John Stephen Hart (27 December 1866 - 28 May 1952) 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 ...

who was the Bishop of Wangaratta in the Church of England in Australia (now the

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the R ...

Early life

Hart was born 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 ...

, in 1866, the son of John Hart and his wife Mary, who was the daughter of Sir George Stephen. He was educated at

East St Kilda St Kilda East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Glen Eira and Port Phillip local government areas. St Kilda East recorded a population of 1 ...

Grammar School.

Education and ministry

Hart graduated from 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 ...

in 1887 and was ordained deacon in 1893 and priest in 1894. He served curacies at St Paul's,

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, ...

(1893-1896) and

Christ Church, South Yarra Christ Church, South Yarra is the Anglican parish church of the suburb of South Yarra in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The parish is in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne and dates from 1856. The parish is well known as belonging to the Angl ...

(1896-1900). He was then the vicar of Holy Trinity

Benalla Benalla is a small city located on the Broken River gateway to the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the the population was 10,822. It is the administrative centr ...

(1900-1903), St Anselm's Middle Park (1904-1907) and St Martin's Hawksburn (1907-1914). In 1912 Hart was appointed to the theological staff at

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 ...

. In 1914 he became the Warden of St John's Theological College in

St Kilda East St Kilda East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Glen Eira and Port Phillip local government areas. St Kilda East recorded a population of 1 ...

. In September 1919 he was elected the

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 ...

following the death of

Charles Godby Charles John Godby (1851–1919) was the Dean of Melbourne from 1914 until his death. Godby was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge and ordained in 1876. After a curacy in Newark he emigrated to Australia and was an incumbent in Seymou ...

. He was appointed Bishop of Wangaratta in 1927 and retired in 1942.

Personal life

In 1900, at

, he married Catherine Buckhurst (1868-1942). Hart died in 1952, aged 85, and was buried at

St Kilda Cemetery St Kilda Cemetery is located in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda East, Victoria. History St Kilda Cemetery covers a large block bordered by Dandenong Road, Hotham Street, Alma Road and Alexandra Street. It is bounded by a historic wall and conta ...

References

Sources

*The Times, 2 May 1927
Australian Dictionary of Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Stephen Deans of Melbourne Anglican bishops of Wangaratta 1866 births 1952 deaths People from Caulfield, Victoria University of Melbourne alumni Religious leaders from Melbourne University of Melbourne faculty