Phillip Keith Newell (30 January 1930 – 24 April 2022) was an Australian Anglican bishop who served as Bishop of Tasmania from 1982 to 2000. Newell was born on 30 January 1930. He was educated at 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 ...

. After working as a mathematics teacher and tutor in physics, from 1958 Newell studied for

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

as a residential student at

Trinity College Theological School, Melbourne Trinity College Theological School (TCTS) is an educational division of Australia's Trinity College, the oldest residential college of the University of Melbourne. It is also one of the constituent colleges of the University of Divinity. The Schoo ...

, winning the Henty Theological Studentship. He became a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1960. He was successively

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 ...

of St James', King Street,

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 ...

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 Christ Church, St Lucia, Brisbane, a

canon residentiary A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

St John's Cathedral, Brisbane St John's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland, Australia. It is dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The cathedral is situated in Ann Street ...

and finally (before being elected to the

episcopate 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 ...

)

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 ...

of Lilley. He was consecrated a bishop on 24 August 1982. In January 2016, Newell was accused of covering up for and further promoting convicted paedophile priest Louis Daniels at hearings of the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Government of Australia, Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 t ...

. Newell denied any cover up yet told the Commission that he apologised "from the bottom of my heart" for any harm his actions may have caused. In 1993, Newell was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the 1993 Australia Day Honours for "service to religion as Bishop of Tasmania, to education and the community". Newell was married to Merle for 62 years. He died on 24 April 2022, at the age of 92.

References

1930 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Anglican bishops in Australia Anglican bishops of Tasmania Archdeacons of Lilley Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) Religious leaders from Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni {{Australia-anglican-bishop-stub