William Grant Broughton
Encyclopedia
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Australia of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. (The diocese was later restructured into many smaller sees.)
Broughton was born at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
and educated well for his day, including at The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....
, where he was a King's scholar. His fortunes turned from commerce to theology when he inherited a substantial sum, allowing him to study at Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
. He graduated B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
as 6th wrangler in 1818, and was also in that year ordained deacon and priest and married to Sarah Francis. He graduated M.A. in 1823. He first became a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, then later in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
where he became noticed by the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
who materially assisted his prospects, including certain influence in Broughton being offered the Archdeaconry of Sydney.
Broughton arrived in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on 13 September 1829, succeeding Thomas Scott as Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(that at the time substantially encompassed what is now the states of New South Wales plus Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
to the north and Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
to the south.) At this time, the colony was ecclesiastically an Archdeaconry of the Diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of the Bishop of Calcutta
Bishop of Calcutta
The Bishop of Calcutta exercises episcopal leadership over the Diocese of Calcutta of the Church of North India. The diocese was established in 1813 as part of the Church of England and the first bishop was Thomas Fanshawe Middleton and the second Reginald Heber...
.
Broughton was promptly made a member of both the colony's legislative council and executive council, assisting the Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
in the administration. He was granted a leave of absence and returned to England in 1834, there championing the cause of the church. The result was not as he expected; the diocese of Australia was to be formed. He was enthroned Bishop of Australia on 5 June 1836 in St James' Church, Sydney, as ruler of the new diocese of Australia just days after his arrival from England.
Broughton had a controversy with Charles Beaumont Howard
Charles Beaumont Howard
Charles Beaumont Howard was a colonial clergyman in South Australia.Howard was born in St Peter's Parish, Dublin, Ireland, the son of William Howard, a lieutenant in the Dublin City Corps of the Liberty Rangers. Howard graduated from Trinity College, Dublin with an M.A. in 1836.Howard was ordained...
over Howard's jurisdiction in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. Broughton was a busy bishop, and travelled widely, perhaps more so after his wife died in 1848.
Broughton travelled to England in late 1852 and was involved in administration and missionary fund raising. Broughton died in London in February 1853, and is buried in Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
.
Legacy
Anglican Diocese of Sydney
The Diocese of Sydney is a diocese within the Anglican Church of Australia. The majority of the diocese is Evangelical and low church in tradition and committed to Reformed and Calvinist theology....
(which Broughton retained), Adelaide
Diocese of Adelaide
The Diocese of Adelaide, Archiocese of Adelaide, Bishop of Adelaide and Archbishop of Adelaide could refer to:*The Anglican Diocese of Adelaide, led by the Anglican Bishop of Adelaide...
, Newcastle
Bishop of Newcastle, Australia
The present bishop of Newcastle in the Anglican Church of Australia is the Right Reverend Brian Farran, who was enthroned on 24 June 2005 at Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, New South Wales.-Former bishops:...
and Melbourne
Anglican Diocese of Melbourne
The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is the metropolitan diocese of the Province of Victoria in the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese includes the urban cities of Melbourne and Geelong and also some more rural areas. The cathedral church is St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne...
.
He is widely accepted as the founder of the King's School
The King's School, Sydney
The King's School is an independent Anglican, day and boarding school for boys in North Parramatta in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831, it is Australia's oldest school and forms one of the nine "Great Public Schools" of New South Wales. Situated within a site, Gowan Brae,...
at Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
, then a town at a distance of a day's ride from Sydney.
Broughton made many journeys around the fledgling colony and is credited as instigating the building of many churches in places such as Newcastle and the Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
north of Sydney and in the Monaro
Monaro, New South Wales
Monaro is the name of a region in the south of New South Wales, Australia. A small area of Victoria near Snowy River National Park is geographically part of the Monaro, whilst the Australian Capital Territory is frequently considered part of the region: most towns have very close links with...
region inland to the south-west.
Broughton championed the Newcastle case, and forfeited 500 pounds sterling from his salary to partly fund the development of a new diocese.
St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney
St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney
St Andrew's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of New South Wales, the Most Reverend Peter Jensen...
, was commenced during the late 1840s.
On 12 March 1845 he consecrated St John the Baptist Church
St John the Baptist Church, Reid
St John the Baptist Church is the oldest church in Canberra, Australia, and also the oldest building within Canberra's city precinct. It is sited at the corner of ANZAC Parade and Constitution Avenue in the suburb of Reid.-Construction:...
at what later became the site of the federal capital of Australia, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
His portrait, by Marshall Claxton
Marshall Claxton
Marshall Claxton was an English subject, genre, landscape and portrait painter.-Life:Claxton was born in Bolton, Lancashire, the son of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, the Rev. Marshall Claxton, and his wife Diana...
, is at St. Paul's College, Sydney
St. Paul's College, Sydney
St Paul's College in Sydney, Australia, is an Anglican residential college for men which is affiliated with the University of Sydney. Founded in 1856 by an 1854 act of the New South Wales Legislative Council, it is Australia's oldest university college...
.
The Broughton River
Broughton River
The Broughton River is a river in South Australia which flows from its confluence with Crystal Brook to the Spencer Gulf. Its mouth is located approximately north of Port Broughton and south west of Port Pirie....
and Port Broughton
Port Broughton, South Australia
Port Broughton is a small South Australian town located on the Yorke Peninsula on the east coast of Spencer Gulf. It is situated about 170 km north west of Adelaide, and 56 km south of Port Pirie At the 2006 census, Port Broughton had a population of 908....
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
are both named after him.
Broughton also consecrated Saint Mary on Allyn, Allynbrooke, in the Hunter Valley. His son-in-law, William Barker Boydell, married his daughter Mary Phoebe and the Broughton ordered that a church be built for his daughter to worship in. William Boydell and Mary Phoebe are both buried at Saint Mary on Allyn, along with their son, Henry, who died when he was one year old.
External links
- K. J. Cable, 'Broughton, William Grant (1788 - 1853)', Australian Dictionary of BiographyAustralian Dictionary of BiographyThe Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 158–164. - Bibliographic directory on Broughton from Project CanterburyProject CanterburyProject Canterbury is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999, and is hosted by the non-profit Society of Archbishop Justus...
- Henry Bailey, Bishop Broughton of Australia (1891)
- Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle - History
- Christ Church - Cooma, Monaro district
- http://home.netc.net.au/~bishopslodge/Diocese/albury.html1850 - Parish of Albury, New South WalesAlbury, New South WalesAlbury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
] - Heraldic legacy - stars in Crest of the Bishop to the Australian Defence ForceAustralian Defence ForceThe Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...