Ernest Henry Burgmann (9 May 1885 – 14 March 1967) was an Australian

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 A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and social activist. In 1918 Burgmann was appointed Warden of St John's College, Armidale. In 1926 he moved the college to Morpeth, where it remained until its closure in 2006. Burgmann was elected as Bishop of

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, approximately south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent by Queen Victor ...

on 2 February, consecrated to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on 1 May and installed on 4 May 1934. He served until his retirement on 31 December 1960, although his diocese and position changed to Canberra and Goulburn in 1950. In 1957 Burgmann also established St Mark's Library in Canberra, which became

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 & Goulbu ...

. Although he never joined a political party, Burgmann was active in Australian politics and maintained a strong interest in working-class issues.

H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere "Doc" Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a justice of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General of Australia, Attorney-General and Minister for For ...

appointed him to the Australian delegation at the 1948

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Assembly in Paris. Burgmann opposed the attempted banning of the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian communist party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been ...

in 1951 and was described by the Prime Minister of Australia,

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

, in Parliament as a "most meddlesome priest".''The Meddlesome Priest – A life of Ernest Burgmann''
Retrieved 27 January 2017. Burgmann wrote prolifically throughout his life, mainly essays and booklets on social justice and reform, together with interpretations of

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

scripture. Burgmann College, established in 1971 and affiliated with the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, and

Burgmann Anglican School Burgmann Anglican School is an independent school in Canberra, Australia, servicing students from Early learning to Grade 12. It has been noted as one of the best performing schools in the Australian Capital Territory. It is the sister school o ...

in Canberra are named after him. He was the grandfather of

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

politician

Meredith Burgmann Meredith Anne Burgmann (born 26 July 1947) is an Australian politician and Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Labor Party member and a former President of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Early years Burgmann was born ...

and academic

Verity Burgmann Verity Nancy Burgmann (born 17 September 1952) is Adjunct Professor of Politics in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University and Honorary Professorial Fellow in the eScholarship Research Centre at the University of Melbourne, where she ...

and great-grandfather of comedian Charles Firth and politician

Verity Firth Verity Helen Firth (born 28 August 1973) is an Australian university executive and former politician. She is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Social Justice and Inclusion) at the University of Technology Sydney. She was the chief executive officer of ...

References

1885 births 1967 deaths Anglican bishops of Canberra and Goulburn Anglican bishops of Goulburn Anglican socialists Australian Christian socialists Australian people of German descent {{Australia-Anglican-bishop-stub