Our History
The Diocese of Newcastle was established on 25 June 1847 by Letters Patent issued by Queen Victoria.
On 29 June 1847, our first Bishop, William Tyrrell was consecrated along with colonial bishops for Adelaide, Melbourne, and Cape Town.
Since Dr Tyrrell’s death in 1879, Newcastle Anglican has been served by 12 bishops, many of whom were a catalyst for change and made significant contributions to the diocese and the work that we do.
Our current bishop, Bishop Peter Stuart was elected and installed on 2 February 2018.
Bishop Peter Stuart (acting on behalf of the Metropolitan) ordained as bishop Archdeacon Sonia Roulston (to minister in the Inland Episcopate) and Archdeacon Charlie Murry (to minister in the Coastal Episcopate) in May 2018.
Today, the diocese of Newcastle Anglican includes 55 parishes extending along the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, Newcastle, Hunter, Paterson, and Port Stephens to the Manning region of New South Wales, Australia. The central church of the diocese is Christ Church Cathedral in Newcastle.
Newcastle Anglican serves this region and meets the needs of the community through its parishes, chaplaincies, schools, Samaritans, Anglican Care and the Anglican Savings and Development Fund.
“The area of the Diocese is given at 41437 square km, with a population of approximately 988,105 of whom it is estimated some 278,483 identified themselves as Anglican”.
Samaritans Foundation History
Our social services arm, Samaritans Foundation, was established in 1984 and began its work of supporting the social and community service work of Newcastle Anglican.
With the clear mission of helping and providing unconditional support to people in need, the organization grew significantly since then and now operates over 100 support services across the Central Coast, Newcastle, Hunter, Mid North Coast and Central Western regions of NSW.
Samaritans have helped many people and continue to assist those facing hardship, crisis, homelessness, or trying conditions, including people with disabilities or mental health challenges, children, youth, families and the wider community.
Anglican Care History
Recognising that the older members of the community need care and support, the Anglican Church of Newcastle founded Anglican Care, the aged care ministry of Newcastle Anglican in 1956.
The first Anglican Care facility was the CA Brown Retirement Village at Booragul, which became the new home for many seniors, cared for by staff with compassion and respect.
Over 60 years, the not-for-profit organisation has grown, delivering genuine care through a range of services from community and home care to retirement living, residential and palliative care.
There are now 9 Anglican Care facilities across the Hunter, Mid Coast and Central Coast regions, providing quality aged care and supporting the people of the community.
Newcastle Anglican Schools History
The community of Newcastle Anglican has access to four quality schools providing Christian education in the region—Scone Grammar School, Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College, Lakes Grammar–An Anglican School, and Manning Valley Anglican College.
Scone Grammar School began its first term in May 1887 after William Blomfield Pulling leased the old St Luke’s school building, which was established in 1845. The current school opened in 1990 after purchasing the former Scone Grammar School building with money donated by the parishioners of St Luke’s Parish.
Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College was established in 1998 and named in honour of Bishop William Tyrrell, the First Bishop of Newcastle. The school began its classes in 1999 with 46 primary students.
The current Lakes Grammar–An Anglican School was established in 2004 when the former Lakes Anglican Grammar School at Summerland Point closed at the end of 2003.
Manning Valley Anglican College, which provides co-educational schooling for students of the Great Lakes and Manning Valley, started its first classes on 30th January 2003.
Newcastle Anglican also has a close association with Newcastle Grammar School, officially founded in 1918 but established in 1859 at the present site in Berkeley House. The Anglican Diocese of Newcastle gave the control and administration of the school to The Pittwater House Schools in 1976 and in 1992, the school administration returned to Newcastle, currently governed by Newcastle Grammar School Limited.