A special ceremony took place at St James’ Anglican Church in Morpeth at the weekend to acknowledge the 40th anniversary of Bishop William Tyrrell’s proclamation as a Saint.
Bishop Tyrrell was a pivotal figure in the establishment and early history of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle.
He was installed as the diocese’s first Bishop in 1848. Over the next few decades, he recruited and trained people for the ministry, built churches throughout the land, and saw bishops appointed from Brisbane to Grafton.
He set off on horseback on many occasions to visit his far-flung parishioners, including one journey of 2,000 miles followed by another of 1,400 miles a few months later.
Bishop Tyrrell was passionate about education. One of our schools, Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College, was named in his honour.
On 24 March 1879, more than thirty years after his arrival from England, Bishop Tyrrell passed away.
In 1985, he was proclaimed a Saint and local hero during a service at Morpeth on the anniversary of his death.
