The Anglican Church was present in Australia from the beginning of European
settlement - the Reverend Richard Johnson, Chaplain to the Colony of New South
Wales, sailed with the First Fleet. As settlement spread, the Church followed
and in 1827 a minister was appointed to the Parish of Australia beyond
Liverpool, which centered on Goulburn. St Saviour's Church was completed in
1839, three years after the See of Australia was established. It soon became
evident that the south-west , a rapidly growing region, needed its own bishop
and in 1863 Mesac Thomas was consecrated as the first Bishop of Goulburn, his
diocese encompassing the whole of southern New South Wales.
He was faced with the task of creating and united Christian community from
disparate settlements and remote townships. With the help of mission-minded
clergy and dedicated people, bishop Thomas and his successors established
parishes closely involved in community affairs and fashioned a diocese which
represents Anglican hopes and aspirations to wider world. The church set up its
own schools and welfare organisations as part of its commitment to the emerging
nation and pressing social concerns.
When Canberra was proclaimed the national capital in 1910, the Diocese
struggled, often alone, with the need to establish a national presence for the
Anglican Church. When the Diocese was re-named 'Canberra and Goulburn' in 1950
at the insistence of the controversial Bishop Burgmann, it marked the Church's
formal recognition that Canberra demanded its attention and a creative pastoral
approach to its rapid growth.
This authoritative study of the history of the Diocese is published to
coincide with the 50th anniversary of its change of name. 'A Church for a
Nation' makes a substantial contribution to Australian church and spiritual
history, and also offers fascinating insights into the social history of
southern New South Wales.
Contents:
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
1. The New Country 1788-1851
2. The Hinterland See 1852-1863
3. An Anglican Colony 1864-1892
4. A Christian State 1893-1901
5. A Christian Empire 1902-1914
6. World War I 1915-1918
7. A Christian Commonwealth 1919-1928
8. Reflections on National Life 1929-1934
9. Continuity and Change 1935-1939
10. Church and Nation United 1939-1945
11. A New Jerusalem 1946-1950
12. Years of Plenty 1951-1957
13. The Long Boom 1957-1962
14. A Diocese Within a Diocese 1963-1967
15. A Secular People 1967-1972
16. Change and Renewal 1973-1985
17. Facing the Nation 1986-2000
18. A Light to the World
Appendix 1: Statistics
Appendix 2: Sources and Published Works
Endnotes
Index
