David Robinson is an Australian bishop in the

Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the ...

. He served as the 12th Bishop of Rockhampton from 3 September 2014 to 22 February 2020.

Early life and parish ministry

Robinson was born in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

but emigrated to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

in 1970. Prior to working in ministry he worked for the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

in water management, then moved to Canberra to study at

St Mark's National Theological Centre St Mark's National Theological Centre is a theological college in Australia. It is owned and operated by the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. History Ernest Burgmann, Bishop of Goulburn from 1934 and then the renamed Canberra & Goulb ...

. During the 1980s Robinson worked with indigenous students in

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

and worked in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

with the Anglican Board of Missions. He was ordained in 1994 and until his ordination to the episcopate worked in the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn in parishes in

Gundagai Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Hon ...

, Kooringal and

Curtin Curtin may refer to: Places *Curtin, Australian Capital Territory *Curtin, Oregon, U.S. *Curtin Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, U.S. *Curtin, Nicholas County, West Virginia, U.S. *Curtin, Webster County, West Virginia, U.S. *RAAF Base Curtin ...

. Immediately prior to his appointment, Robinson was the National Formation Manager at St Mark's National Theological Centre.

Episcopal ministry

In April 2014, Robinson was appointed as the next Bishop of Rockhampton, replacing

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 af ...

who had retired in 2013. He was consecrated and enthroned as bishop on 3 September 2014 in

St Paul's Cathedral, Rockhampton St Paul's Anglican Cathedral is an Australian heritage-listed cathedral at 89 William Street, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland. It was designed principally by Annersley Voysey and built from 1883 to 1953. It is also known as St Paul ...

, the first Bishop of Rockhampton to be consecrated in the city's cathedral. As bishop, Robinson has had to deal with structural problems in the diocesan cathedral, St Paul's Cathedral in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of ...

. The cathedral's roof was significantly damaged in

Cyclone Marcia Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia was a powerful tropical cyclone that made landfall at its peak strength over central Queensland, near Shoalwater Bay on 20 February 2015. The cyclone went on to affect various areas including Yeppoon and Rockhampto ...

in February 2015 and closed for some time, but the cathedral was forced to close again after one wall suffered subsidence in 2017 while groundworks were being carried out. It was estimated that repairs would cost $10m to restore the cathedral. Works took place in late 2019 with the cathedral due to reopen in early 2020. During the

Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the postal service between 12 September and 7 November 2017. Unlike voting in ...

in 2017, Robinson said he affirmed the doctrine of the

that marriage was "a lifelong and exclusive union between a man and a woman", but acknowledged that the debate about same sex marriage was a "deeply personal and complex issue", that members of the LGBTI community "had not always felt welcomed, accepted and loved" and that he was "deeply sorry" for this. Robinson's final service was on 22 February 2020.

Personal life

Robinson is married to Jan, has two children and six grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, David Anglican bishops of Rockhampton 21st-century Anglican bishops in Australia English emigrants to Australia Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)