John Francis Stretch (28 January 1855 – 19 April 1919) was an Australian

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Early life

Stretch was born in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, the son of Reverend John Cliffe Theodore Stretch and his wife Frances (née Heath). He was educated at

Geelong Church of England Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"( 1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ...

. On 2 July 1872, he was the first student to enrol in

Trinity College, Melbourne Trinity College is the oldest residential college of the University of Melbourne, the first university in the colony of Victoria, Australia. The college was opened in 1872 on a site granted to the Church of England by the government of Victori ...

, which was the first residential college of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. He graduated BA in 1874 and LLB in 1887.

Religious life

Ordained in 1878, he began his ordained ministry 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 ...

in Geelong. In 1892, Stretch became

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 ...

of St Andrew's Church, Brighton,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

having previously served as incumbent of Holy Trinity Church in

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...

and St Mark's Church in

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

. He was appointed to be

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

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 ...

in 1894. Stretch was consecrated as a bishop in 1895 as the first co-adjutor bishop for the Brisbane diocese. He was the first Australian to become an Anglican bishop in Australia. His consecration service (along with

Henry Cooper Sir Henry Cooper (3 May 19341 May 2011) was a British heavyweight boxer, best remembered internationally for a 1963 fight in which he knocked down a young Cassius Clay before the fight was stopped because of a cut eye from Clay's punches. Coo ...

who was made the coadjutor bishop for Ballarat) was held at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

in Melbourne on 9 November 1895 (the consecration was only the second occasion that such a service had happened in Australia at that time). On Saturday 20 June 1896, he officially opened St Alban's Anglican church in

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the , Cunnamulla had a population of 1,140 people. Geography Cunnamulla ...

. Stretch was injured on his way to Cunnamulla, as he shot at a turkey from his buggy, frightening the horses, resulting in a crash with a tree stump. Although he sustained "serious contusions" to his forehead and hand, he was still able to perform the ceremony. In 1906 he was made the Bishop of Newcastle in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Later life

In failing health, Stretch announced his retirement on 24 January 1919 to officially take effect on 30 June 1919, but unofficially retired almost immediately. He died following a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

on 19 April 1919 in Lindfield,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, survived by his two daughters and four sons. His body was taken to Christ Church Cathedral in Newcastle, where his funeral service was conducted on Monday 21 April 1919 by John Wright (Archbishop of Sydney). After the funeral, there was a procession through the streets to the railway station. Stretch was buried in the Anglican section of

Sandgate Cemetery Sandgate Cemetery is a necropolis in the Hunter region near Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, and has been continuously operating since 1881. The cemetery caters for all religious, ethnic and cultural requirement ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

with the burial service conducted by Archbishop Wright. Two of his sons, John Carlos William and Cliffe Maurice Osmond, were also Anglican clergy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stretch, Jack 1855 births People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) People educated at Geelong Grammar School University of Melbourne alumni 20th-century Anglican bishops in Australia Deans of Ballarat Anglican bishops of Newcastle (Australia) 1919 deaths }