Bevan Stanley Meredith (14 August 1927 – 17 December 2019) was an

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 ...

clergyman in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

who was Bishop of the New Guinea Islands (1977–1995) and Archbishop of Papua New Guinea (1990–1995).

Early life

Meredith was born in 1927, the son of Stanley Meredith, who was a teacher, and his wife Edith (née Witchard). He was educated at Towalbyn Public School in Uralba and

Ballina High School Ballina Coast High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located on Cherry Street, in , in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1956 as Ballina High School, the sc ...

. In 1945 the family moved to Mango Hill in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. Initially working on the family farm, he then became a clerk at the City Electric Light Company. Meredith then became a teacher, initially at a small Anglican school called St Christopher's in Brookfield, which had been established by Fr Robert Bates, Rector of All Saints, Wickham Terrace,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. From 1948 he taught at the Slade School in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

, before moving to Papua & New Guinea in 1954 to teach at the Martyrs School in

Popondetta Popondetta (sometimes spelled Popondota) is the capital of Oro (Northern) Province in Papua New Guinea. In 1951 the city became the focus of relief efforts after nearby Mount Lamington erupted and killed 4,000 people. Popondetta is near to ...

. This was only three years after the Mount Lamington volcanic eruption which destroyed the school, and at the time it was still being rebuilt.

Career

Meredith trained for ordination at St Francis' Theological College, Brisbane and was ordained deacon in 1961 and priest in 1962. He served a short curacy at St Thomas', Toowong in the Diocese of Brisbane from 1961 to 1962 and then returned to Papua & New Guinea as a missionary in the

Papuan Peninsula The Papuan Peninsula, also known as the Bird's Tail Peninsula, is a large peninsula in Papua New Guinea, southeast of the city of Lae, that makes up the southeastern portion of the island of New Guinea. The peninsula is the easternmost extent of ...

from 1962 to 1966. He was then Archdeacon of New Guinea from 1966 to 1967. He was consecrated a bishop in 1967 and became an assistant bishop of New Guinea, as well as being Archdeacon of the New Guinea Islands. In 1968 he was appointed an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

chaplain (Papua & New Guinea then being an Australian territory). As late as 1970, Meredith was still finding communities of Papuans in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

for whom Christianity was novel, and he was the first to baptise any of them. In 1977 he became Bishop of the New Guinea Islands, and in 1990 additionally Archbishop of Papua New Guinea. He survived the volcanic eruption in

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province ...

in 1994, and retired in 1995. Meredith was a Franciscan tertiary.

Personal life

In retirement Meredith lived in Brisbane. He died in 2019, aged 92, and his funeral was at St John's Cathedral in Brisbane. He was unmarried. His sister Marion married the Rt Rev George Tung Yep.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, Bevan 1927 births 20th-century Anglican bishops in Oceania 2019 deaths Australian Anglican bishops People from the Northern Rivers Anglican archbishops of Papua New Guinea Anglican bishops of the New Guinea Islands Australian Army chaplains