Henry Thomas Langley (30 March 1877 – 28 November 1968) was the Anglican

Dean of Melbourne St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia. It is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Melbourne and the seat of the Archbishop of Melbourne, who is also the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Victoria. Th ...

from 1942 to 1947.

Family

The son of the first Anglican Bishop of Bendigo, Henry Archdall Langley (1840-1906), and Elizabeth Mary Langley (1842-1923), née Strachan, Langley was born in

Windsor, New South Wales Windsor is a historic town north-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the council seat of the Hawkesbury local government area. The town sits on the Hawkesbury River, enveloped by farmland and Australian bush. Many of the oldest sur ...

on 30 March 1877. He was the sixth of Langley's 12 children. One of his brothers,

Frank Langley Francis Ernest Langley (13 October 1882 – 22 March 1946) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the early 1900s. Family The son of Henry Archdall Langley ...

, played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

for the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) from 1900 to 1906; another was the Archdeacon of St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney; and four of his sisters were involved with

St Catherine's School, Toorak (Nothing is great unless it is good) , established = 1896 , type = Independent, day & boarding school , years = ELC–12 , gender = Girls , denomination = Non-d ...

, two serving as its principal. He married Ethel Maud Du Ve (1878-1957), fourth daughter of Charles Ignatz Du Ve (1836-1915), and Agnes Adamson Du Ve (1845-1915), née Buntine, on 4 September 1901. They had four sons, and one daughter: * Henry Archdall "Hal" Langley (1902-1965). * Charles Ethelbert Langley (1904-1981), who taught at Hale School in Western Australia from 1930 to 1933, and then at Melbourne's

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as ...

from 1934 to 1960. * Philip D'acres Langley (1907-2000). * Thomas Laurence Langley (1911-). * Ethel Grace Archdall Langley (1915-).

Education

Along with four of his five brothers, he attended

in the 1890s. An excellent scholar, he was awarded a ''theological studentship'' in 1893 (for 1894), in 1894 (for 1895), and in 1895 (for 1896). He began his studies at Trinity College, Melbourne in 1894, graduating Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in 1899, and Master of Arts (M.A.) in 1904, with final honours in logic and philosophy.

Cleric

He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in 1901. After

curacies 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 ...

served at St Paul's Church, Sale, St. Mary's Church, Morwell, Holy Trinity Church, Yarram, St. Clement's Church,

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gove ...

, and

St Philip's Church, Sydney St Philip's Church, Sydney is the oldest Anglican church parish in Australia. The church is located in the Sydney city centre between York Street, Clarence and Jamison Streets on a location known as Church Hill, so sometimes called Church Hill ...

, he became the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St James' Church, Traralgon in 1907. He then served as the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

at St Mary's Anglican Church (now known as

Oaktree Anglican Church An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

) in

Caulfield, Victoria Caulfield is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Caulfield recorded a population of 5,748 at the 2021 census. It is bound ...

, as " Canon Langley", from 1911 to 1942.

Caulfield Grammar School

While at St. Mary's he served as Caulfield Grammar School's chaplain. In 1931, the school (at the time owned by

Walter Murray Buntine Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

) ceased being a "private school", and it became a "public school", with its operation conducted by a private company limited by guarantee. Langley served on the Caulfield Grammar School Council (the company's governing body) from its foundation in 1931 until 1945.

Military chaplain

On 1 January 1916, Langley was appointed as a

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

to the First AIF.

Shelford Girls' Grammar School

As the Vicar of St Mary's, Langley had been giving the pupils of the highly respected ''Shelford Girls' School'' weekly lessons in religious instruction for quite a number of years. The school, established in 1898 (in Glen Eira Road) by Emily Dixon, was relocated to 77 Allison Road, Elsternwick by its second principal, Dora Mary Petrie Blundell (1865-1943), who served as the school's second principal from 1904 to 1921. Dora was assisted and supported by her sisters, Lucy Annie Blundell (1850-1922), Fanny Blundell (1851-1937) and Margaret Helen Petrie Blundell (1866-1953), in performing her wide range of duties. In 1923, Langley was responsible for the relocation of the school from 77 Allison Road, Elsternwick to "Helenslea" in Hood Crescent, Caulfield North — adjacent to St Mary's Church — the re-establishment of it as the

Shelford Girls' Grammar School (Seek ye first the Kingdom of God) , city = Caulfield , state = Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, single-sex, day ...

, and the appointment of Miss Ada Mary Thomas as its head mistress. Miss Thomas went on to serve as the school's headmistress from 1922 to 1945.

St. Margaret's, Caulfield

As Vicar of St. Mary's, he was also responsible for the foundation of St. Margaret's Anglican Church, in Ripley Grove, Caulfield, in 1923. St. Margaret's operated as "''

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

''" to St. Mary's church. Its adjacent hall was also the home of the 2nd. Caulfield Scout Troop.

Dean of Melbourne

In August 1942, Langley was elected Dean of Melbourne — replacing Archbishop Head who had acted as dean since the retirement of

George Aickin George Ellis Aickin (1869 – 4 August 1937) was a British Anglican priest in Australia, where he ended his career as Dean of Melbourne 1927–1932. Biography Aickin was born in Liverpool in 1869, educated at Liverpool College and St John’s Col ...

in 1932 — and continued in that position until he retired in April 1947.

Political views

According to Hansen (2000), Langley "associated himself with socialist movements and marched annually in the May Day procession". Over his lifetime, he was quite outspoken on a wide range of political and social issues: :::"Dean Langley has created a place of respect and affection in the life of Melbourne by his fearless and creative utterances in the Cathedral and on the Yarra bank as to the implications of the Christian Gospel to the social order as well as the life of individuals" — ''Williamstown Chronicle'', 5 September 1947.

Death

He died on 28 November 1968, at Hawthorn, and was cremated.Funeral Notices: Langley, ''The Age'', (Friday, 29 November 1968), p.19.
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Footnotes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Langley, Henry Thomas 1877 births People from New South Wales People educated at Caulfield Grammar School People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) University of Melbourne alumni Deans of Melbourne 1968 deaths Australian people of Irish descent