George Dowglas Halford (1865-27 August 1948) was the second

Anglican Bishop of Rockhampton The Bishop of Rockhampton is the diocesan bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Rockhampton The Diocese of Rockhampton (also known as Anglican Church Central Queensland) is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, founded in 1892. It i ...

from 1909 until 1920.

Early life

Halford was educated at

Felsted Felsted (sometimes spelt Felstead) is a village and civil parish in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bannister Green, Bartholomew Green, Causeway End, Coblers Green, Cock Green, Frenches Gre ...

and

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

Religious service

His first post was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St Peter's

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...

, after which he was its

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

before emigrating to Australia to become the head of the St Andrew's

Bush Brotherhood The Bush Brotherhood was a group of Anglican religious orders providing itinerant priests to minister to sparsely-settled rural districts in Australia. They were described as a "band of men" who could "preach like Apostles" and "ride like cowboys" ...

in 1897ADB on-line
/ref> and then

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

Mitchell, Queensland Mitchell is a rural town and locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. The town services the local area, a cattle and sheep farming district. In the , the locality of Mitchell had a population of 1,031 people. Geography Mitchell ...

, where he remained until becoming the Bishop of Rockhampton in 1909.

Order of Witness

Halford resigned his bishopric in Rockhampton in 1920 to establish the Order of Witness, which was a radical experiment within the Anglican church extension movement of the interwar period. Seeking to reach the men in the railway construction camps and mining camps, and the struggling families in the new soldier and immigrant settlements, Bishop Halford established an order of priests who lived very simply and were prepared to be sent anywhere a parish priest could not normally minister, living in the mining and construction camps, and bearing personal witness to their faith. To support their work, the Order obtained in 1922–1923 a small farm adjoining

Christ Church, Tingalpa Christ Church Tingalpa and Burial Ground is a heritage-listed former Anglican church at 1341 Wynnum Road, Tingalpa, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1868 to 1993. It is now known as the Pioneer Wedding Chapel. It was a ...

. The farmhouse became their Priory, and the ancient and historic little Tingalpa Church became their chapel. The priory, grounds and chapel of the Order of Witness were blessed by the

Archbishop of Brisbane In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

on 22 February 1923. The ''Church Chronicle'' of 1 March 1923:53 reported: The old church has been restored and enriched by additional ornaments and furniture. A painted figure of out Lord on the Cross hangs from the roof, and the altar is backed by dorsals and flanked by riddels of blue material. The cross and candlesticks are of silver. The whole effect is beautiful and devotional, and shows how even a little plain wooden church can be transformed into a thing of beauty and joy. Local parishioners were encouraged to attend the chapel services, and a call was made for funds to restore the building and cemetery. Early in 1927 Bishop Halford left the Diocese of Brisbane, where he had been working in the Eidsvold and

Burnett River The Burnett River is a river located in the Wide Bay–Burnett and Central Queensland regions of Queensland, Australia. Course and features The Burnett River rises in the Burnett Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, close to Mount Gaeta a ...

districts, to carry out similar missionary work in the Diocese of Rockhampton. It appears that the Tingalpa priory closed soon after.

Later life

He died after a long retirement on 27 August 1948.

Legacy

George Halford is commemorated by a memorial at St Alban's Church,

Wilston Wilston is a northern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Wilston had a population of 3,937 people. Geography Wilston is located by road north of the Brisbane GPO. It has a mix ...

References

Attribution

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halford, George Douglas 1865 births People educated at Felsted School Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Anglican archdeacons in Australia Anglican bishops of Rockhampton 20th-century Anglican bishops in Australia 1948 deaths Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register Bush Brotherhood priests