Neville Threlfall was born in Subiaco, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, on 4 October 1930, and grew up on farms in Western Australia's wheatbelt. Following education by correspondence and at a one-teacher school, then at Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia, he entered the ministry of the Methodist Church in 1951. He served at Gosnells, Gnowangerup, Mount Barker, Moora and the North Midlands, before going as a missionary to Papua New Guinea in 1961, accompanied by his wife Roma (née Thompson) and children Tim and Beth. He served in the New Guinea Islands Region of the Methodist Church and then of the United Church of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, at Nakanai, 1961-1964, Raluana 1964-1967, Kavieng, 1968-1970; Matupit, 1971, as regional secretary, 1972-1975, in charge of literature and publications, 1976-1977, as regional secretary again, 1978-1980, and finally undertook historical work in 1981-1982, much of which was carried out while a visiting fellow at the Australian National University, Canberra. Threlfall returned to ministry in Western Australia in 1982, becoming minister at Dalwallinu, 1982-1989, and at Northam, 1990-1993. He retired in 1993 in order to care for Roma during her terminal illness, but after her death undertook supply ministry in the Central South Parish in 1994. In 1995 he married Margaret Walker and moved to her home state of New South Wales, where he was still undertaking part-time supply ministries in 2008.
From the description of Notes and research materials on the history of Rabaul and the Gazelle Peninsula, Papua New Guinea, 1786-1975 [microform]. [1786-1975] (Libraries Australia). WorldCat record id: 652700705
