Howell Arthur John Witt (12 July 1920 – 8 July 1998) 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 ...

for over 25 years who served two very different

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s. During his time as Bishop of North West Australia, he published his memoir, entitled ''Bush Bishop''. He subsequently served as Bishop of Bathurst from 1981 to 1989. Witt was born in

Newport, Wales Newport ( ) is a city and Principal areas of Wales, county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. The population grew considerably between the 2011 and the 2021 Unit ...

, where his father worked as a docker. He was educated at

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

and the

College of the Resurrection A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary education, tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding academic degree, degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further educatio ...

in Mirfield. Ordained deacon in 1944 and priest in 1945, after curacies at

Usk Usk () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks the ancient cr ...

(1944–48) and St George',

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(1948–49) he emigrated to Australia where he became

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

at the Woomera Rocket Station, South Australia (1949–54). While at Woomera, Howell gave the first performance of his drag act, "the Dowager Duchess of Dingo Creek".Fergus Butler-Gallie, "The Right Reverend Howell Witt, Bishop of North West Australia (1920–98)" in A Field Guide to the English Clergy (London: Oneworld Publications, 2018) , pp. 3–6 After this, he was rector of St Mary Magdalene's

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

(1954–57) and then

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(1957–65). A hugely colourful character,''Priests and Prelates: The Daily Telegraph Book of Clerical Obituaries'', T. Beeson (ed) London, Continuum, 2002 in 1965 he was ordained 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 ...

as Anglican Bishop of North West Australia and was often featured in the media. He was later translated to serve as Bishop of Bathurst from 1981 to 1989 and in that role was reported to be "bumbling, inappropriate, and adventurous to the end".

References

1920 births Alumni of the University of Leeds Anglican bishops of North West Australia Anglican bishops of Bathurst 1998 deaths Alumni of the College of the Resurrection {{Australia-anglican-bishop-stub