George Merrick Long (5 November 1874 – 9 July 1930) 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 ...

bishop and

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who served as a brigadier general in the Australian Imperial Force during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was also involved in the establishment of Trinity Grammar School in Melbourne, where he became headmaster. He was father of the historian Gavin Long.

Early life and career

George Merrick Long was born in

Carisbrook, Victoria Carisbrook is a town in the Shire of Central Goldfields and Mount Alexander Shire, Victoria, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (con ...

, the youngest son of William Long, an Englishman who left for Victoria in the gold rush, and his wife Eliza, née Merrick. He was educated at Maryborough Grammar School, but left early for employment in the bank. He later

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

by private study and was awarded the Rupertswood theological studentship to Trinity College at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1899 and a Master of Arts in 1901. Long became a deacon on 28 May 1899 and a priest on 10 June 1900. In 1899 he was posted to the district of Foster in

Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...

. He later returned to Melbourne to become senior curate at Holy Trinity Church,

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. There he became involved with the foundation of Trinity Grammar School, becoming its headmaster in 1904. Long served on several diocesan committees and was made a canon of St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne in 1910. In May 1911 he was elected bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst and consecrated on 30 November 1911 at St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney. For his services, Long was awarded the

Lambeth degree A Lambeth degree is an academic degree conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury under the authority of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 as successor of the papal legate in England. The degrees conferred most commonly are DD (Doctor of Div ...

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

First World War

Long joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 16 November 1917 as an Anglican chaplain. He sailed for London in January 1918 and was posted to the Australian Reinforcement Camp in France in April 1918. There he was approached by Major General Brudenell White to head the AIF's education project. Long accepted the post of Director of Education, AIF on 10 May 1918 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 June 1918. Long established himself in London, and drew up a scheme for professional, general and technical training to be conducted by teaching within the AIF and by sending men out to universities, schools and businesses. Officers with instructional experience were selected and assembled for three weeks training at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. In three weeks at Cambridge, Kelly produced the books ''Beef, Mutton and Wool'', the first of a series of fifteen texts written by Long's agricultural section.

Post war

When the war ended on 11 November 1918, Long was forced to put the education scheme into full effect earlier than expected. He was promoted to colonel and then temporary brigadier general on 1 January 1919. In March, with the scheme fully underway, Long's health began to suffer, and in April he handed over control to Brigadier General Walter McNicoll. For his services, Long was awarded honorary Doctor of Letters (LLD) degrees by both the

and the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

, and was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1919. In July 1919, Long returned to his diocese, where he continued his involvement with education. He restarted All Saints College in Bathurst on a new site, and opened the Marsden School for Girls at Kelso. Long was grand chaplain of the United Grand Lodge from 1923 to 1926. He drafted a new constitution for the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

in Australia, making it independent of the church in Britain, and advocated the White Australia Policy. Long was elected Bishop of Newcastle in December 1927 and was enthroned on 1 May 1928. Long went to England in March 1930 to attend the

Lambeth Conference The Lambeth Conference convenes as the Archbishop of Canterbury summons an assembly of Anglican bishops every ten years. The first took place at Lambeth in 1867. As regional and national churches freely associate with the Anglican Communion, ...

in London. There he suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and died on 9 July 1930. His requiem was celebrated by Archbishop Cosmo Lang before 300 bishops and his ashes returned to New South Wales and placed in All Saints Cathedral in Bathurst. He was commemorated in Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, where a window of its Tyrrell chapel contains his portrait.

References

* Ross Mallett
George Merrick Long
''General Officers of the First AIF'', adfa.edu.au * Ruth Teale

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 10,

Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. The press is currently a member of the Association of University Presses. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text ...

, 1986, pp. 134–135. {{DEFAULTSORT:Long 1874 births 1930 deaths Military personnel from Victoria (state) Anglican bishops of Bathurst Anglican bishops of Newcastle (Australia) Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian generals Australian headmasters Australian military personnel of World War I Doctors of Divinity People educated at Trinity College (University of Melbourne) University of Melbourne alumni World War I chaplains