Frank Derek Nelson (born 9 January 1955) is a South African-born Anglican priest who served as the Dean of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

from 12 October 2012 to 4 April 2021, and previously served as Dean of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

from 2004 to 2012. Nelson was born in what was then the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

and grew up in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

. He was ordained in 1978, and moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1991 in response to apartheid. He worked in churches and cathedrals in South Africa,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

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 ...

, before being invited by Archbishop

Jeffrey Driver Jeffrey William Driver (born 6 October 1951) is a retired Australian Anglican bishop. He is the former Archbishop of Adelaide and Metropolitan of South Australia in the Anglican Church of Australia. Early life Driver grew up in the New Sout ...

to become Dean of St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide. From 2004 to 2012, he was Dean of

Wellington Cathedral of St Paul The Wellington Cathedral of St Paul (also called St Paul's Cathedral or Wellington Cathedral) is an Anglican church in the city of Wellington, New Zealand. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Wellington and the cathedral of the Bishop of ...

. His Master of Ministry (2010) was entitled "Benedict, Balance and the Deans: The Benedictine concept of balance offers a way for a dean to survive and thrive in an Anglican cathedral today". Nelson retired from his role in Adelaide on 4 April 2021 to return to New Zealand and serve as vicar of the parish of North Wairoa (based out of Dargaville). Nelson retired from active parish ministry in February 2024. Nelson is married to Christine and has 3 children.

References

1955 births 20th-century South African Anglican priests South African emigrants to New Zealand South African expatriates in Australia Living people Deans of Wellington Deans of Adelaide {{SouthAfrica-bio-stub