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Robert William Willson (11 December 1794 – 30 June 1866) was an English
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
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 ...
, the first Bishop of Hobart, and an advocate for the convicts in Australia.


Life

Willson was born at
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
, England. His father, a builder, belonged to the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, but became a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
late in life; his mother was a devout Roman Catholic. In his twentieth year he decided to enter a religious life as a lay brother, but was advised to study for the priesthood. He entered the College of Old Oscott in 1816, was ordained priest in December 1824, and was sent to
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
. When he arrived there was a small chapel that would hold 150 people with difficulty, and as the congregation was increasing, Willson found a good site and built St John the Evangelist's Catholic Church, Nottingham, which was completed in 1828. He began to take special interest in the prisons and the lunatic asylum, was placed on the boards of the county hospital and the lunatic asylum, and personally visited the inmates and obtained much influence over them. During the
cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic in 1832 he worked with the Quaker, Samuel Fox, caring for those affected and arranging burials. He was presented with the freedom of Nottingham. His congregation increased and he decided that a large church must be built on a worthy site. Gradually the group of buildings which eventually became the Cathedral of St Barnabas with adjacent schools and convent came into being. He found time to edit and contribute an introductory address to W.L. Stone's ''A Complete Refutation of Maria Monk's Atrocious Plot'', concerning the Hotel Dieu Convent in Montreal. Early in 1842 he was appointed bishop to the new see of
Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
,
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
. Efforts were made to have his services retained in England, but in January 1844 he sailed for Australia and he arrived at Hobart on 11 May 1844.


Australia

Willson was faced with a difficulty directly he landed. He had made a condition on accepting the See that Rev
John Joseph Therry John Therry (1790 - 25 May 1864) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest in Sydney, Australia. Early life John Therry was born in Cork and was privately educated at St Patrick's College in Carlow. In 1815 he was ordained as a priest. He did pari ...
be transferred from Hobart to another see. This had not been done and Willson removed Therry from office. He was told the diocese was not encumbered by debt but learned there was, in fact, a considerable debt. In August he went to Sydney to confer with Archbishop Polding on these matters, but 14 years were to elapse before a satisfactory arrangement was agreed to. On his return from Sydney, Willson began his important work of the amelioration of the conditions of the 30,000 convicts then in Tasmania. At the end of 1846 he sailed for England and his evidence before the committee then sitting on the convict system made a deep impression. He returned to Hobart in December 1847 and hearing that conditions at
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...
were rather worse than better, determined to see for himself. After his visit, he wrote a strong recommendation to Governor Denison that the penal settlement on the island should be abandoned as soon as possible. He made practical and valuable recommendations for reforms to be made in the meanwhile. These activities were not allowed to interfere with the conduct of his church work. Catholic schools were opened, a library was established, and new churches were built. In 1853, when an ailing Willson was advised to take a voyage to Europe, among the many addresses presented to him none touched him more than one signed by a large number of well-known residents who did not belong to his church. He returned to Hobart early in 1855, but he began to feel his years and in 1859 applied for a coadjutor. In February 1865 Willson left for Europe. On the voyage, he was struck down by paralysis from which he never fully recovered. He went to live among his friends at
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
and died there in 1866. His remains are now lying in Tasmania.


Posthumous

In 2005 permission was given for his remains to be exhumed and returned to Australia. His remains were exhumed in February 2017.


References


Further reading

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Willson, Robert William 1794 births 1866 deaths People from Hobart People from Lincoln, England People from Nottingham 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Australia Alumni of St Mary's College, Oscott Roman Catholic archbishops of Hobart