The Anglican Diocese of Carpentaria was an

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 ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

in northern Australia from 1900 to 1996. It included most of northern Queensland, the islands of the Torres Strait and, until 1968, all of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

. The see was based at

Quetta Cathedral The Quetta Memorial Precinct is a heritage-listed Anglican church precinct in Douglas Street, Thursday Island, Shire of Torres, Queensland, Australia. The precinct comprises the All Souls and St Bartholomew's Cathedral Church, the Bishop's H ...

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately north of Cape ...

in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

. The creation of the diocese was the work of Christopher Barlow, Bishop of North Queensland. The diocese's first bishop was Gilbert White and the last was Anthony Hall-Matthews. In 1968 a new diocese, the Diocese of the Northern Territory based in Darwin, was created out of the Diocese of Carpentaria and, in 1996, the remaining part of the Carpentaria diocese merged back into the

Diocese of North Queensland The Diocese of North Queensland is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia, founded in 1879. It is situated in the northern part of the state of Queensland, Australia. As part of the Province of Queensland, it covers the Torres Strait Isl ...

. As part of the merger negotiations, an

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

within that diocese was elected to oversee the Torres Strait Region. However, unrest persisted and the islanders campaigned for an independent Torres Strait diocese. In 1997, some Anglicans in the Torres Strait region of the former diocese were received into the

Traditional Anglican Communion The Traditional Anglican Church (TAC), formerly the Traditional Anglican Communion, is an international church consisting of national provinces in the continuing Anglican movement, independent of the Anglican Communion and the Archbishop of Cant ...

Continuing Anglican The Continuing Anglican Movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion. Thes ...

body) and formed themselves into the Church of Torres Strait. In 2010 they petitioned the Vatican for reception as a

personal ordinariate A personal ordinariate for former Anglicans, shortened as personal ordinariate or Anglican ordinariate,"...the liturgies approved for the Anglican ordinariates..." "Bishop Stephen Lopes of the Anglican Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter..." ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In April 2014, this petition (slightly modified, as the original petition was for a separate jurisdiction) was granted by Pope Francis. According to the agreement, the Church of Torres Strait was to become a territory under the jurisdiction of the

Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross is a personal ordinariate of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church primarily within the territory of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference for groups of Anglicans who desire ful ...

, but day-to-day authority would remain devolved to a regional vicar. However, with the exception of the parish on

Dauan Island Dauan Island is an island in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia; it is also known as Cornwallis Island. Dauan Island is also a town and locality in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Dauan Islan ...

(which joined the ordinariate), the Church of Torres Strait subsequently joined the

Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church , image =Emblema da Igreja Católica Apostólica Brasileira.png , imagewidth = , caption =Emblem of the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church , main_classification = Western Christian , orientation =Independent Catholic , polity = Episcopa ...

instead.

Bishops of Carpentaria

* 1900–1915:

Gilbert White Gilbert White FRS (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a " parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist, ecologist, and ornithologist. He is best known for his ''Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne''. Life White was born on ...

(translated to Willochra, 1915) * 1915–1922: Henry Newton (translated to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, 1922) * 1922–1949: Stephen Davies * 1950–1960:

John Hudson John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(afterwards Bishop Coadjutor of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, 1960) * 1960–1968: John Matthews * 1968–1974: Eric Hawkey * 1974–1984: Hamish Jamieson (translated to Bunbury, 1984) * 1984–1996: Tony Hall-Matthews

Assistant bishops

Kiwami Dai was the first

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...

to become a bishop. On 1 July 1986, he was consecrated at All Souls' and St Bartholomew's Cathedral, Thursday Island, and served as an assistant bishop of Carpentaria diocese.Consecration of Bishop Kiwami Dai, Thursday Island, 1986 / Department of Aboriginal Affairs
National Library of Australia. Bib ID: 1585935

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anglican Diocese Of Carpentaria Former Anglican dioceses in Australia North Queensland Anglican bishops of Carpentaria Anglican Church of Australia Ecclesiastical Province of Queensland