Sir Shirley Jeffries was a leader in the Methodist Church in South Australia and participated in numerous church councils, boards and committees. This philosophy of service included Prince Alfred College and he served as President of the PAOCA in 1934 and on the College Council for more than twenty years.
Jeffries completed a Bachelor of Laws at Adelaide University in 1909 and played tennis and football at varsity level, as well as football at league level for Norwood and Sturt. Changing direction from law Shirley Jeffries first entered the South Australian Parliament in 1927, and during his political career held the ministries of education, industry and employment, and attorney general. He was knighted in person by The Queen in 1954.
Further examples of his contribution to education in South Australia include Lincoln College and Westminster School, where the Sir Shirley Jeffries chapel commemorates his leadership in the school’s establishment in the 1960s.