About Arthur Stace
Arthur Malcolm Stace, remembered as Mr Eternity, is part of the folklore of Sydney.
In November 1932, Arthur heard evangelist John G Ridley say that he wished he could ‘shout eternity through the streets of Sydney’. For about 35 years Arthur spread Ridley’s message, writing ‘Eternity’ in copperplate script, on Sydney's footpaths and doorsteps.
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Arthur Stace's challenging early life
Arthur Malcolm Stace was born in Redfern in 1885, the youngest of 5 children. Both his parents struggled with alcohol dependency, and Arthur received little formal education.
When Arthur was 7, his father left and the family was admitted to the Benevolent Asylum, a refuge for destitute women and children. Boarded out to several families across NSW he became a state ward at the age of 12.
As a young man, Arthur struggled to hold down a job. He turned to petty crime, running grog to brothels and two-up schools. He was frequently jailed for drunkenness.
Receiving his calling
Arthur enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1916, serving with the 19th Infantry Battalion in France. On returning to Australia in February 1919 he was discharged medically unfit. Partially blind in one eye, with no money and out of work, years of alcohol dependence, depression and court appearances for unacceptable behaviour followed.
Arthur’s life turned around on 6 August 1930. After attending a ‘tea and rock bun’ meeting at St Barnabas Anglican Church, Broadway he ‘unexpectedly’ converted to Christianity, and immediately gave up alcohol. Arthur began helping down-and-out men at R B Hammond’s hostel, visiting Callan Park mental hospital, the Lazaret leper’s wards at Little Bay Hospital and leading open-air religious meetings in the city.
In November 1932, inspired by evangelist John G Ridley’s words that he wished he could shout eternity through the streets of Sydney, Arthur recounted, ‘I felt a powerful call from the Lord to write “Eternity”. I had a piece of chalk in my pocket, and I bent down right there and wrote it’. ‘I've been writing it at least 50 times a day ever since.’
Mr Eternity
For about 35 years Arthur spread Ridley’s message with the single word, ‘Eternity’, written in copperplate with yellow waterproof chalk. It appeared more than half a million times on footpaths and doorsteps from Martin Place to Parramatta.
Arthur kept his identity secret, writing his word at dawn when few people were around. Speculative press accounts, a few fake confessions and false sightings fuelled the mystery. When the minister of the Baptist Tabernacle caught him ‘red handed’, the Daily Telegraph broke the story on 24 June 1956. Overnight, Arthur became one of Sydney’s most famous citizens, even happy to grant occasional press interviews.
A lasting legacy
The legacy of Arthur Malcolm Stace darting through the shadows ‘to deliver his one-word sermon has entered the mythology of Sydney's life’. His story has inspired books, museum exhibits, the chamber opera (The Eternity Man performed at the Sydney Festival in 2005), Lawrence Johnston's 1994 film Eternity, a proliferation of websites and religious tracts.
In 1977 a brass inscription, with ‘Eternity’ in copperplate script, was unveiled in a paving stone near the Sydney Square waterfall. Sydney’s festivities to welcome in the new millennium celebrated Arthur’s special link to the city’s history with copperplate lettering style of the word ‘Eternity’ appearing on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.