Bruce Carlyle Gilberd (22 April 1938 – 19 December 2023) was a New Zealand

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. He was the 8th Bishop of Auckland, from 1985 to 1994.

Biography

Gilberd was born in

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

on 22 April 1938. He was educated at

King's College, Auckland King's College (Latin: ''Collegium Regis''; ), often informally referred to simply as Kings, is an independent secondary boarding and day school in New Zealand. It educates over 1000 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years. King's was originally a single s ...

, and the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. His qualifications are BSc (Auckland), LTh, LTh (Hons), STh (

St John Saint John or St. John usually refers to either John the Baptist or John the Apostle. Saint John or St. John may also refer to: People Saints * John the Baptist ( – ), preacher, ascetic, and baptizer of Jesus Christ * John the Evangelis ...

). Gilberd began his ordained ministry as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at Devonport. As

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Avondale from 1968 to 1971, he gained further experience through secondment to

Egglescliffe Egglescliffe is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. Administratively it is located in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees. The civil parish is in the Teesdale with a population of 8,559 at the 2011 Census. In the 2021 census the ...

Teesside Teesside () is an urban area around the River Tees in North East England. Straddling the border between County Durham and North Yorkshire, it spans the boroughs of Borough of Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, Stockton ...

in the United Kingdom as an industrial chaplain. On his return, he became director of the Interchurch Trade and Industrial Mission (ITIM) in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. From 1980 to 1985, he was a lecturer at

St John's College, Auckland The College of St John the Evangelist or St John's Theological College is the residential theological college of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The site at Meadowbank in Auckland is the base for theological education ...

, before being ordained as a bishop on 7 December 1985.ACANZP Lectionary, 2019
(p. 146) A keen fisherman and sailor, Gilberd retired in 1994. In retirement, Gilberd lived at

Tairua Tairua is a beachside town located on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand in the Thames-Coromandel District. It is located 150 kilometres (93 miles) east of Auckland and 125 kilometers (78 miles) north ...

, and campaigned against the construction of a new

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

there. In the

2002 New Year Honours New Years' Honours are announced on or around the date of the New Year in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London G ...

, Gilberd was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to the community. Gilberd died at his home in Tairua on 19 December 2023, at the age of 85.

References

1938 births 2023 deaths People from Whangārei People educated at King's College, Auckland University of Auckland alumni Anglican bishops of Auckland Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit {{NewZealand-Christian-clergy-stub