Augustus Short (11 June 1802 – 5 October 1883) was the first

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop of

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, South Australia.

Early life and career

Born at Bickham House, near

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, Devon, England, the third son of Charles Short, a London barrister, offspring of an old English county family, and his wife Grace,Dirk van Dissel,
Short, Augustus (1802 - 1883)
, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Vol. 6, MUP, 1976, pp 122-123. retrieved 20 January 2010 daughter of Humphrey Millett. Short was educated at

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and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he received first-class honours in classics and graduated with a

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in 1826 and

D. D. A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (i.e., Christian theology and ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the English-speaking world than elsewhere. In the United Kin ...

1847. Short took orders in the Church of England as deacon in 1826 and priest in 1827 and in the same year accepted the curacy of

Culham Culham is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in a bend of the River Thames, south of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon in Oxfordshire. The parish includes Culham Science Centre and Europa School UK (formerly the European Sch ...

, near

Abingdon, Oxfordshire Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish on the River Thames in the Vale of the White Horse district of Oxfordshire, England. The historic county town of Berkshire, the area was occupied f ...

. In 1829 he resigned to become a tutor and lecturer in his old college; one of his students was

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

. In March 1833 he was appointed public examiner in the classical schools, and in January 1834 was made junior censor. In June 1835 he was presented as vicar by the dean and chapter of Christ Church to the living of

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. The church and parsonage were both badly in need of repairs and restoration, the church was badly attended, and the education of the children neglected. Short, by assiduous visiting and hard work, succeeded in making considerable improvements in all these directions. In December 1835 he married Millecent (or Millicent) Phillips, second daughter of John Phillips of Culham House, Oxfordshire, who survived him with several daughters and a son, Henry Augustus Short. Henry Augustus married Ethel Catherine Edgerton-Warburton (the eldest daughter of Colonel

Peter Egerton Warburton Colonel Peter Egerton-Warburton (16 August 1813 – 5 November 1889), often referred to as Major Warburton, was a British military officer, Commissioner of Police for South Australia, and an Australian explorer. In 1872 he sealed his legacy t ...

) on 28 October 1871. Short published in 1838, ''Sermons intended principally to illustrate the Remedial Character of the Christian Scheme'', was appointed

Bampton lecturer The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have sometimes been biennial ...

in April 1845, and preached the course at Oxford in 1846. The lectures were published in the same year under the title ''The Witness of the Spirit with our Spirit''.

Career as a bishop

In 1845 the archbishop of Canterbury offered Short the choice of two newly established sees,

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, and Adelaide, South Australia. Short decided to accept Adelaide and on 29 June (St Peter's Day), 1847, was consecrated at

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. Short sailed in the ''Derwent'' for Adelaide on 1 September and arrived on 28 December 1847, the eleventh anniversary of the proclamation of the colony. There were then only five churches in the diocese, three at Adelaide, one at Blakiston and another at

Gawler Gawler, established in 1839, is the oldest country town in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the st ...

. Short travelled through the settled parts of South Australia, and before the end of 1848 went to Western Australia, then a part of his diocese, where he consecrated that state's first church,

St John's Anglican Church, Albany St John's Anglican Church, also known as St John the Evangelist Anglican Church, is a heritage-listed Anglican Church in Australia, Anglican Church (building), church on York Street, Albany, York Street in , Western Australia. The church is th ...

. He returned to Adelaide early in 1849, and on 24 May 1849 laid the first stone of

St Peter's College, Adelaide St Peter's College (officially The Anglican Church of Australia Collegiate School of Saint Peter, but commonly known as Saints) is an Private school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Primary school, primary and Secondary school ...

, founded in 1847 by the

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and William Allen, a wealthy philanthropist. He was the first president of its council of governors. He consecrated

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in December 1849 and St Paul's Church in June 1860.

Funding

In August 1851 the withdrawal of state aid to religion compelled the Church of England in South Australia to devise a voluntary system of maintaining itself. Short, who had prepared a draft constitution for the diocese, visited England in 1853, sailing from

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aboard the ''Shackamaxon'' with his wife and children. There he obtained counsels' opinion, which agreed that it was competent for a colonial diocese to organise itself without Imperial authority. The constitution was submitted in October 1855 to a diocesan assembly and was adopted. In 1856 the diocese of

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

was founded and Short was relieved of the oversight of the whole of Western Australia, a difficult task especially in view of the limited means of communication. The Adelaide diocese had been presented with some land in the city by W. Leigh, the income from which became very useful for general diocesan purposes, and by the liberality of William Allen the pastoral aid fund was instituted. Other funds for the endowment of the diocese and for providing retiring allowances for the clergy were also successfully initiated.

Charitable works

In 1856 he instigated, with the support of Adelaide churches of all denominations, the South Australian Female Refuge for practical support and protection of homeless girls and women, and was its first vice-president. The facility, previously known as "Norwood House", at the corner of Sydenham Road and William Street, Norwood, opened in 1857, and in later years was known more simply as the South Australian Refuge.

Adelaide cathedral

Soon after Short's acceptance of the see, he made enquiries about a site for a cathedral and was informed that the centre of Victoria Square had been allotted for this purpose by Governor Frederick Robe. This was objected to by the city council and Short decided to have the question finally settled and brought a friendly lawsuit for this purpose. The decision went against Short and eventually the present site in North Adelaide was bought. Subscriptions were raised but the building was not begun until 1869. It was consecrated as St Peter's Cathedral on 1 January 1878.

Late career and death

He was elected vice-chancellor of

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

when it was founded in 1874, and chancellor in 1876. In November 1881 Short became ill while preaching and under medical advice decided to retire. He left Adelaide for London on 6 January 1882. On 30 November he attended the consecration of George Wyndham Kennion as second bishop of Adelaide, and handed him the pastoral staff which had been presented to Short by the clergy and

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of Adelaide on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his consecration. Short died at

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(or London) on 5 October 1883, his estate was valued for probate at £8200. Short Street in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

is named after him.

Bibliography

* Fred T. Whitington ''Augustus Short, first bishop of Adelaide : a chapter of colonial church history'' E.S. Wigg & Son, Adelaide, 1887. *