Gerald Sharp (27 October 1865 – 30 August 1933) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born Anglican clergyman,

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 ...

1921–1933.

Early life

Sharp was born at Childer Thornton, George P. Shaw,
Sharp, Gerald (1865–1933)
, '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 11, MUP, 1988, pp 580-581. Retrieved 19 January 2010 Cheshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of Thomas Blatt Sharp, a merchant, and his wife, Mary Anne, ''née'' Lillee. Sharp was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and St John's College, Cambridge, with a scholarship in 1883, and graduated B.A. in 1886 with honours in classics.

Religious life

Sharp entered

Lincoln Theological College Lincoln Theological College was a theological college in Lincoln, United Kingdom. History Founded by Edward White Benson, when he was Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the college opened on 25 January 1874. It was also known as ''Scholae Cance ...

in 1888, and was ordained deacon in 1889 and priest in 1890. He was a curate of Rowbarton 1889-93 and at Hammersmith, London (1893–98), became vicar of

Whitkirk Whitkirk is a suburb of east Leeds, England. It is situated between Cross Gates to the north, Austhorpe to the east, Killingbeck to the west, Colton to the south-east and Halton to the south-west. The Temple Newsam estate lies directly sout ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, in 1898, and in 1909 was proctor of convocation, Archdeaconry of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

. Sharp was consecrated Bishop of New Guinea on 25 April 1910. He attended the

Lambeth conference The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place at Lambeth in 1867. As the Anglican Communion is an international association ...

in 1920; in 1921 he was elected

in succession to Archbishop

St Clair Donaldson St Clair George Alfred Donaldson (11 February 1863 – 7 December 1935) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the first Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Australia. Early life Donaldson was the third son of Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson and hi ...

. He was enthroned at St John's Cathedral, Brisbane, on 16 November 1921. Sharp was a missionary bishop, much interested in social work. He was involved in many movements for the good of his church and the state. He was a member of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

senate from 1923 and was several times president of the Brisbane branch of the

League of Nations Union The League of Nations Union (LNU) was an organization formed in October 1918 in Great Britain to promote international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. The League of N ...

. Sharp was president of the

Royal Geographical Society of Queensland On 22 June 1883, the Geographical Society of Australasia started at a meeting in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. A branch was formed in Victoria in the same year. In July 1885, both the Queensland and the South Australian branches started. ...

. He attended the Lambeth conference in 1930 and in 1933 was acting

Primate of Australia The Anglican Primate of Australia is the senior bishop and President of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Chris ...

Later life

Sharp never married. He died of renal failure while still in office on 30 August 1933 and was buried in

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest ceme ...

.Sharp, Gerald
Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search Sharp's Roman Catholic counterpart, the long-serving archbishop

James Duhig Sir James Duhig KCMG (2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest-s ...

, considered Sharp "the most lovable man I knew".

References

1859 births 1924 deaths Australian Anglican missionaries Anglican archbishops of Brisbane People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Anglican bishops of New Guinea Burials at Toowong Cemetery Alumni of Lincoln Theological College {{Australia-anglican-bishop-stub