Henry Newton (5 January 1866 – 25 September 1947) 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 ...

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

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 served two Southern Hemisphere

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 ...

s in the first half of the 20th century.

Early life

Newton was born Henry Wilkinson, the son of Thomas Wilkinson and his wife Anne (née Magney), in Buckland, near

Beechworth Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,859. Beechworth's many histor ...

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 ...

. In 1876 he was adopted by the Rev Frederick Robert Newton, and subsequently took his surname.

Clerical career

He was educated at St. Paul's College, Sydney and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

. Ordained in 1891, after a

curacy 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 ...

at St John's, Hackney he returned to the

Antipodes In geography, the antipode () of any spot on Earth is the point on Earth's surface diametrically opposite to it. A pair of points ''antipodal'' () to each other are situated such that a straight line connecting the two would pass through Ear ...

where he became

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 ...

at St Agnes's Church,

Esk, Queensland Esk is a town and locality in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland, Australia. In the , Esk had a population of 1,698 people. Geography Esk is approximately northwest of Ipswich on the Brisbane Valley Highway. It was named after the ...

, and then a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

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 ...

. From 1915 to 1922 he was the second

Bishop of Carpentaria The Anglican Diocese of Carpentaria was an Anglican diocese 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 see was based at ...

. During his term as bishop,

St Paul's Theological College, Moa St Paul’s Theological College was an Australian educational institution on Moa Island, Queensland, established in 1917, alternating between Moa Island and Thursday Island. It trained Indigenous candidates for ordination in the Anglican Chur ...

, was opened for native students to train for ordination, and in 1919 he ordained the first two Torres Strait Islanders to become deacons,

Poey Passi Poey Passi (1888 – 2 April 1958) was one of the first two Torres Strait Islanders to be ordained a priest in the Anglican Church of Australia (then called the Church of England in Australia) in 1925. Early life Passi was the son of the last o ...

and

Joseph Lui Joseph Lui (died 17 May 1941) was one of the first two Torres Strait Islanders to be ordained a priest in the Anglican Church of Australia (then called the Church of England in Australia) in 1925. Early life Lui was the son of Lui Lifu (also ...

Translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

in 1922, he retired in 1936.

Honours

In 1935, he was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

. He was one of six recipients from the region. After his death,

Newton Theological College Newton Theological College is a Papua New Guinean educational institution in Popondetta, Papua New Guinea. It trains candidates for ordination in the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea. History Anglican mission activity commenced in the Territ ...

was renamed in his honour.

References

1866 births Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Anglican bishops of Carpentaria Anglican bishops of New Guinea 20th-century Anglican bishops in Oceania 1947 deaths {{Australia-anglican-bishop-stub