week journey by steamship to reach NSW.
There was a national quest for recognition. One way of achieving this was through sport. Dally Messenger, a rugby league sensation, captivated audiences in Great Britain with his extraordinary genius on the football field. His achievements in the “mother country”, where he was dubbed “The Master” brought immense pride to New South Wales.
Upon his return with the New Zealand team in early 1908, Messenger was honoured at a number of civic receptions. A scroll presented to him in one of these celebrations bore a powerful tribute:
"No name has added more glory to the fame of our country than your own."
This is his story.
(ebook & pdf information: https://dallymessenger.com/book-dally-messenger-by-dally-messenger-iii/ )

In this book Dally Messenger III tracks the evolution of a remarkable Australian innovation—the civil celebrant. For many years now, civil celebrants and their ceremonies have been at the heart of Australian cultural life. Conceived at a time of radical historic change, they represent ideals, purposes, and potential, which are barely understood by the families who are served and by many celebrants themselves. Yet this idea and its practice affect many thousands of people every year and have become a significant model for other Western countries.

The Civil Celebrant program began in Australia in July 1973. Messenger describes the social milieu of the time which demanded fundamental reform of marriage and divorce. The radicalism of the sixties, the emergence of feminism, methods of birth control, and other influences meant the time had come for profound social change.

Only one man, Attorney General (later High Court Justice) Lionel Murphy, saw the need to reform marriage and divorce. This he did single-handedly, against opposition from almost every quarter imaginable. The author was one of Murphy's close collaborators. He has a careful record since his appointment as a marriage celebrant in 1974. In the years since, he has worked with close colleagues to progress Murphy's vision. Messenger makes the strong case that central to the story of the Civil Celebrant program is the meaning of ceremony in the culture. He tracks this understanding with care and skill.

Despite many obstacles and at times destructive maladministration, and amidst some vicious and ignorant opposition, the Civil Celebrant Program has been an outstanding and popular success. This history finishes at the year 2000. In 2004, when meaningful statistics were last published, civil celebrants officiated at over 65% of all weddings and funerals in Australia. Now in 2026, it is estimated at over 75-80%