Sydney Gething Caulton (1895 – 23 August 1976) was a British bishop who spent much of his career in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and the South Pacific.
A graduate of
St Chad's College
St Chad's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. Founded in 1904 as St Chad's Hall for the training of Church of England clergy, the college ceased theological training in ...
,
Durham University
Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
, where he gained his M.A., Caulton was made a deacon in Liverpool in 1922 and ordained priest there the next year, and remained there until 1930 when he became a missionary in the Diocese of Melanesia.
He arrived in New Zealand in 1937, with his wife and son, to become Vicar of
Whakatāne
Whakatāne ( , ) is a town located in the Bay of Plenty Region, Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and northeast of Rotorua. The town is situated at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. The Whakatāne Dis ...
, and then Vicar of St Peter's,
Onehunga
Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill.
Onehunga is ...
. He was inducted Vicar of St Mary's, and installed (''ex officio'') as Dean of Auckland in February 1946. On 2 February 1948, he was consecrated a bishop by
Cecil Cherrington
Cecil Arthur Cherrington (1877–1950) was an eminent Anglican Bishop in the 20th century. He was born into an ecclesiastical family and was educated at London University. Ordained in 1897, his first post was a Curate, curacy at St Chad's, Liver ...
,
Bishop of Waikato
The Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki is one of the thirteen dioceses and ''hui amorangi'' (Māori bishoprics) of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. The diocese covers the area from the Waikato to the area surrounding Moun ...
, at St Mary's, and based himself in the
New Hebrides
New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...
(now
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...
). On completion of his time as
Bishop of Melanesia The Archbishop of Melanesia is the spiritual head of the Anglican Church of Melanesia, which is a province of the Anglican Communion in the South Pacific region, covering the nations of Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. From 1861 until the inauguration ...
(March 1954) he became
Vicar
A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
of Northcote, then St George,
Epsom, New Zealand
Epsom is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located in the centre of the Auckland isthmus between Mount Eden and Greenlane, south of Newmarket, and south of the Auckland City Centre.
A valley located between four volcanic hills, Epso ...
(and Assistant Bishop of Auckland, 1955–1964) before his return to England as
Assistant Bishop of Southwark
The Bishop of Southwark ( ) is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Southwark, Diocese of Southwark in the Province of Canterbury.National Archives /ref> in 1969 he lived in Auckland again.Blain, Michael. ''Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican clergy in the South Pacific — ordained before 1932'' (2019) p. 268 (Accessed a Project Canterbury 26 June 2019)