The Bush Brotherhood was a group of

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 ...

religious orders providing itinerant priests to minister to sparsely settled rural districts in Australia. They were described as a "band of men" who could "preach like Apostles" and "ride like cowboys".

History

The St Andrew's Bush Brotherhood was established in 1897 in

Longreach Longreach is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and I ...

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 ...

, by the

Bishop of Stepney The Bishop of Stepney is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of London, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Stepney, an inner-city district in the London Borough of Tow ...

, Canon Body and the Bishop of Rockhampton,

Nathaniel Dawes Nathaniel Dawes (24 July 1843 – 12 September 1910) was an Anglican bishop in Australia. He was the first Bishop of Rockhampton in Queensland, from 1892 to 1909. He was the first bishop to be consecrated in Australia. Early life Dawes was ...

. The first group of brothers was led by

the Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

George Halford. The Brotherhood of St Barnabas was established in 1902 in

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 895 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situate ...

, Queensland by Aneirun Vaughan Williams and Joseph Braybarton. It was also known as the North Queensland Brotherhood. The Brotherhood of the Good Shepherd was established about 1903 in

Dubbo Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. The Brotherhood of the Good Shepherd published '' The Bush Brother'' magazine from 1904 to 1980. The Bush Brotherhood of St Boniface operated in the Diocese of Bunbury in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

from July 1911 to 1929. In 1922,

Bryan Robin Bryan Percival Robin (12 January 188717 June 1969) was bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide, South Australia from 1941 to 1956. Early life Robin was educated at Rossall School and the University of Liverpool. Religious life Robin wa ...

published a book ''"The Sundowner"'' about his experiences in the Bush Brotherhood of St Barnabas in North Queensland from 1914 to 1921. This book attracted other priests to join the brotherhood. The Brotherhood of St John the Baptist was established in

Murray Bridge, South Australia Murray Bridge (formerly Mobilong and Edwards Crossing; ) is a city in the Australian state of South Australia, located east-southeast of the state's capital city, Adelaide, and north of the town of Meningie. The city is called ''Pomberuk'' b ...

. The Bush Brotherhood of St Paul operated in Charleville and

Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...

in Queensland.

Operation of the orders

There were a number of different

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

of Bush Brothers, but all operated on a similar basis of an almost monastic life, committed to: * temporary vows of

poverty, chastity and obedience In Christianity, the three evangelical counsels, or counsels of perfection, are chastity, poverty (or perfect charity), and obedience. As stated by Jesus in the canonical gospels, they are counsels for those who desire to become "perfect" (, ). ...

* periodic returns from the bush to a community house for spiritual replenishment * obedience to a warden or principal (often a bishop) Their duties included: * giving religious instruction in schools * holding services * administering sacraments The Bush Brothers were either single (or left their wives behind during their period of service). Many were recruited from England where life in the

Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...

had a romantic appeal. Australian brothers were less frequently recruited. Although the Bush Brothers originally rode horses, they drove vehicles in later years.

Notable members

* William Barrett, Dean of Brisbane *

Wilfrid Belcher Wilfrid Bernard Belcher Military Cross, MC, (25 July 1891 – 28 January 1963) was an Anglican bishop in the mid 20th century. Early life Belcher was educated at King's School, Bruton and Keble College, Oxford, the son of William Henry Belche ...

, Bishop of North Queensland * Stephen Davies, Bishop of Carpentaria *

William Elsey William Edward Elsey was an Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century. Early life Elsey was born into a sporting family on 4 July 1880 in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, and educated at King Edward VI ...

, Bishop of Kalgoorlie * John Feetham, Bishop of North Queensland *

Godfrey Fryar Godfrey Charles Fryar was the eleventh Bishop of Rockhampton in the Anglican Church of Australia. Early life Fryar was educated at All Souls' Charters Towers. Religious life Fryar and ordained in 1973. He was a Bush Brother until 1976 ...

, Bishop of Rockhampton * George Halford, Bishop of Rockhampton * Frederick Hulton-Sams, known as the "fighting parson" for his boxing skills, he died in 1915 in World War I. His friends wrote a book about his experiences as a bush brother. * John Hazlewood, Bishop of Ballarat * Barry Hunter, Bishop of Riverina * Hamish Jamieson, Bishop of Carpentaria and Bunbury * Ken Mason, Bishop of the Northern Territory, Chairman of the Australian Board of Missions *

Lionel Renfrey Lionel Edward William Renfrey (1916–2008) was an Australian Anglican bishop. He was the Dean of Adelaide from 1966 until 1997. Renfrey was educated at the University of Adelaide and ordained in 1940. After a curacy in Prospect, South Australia ...

, Dean of Adelaide, Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Adelaide *

, Bishop of Adelaide * Guy Roxby, died from typhoid in 1913, the first Brother to die in service *

Richard Thomas Richard Thomas or Dick Thomas may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Dick Thomas (singer) (1915–2003), American singing cowboy and actor * Richard Thomas (actor) (born 1951), American actor * Richard Thomas (author) (born 1967), America ...

, Bishop of Willochra *

Graham Howard Walden Graham Howard Walden (1931 27 November 2017) was an Australian Anglican bishop. Walden was born in 1931 and educated at the University of Queensland. He was ordained deacon in 1954 and priest in 1955. After Curate, curacies in London he retur ...

, Bishop of The Murray *

Arnold Wylde Arnold Lomas Wylde (31 March 1880 – 6 June 1958) was an English-born Anglican bishop in Australia where he was the Anglican Bishop of Bathurst. Early life and education Wylde was educated in England at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefiel ...

, Bishop of Bathurst

In popular culture

The narrator of

Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name to protect his enginee ...

's novel ''

In the Wet First Australian edition ( Heinemann) ''In the Wet'' is a novel by Nevil Shute that was first published in the United Kingdom in 1953. It contains many of the typical elements of a hearty and adventurous Shute yarn such as flying, the future ...

'' is a member of the Bush Brotherhood and provides a (fictional) account of the life of one of these itinerant priests.

History

Operation of the orders

Notable members

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading