Gerald Sharp (27 October 1865 – 30 August 1933) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

-born

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 ...

clergyman, who served as Archbishop of Brisbane from 1921 until his death in 1933.

Early life

Sharp was born at

Childer Thornton Childer Thornton is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, in the unitary authority Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was once a separate village but has since been incorporated into Ellesmere Port. Childe ...

, George P. Shaw,
Sharp, Gerald (1865–1933)
, ''

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 ...

'', Vol. 11, MUP, 1988, pp 580-581. Retrieved 19 January 2010

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the son of Thomas Blatt Sharp, a merchant, and his wife, Mary Anne, ''née'' Lillee. Sharp was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, with a scholarship in 1883, and graduated B.A. in 1886 with honours in classics.

Religious life

Sharp entered

Lincoln Theological College Lincoln Theological College was a Church of England theological college in Lincoln. History Founded by Edward White Benson, when he was chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the college opened on 25 January 1874. It was also known as ''Scholae Cance ...

in 1888, and was ordained deacon in 1889 and priest in 1890. He was a curate of Rowbarton 1889-93 and at

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London (1893–98), became vicar of

Whitkirk Whitkirk is a suburb of east Leeds, England. It is situated between Cross Gates to the north, Austhorpe to the east, Killingbeck to the west, Colton to the south-east and Halton to the south-west. The Temple Newsam estate lies directly sou ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, in 1898, and in 1909 was proctor of convocation, Archdeaconry of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

. Sharp was consecrated Bishop of New Guinea on 25 April 1910. He attended 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 1920; in 1921 he was elected Archbishop of Brisbane in succession to Archbishop

St Clair Donaldson St Clair George Alfred Donaldson (11 February 1863 – 7 December 1935) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the first Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Australia. Early life Donaldson was the third son of Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson and h ...

. He was enthroned at

St John's Cathedral, Brisbane St John's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland, Australia. It is dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The cathedral is situated in Ann Street ...

, on 16 November 1921. Sharp was a missionary bishop, much interested in social work. He was involved in many movements for the good of his church and the state. He was a member of the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

senate from 1923 and was several times president of the Brisbane branch of the

League of Nations Union The League of Nations Union (LNU) was an organization formed in October 1918 in Great Britain to promote international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. The League o ...

. Sharp was president of the

Royal Geographical Society of Queensland The Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, formerly the Geographical Society of Australasia, was an Australian organisation formed in 1883 until it split up into various state organisations in the 1920s. The South Australian and Queensland b ...

. He attended the Lambeth conference in 1930 and in 1933 was acting Primate of Australia.

Later life

Sharp never married. He died of renal failure while still in office on 30 August 1933 and was buried in

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland, Queensland's lar ...

.Sharp, Gerald
Brisbane City Council Grave Location Search Sharp's Roman Catholic counterpart, the long-serving archbishop

James Duhig Sir James Duhig KCMG (2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest- ...

, considered Sharp "the most lovable man I knew".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Gerald 1859 births 1924 deaths Australian Anglican missionaries Anglican archbishops of Brisbane People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Anglican bishops of New Guinea Burials at Toowong Cemetery Alumni of Lincoln Theological College