Ernest Augustus Anderson, DD (24 March 1859 – 5 April 1945) was an Anglican bishop in the late nineteenth and early 20th centuries. Anderson was born in

Milton Damerel Milton Damerel is a village, parish and former manor in north Devon, England. Situated in the political division of Torridge, on the river Waldon, it covers . It contains many tiny hamlets including Whitebeare, Strawberry Bank, East Wonford an ...

, Devon, England and educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

and

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

. He went to North

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

as a mission preacher in 1882, and was ordained deacon the same year, and priest in 1883. He was installed in

Hay, New South Wales Hay is a town in the western Riverina region of south western New South Wales, Australia. It is the administrative centre of Hay Shire local government area and the centre of a prosperous and productive agricultural district on the wide Hay Plain ...

as the second Anglican Bishop of the

Diocese of Riverina The Diocese of Riverina is one of 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese covers 37% of New South Wales, including the Riverina and the far west of the state. The diocese was established in 1884 when the Diocese of Goulbu ...

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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, on 11 February 1896, at a time of financial difficulty for the church. Because of the continuing drought and rabbit plague, station owners no longer had the means of supporting the church, which meant that clergy had to work for almost nothing. Anderson's episcopate was also a time of conflict between the bishop and his clergy and the clergy and their parishioners. In 1915 the Vicar of

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

, the Rev Albert Frost, was cited to appear before Anderson on charges of false doctrine, having taught his confirmation candidates to make

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

to a priest before taking communion, invocation of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

and the Saints, and other 'Romish' practices such as describing the main Sunday service as High Mass. This was reputedly the only Anglican

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

trial to take place in Australia. Although acquitted of heresy, under pressure from Anderson, Frost felt obliged to resign. By the turn of the century, new towns were flourishing throughout the Riverina, as the growing

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

industry gave the district a much needed economic boost. Anderson retired from active ministry in 1925, leaving twice as many parishes in the diocese as he took over originally.

References

* ''In a Strange Land: A History of the Anglican Diocese of Riverina'' by Laurel Clyde (Hawthorn Press, Melbourne: 1979). Anglican bishops of Riverina 1859 births 1945 deaths Clergy from Devon People educated at Bedford School {{Australia-anglican-bishop-stub