Frederic Barker (17 March 1808 – 6 April 1882) was the second

Anglican bishop of Sydney The Archbishop of Sydney is the diocesan bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, Australia and ''ex officio'' metropolitan bishop of the ecclesiastical Province of New South Wales. From 1814 to 1836 the colony of New South Wales was part of ...

Early life

Barker was born at

Baslow Baslow is a village in Derbyshire, England, in the Peak District, situated between Sheffield and Bakewell, just over north of Chatsworth House. It is sited by the River Derwent, which is spanned by a 17th-century bridge, alongside which is a ...

, Derbyshire, England, fifth son of the Rev. John Barker and his wife Jane, née Whyte. He was educated at

The King's School, Grantham The King's School is a British grammar school with academy status, in the market town of Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. The school's history can be traced to 1329, and was re-endowed by Richard Foxe in 1528. Located on Brook Street, the sch ...

and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, where he graduated B.A. in 1831, M. A. 1839. While at Cambridge he was influenced by

Charles Simeon Charles Simeon (24 September 1759 – 13 November 1836) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric. Life and career He was born at Reading, Berkshire, in 1759 and baptised at St Laurence's parish church on 24 October of that year. He was the ...

. He was made deacon on 10 April 1831 by the Bishop of Rochester; he was ordained a priest on 15 April 1832, and placed in charge of the perpetual curacy of

Upton, Cheshire Upton-by-Chester is a civil parish and a large suburb on the outskirts of Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It includes the villages of Upton and Upton Heath. History ...

. Subsequently, he was at St Mary's, Edge Hill, an important church in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, for 19 years. In April 1854 he became vicar of Baslow, and soon afterwards was appointed Bishop of Sydney and was consecrated on 30 November 1854.

Career in Australia

Barker arrived at Sydney on 25 May 1855, and was installed on 31 May 1855 at the temporary cathedral. Amongst his early tasks were the completion of the arrangements for the building of

Moore College Moore Theological College, otherwise known simply as Moore College, is the theological training seminary of the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The president of the Moore Theological College Council is ''ex officio'' t ...

for theological students, and the quickening of interest in the completion of

St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney St Andrew's Cathedral (also known as St Andrew's Anglican Cathedral) is a cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan ...

. He then began a series of visitations in his diocese, then covering an immense area. He soon realized it must be subdivided, and two new dioceses were established--

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

in 1863, and Bathurst in 1869. As metropolitan of Australia he was also concerned with the establishment of dioceses at

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

(1856),

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

(1859), Grafton and Armidale (1866),

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

(1875), and North Queensland (1878). In 1863 Barker visited England where he succeeded in raising a considerable sum of money for the prosecution of the work of his church, and gave many addresses on Australia in different parts of England. The first synod of the diocese of Sydney met in December 1866, and dealt with many issues such as the relations of the Church in Australia with the Church in England, and the framing of a constitution for the cathedral. In 1868 the re-opening of

The King's School, Parramatta The King's School is an Education in Australia#Non-government schools, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, Pre-school education, early learning, primary school, primary and secondary school, secondary day and boarding school, boardi ...

, was successfully arranged, with the Reverend G. F. Macarthur as headmaster. In October 1872 the formation of the general synod of the dioceses of Australia including Tasmania was accomplished. Barker visited England again in 1871 and 1877 and was able to bring the needs of the new dioceses before the Society for Propagating the Gospel and other societies. In 1878 steps were taken to provide more adequate religious instruction to children attending state primary schools, and a church buildings loan fund for the diocese of Sydney was established early in 1880.

Late life and legacy

In December 1880 Barker had a stroke of paralysis, and in March 1881 he went to Europe in the hope of recovering his health. There was an improvement for some months, but in March 1882 he had a second attack and died at San Remo, Italy, on 6 April 1882. He married firstly in 1840, Jane Sophia, daughter of John Harden, and secondly in 1878, Mary Jane, daughter of Edward Woods. He had no children. Barker was 1.96 m (6' 5") tall, dignified and scholarly in appearance. He was deeply evangelical and his teaching was based simply on the Bible. During his episcopacy of 27 years the number of churches and the number of clergy more than doubled. He published ''Thirty-six Psalms with Commentary and Prayer'' (1851), and ''A Charge Delivered to the Clergy of the Diocese of Sydney'' (1859). He was also a contributor to ''The Supposed Sacrament of Penance'', ''A Course of Sermons'' (1838); and ''On the Rise of the Errors of the Church of Rome, A Course of Sermons'' (1840). Due to his height and his abstinence from alcohol, the term 'Bishop Barker' was jocularly applied to the tallest beer glass available in late-19th-century Sydney hotels. The Sydney North Shore private school,

Barker College , motto_translation = Seek Honour above Rewards , location = Hornsby, Sydney , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image ...

(founded 1890), was named in honour of Barker by founder Rev. Henry Plume.

References

* * K. J. Cable,
Barker, Frederic (1808 - 1882)
, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 3, MUP, 1969, pp 90–94.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Frederic 1808 births 1882 deaths People from Baslow Anglican bishops of Sydney Primates of the Anglican Church of Australia Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge People educated at The King's School, Grantham