Anglican Diocese of Riverina

The Diocese of Riverina is one of 23 dioceses that make the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese covers 37% of New South Wales, including the Riverina and the Far West of the State. The main population centres within the Diocese of Riverina are Griffith, Broken Hill, Deniliquin, Leeton, Narrandera and Corowa.

The Diocese of Riverina was established in 1884 when the Anglican diocese of Goulburn was divided.

History

Creation of the Diocese

The creation of the Anglican Diocese of Riverina was made possible on 16 December 1881 by a declaration of trust, and a substantial bequest of £10,000 towards the Riverina episcopal endowment by the Hon. John Campbell, MLC. Covering over one third of the total area of New South Wales, parishes in the Riverina Diocese prior to 1884 were administered either from the Dioceses of Goulburn or Bathurst.

In 1884 the extensive Anglican diocese of Goulburn was divided, with the western half designated as the major portion of the newly created Diocese of Riverina. Areas along the Lachlan River were also excised from the Diocese of Bathurst. The idea behind the carving up of Goulburn and Bathurst Dioceses was to split up the countryside into smaller and more manageable bishoprics. The Anglican Church was intent on bringing church to the people of Riverina; the first three Bishops were, however, consecrated on the other side of the world in England.

Bishop Linton

Hay, in the western Riverina, was chosen as the episcopal seat of the new diocese. Bishop Sydney Linton was consecrated on 1 May 1884 at St Paul's Cathedral, London. Linton and his family travelled to Sydney and then on to Hay, where the bishop was enthroned on 18 March 1885 in the old St Paul's church. The new St. Paul's – pro-cathedral of the new diocese – was completed by the end of 1885. In 1889 a residence was completed for Bishop Linton at South Hay; the design and materials used in constructing the corrugated-iron clad 'Bishop's Lodge' was an attempt to cope with Hay's climatic extremes. Throughout his service, the Bishop toured extensively around to Riverina parishes and was instrumental in setting up the first Synod for the Anglican Church in 1887. The Bishop made the last of his journeys throughout the Diocese during 1894, before suddenly falling ill. He died later in Melbourne. The second Bishop found the Diocese in a somewhat ailing financial state.

Bishop Anderson

Bishop Ernest Augustus Anderson was installed in Hay as the second Bishop of Riverina on 11 February 1896. The Bishop retired from service in 1925, leaving twice as many parishes in the Diocese as he took over originally.

Bishop Halse

The third Bishop of the Riverina was the first to be elected in the parish in which he was serving. Reginald Charles Halse was elected on 22 July 1925 and consecrated at Westminster Abbey, London by the Archbishop of Canterbury 29 September of that year. A number of significant changes occurred during Bishop Halse's time, including the introduction of the motor car and aeroplane to assist priests in bringing the church closer to the people in remote areas. Halse was transferred to Brisbane as Archbishop in 1943.

Bishop Murray

The successor to Halse was Bishop Charles Herbert Murray, who was elected to administer Riverina in November 1943 and officially consecrated at St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney on 2 February 1944.

In 1953 the administrative centre of the diocese was transferred to Narrandera, with accommodation for the bishop and registry. Hay, however, remained the site of the pro-Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Riverina.

Recent bishops

Subsequent bishops have been:
*Hector Gordon Robinson
*John Grindrod, who later became Archbishop of Brisbane and Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia (1966-1972)
*Barry Hunter (1972-1992)
*Bruce Quentin Clark (1993-2004)

The Ninth and current bishop is the Right Reverend Doctor Douglas Stevens, previously the incumbent of Tweed Heads. He was consecrated and enthroned on 29 November 2005 at the Cathedral Church of St Alban the Martyr, Griffith. He served formerly in the Dioceses of Newcastle and Grafton in the parishes of Toronto, Merriwa, Newcastle Cathedral, Bolton Point, Wingham, Nambucca Heads and Tweed Heads. Bishop Stevens is married to Denise (Hull) and they have two daughters Aisling and Erin.

Further reading

"In a Strange Land: A History of the Anglican Diocese of Riverina" by Laurel Clyde (Hawthorn Press, Melbourne: 1979).

External links

* [http://www.anglicanriverina.com/ Diocese of Riverina official site]
* [http://www.csu.edu.au/research/archives/records/agencies/anglican.htm Diocese of Riverina Agency History]
* [http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/miscpics/0/0/9/doc/mp009525.shtml Portrait of Sydney Linton, first bishop of the Riverina]
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A050107b.htm Biography of Sydney Linton, first bishop of the Riverina]
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A140415b.htm Biography of Reginald Charles Halse, former bishop of the Riverina]