Incumbents of St. John’s Church

While the “incumbent” (main minister) of St. John’s Church has been termed “rector” for most of its history, the earliest ministers were chaplains, paid for by the colonial government, and our present incumbent is “lead minister”, and has the wider responsibility for All Saints Anglican Network, which includes St. John’s Church.

1819 – 1827   The Reverend John Youl, (Chaplain to Port Dalrymple)
1828 – 1868   The Reverend Dr William H. Browne, LL.D.
1868 – 1887   The Reverend Canon Marcus Blake Brownrigg
1887 – 1891   The Reverend Elias C. Champion
1891 – 1896   The Reverend R. C. Nugent Kelly, M.A.
1897 – 1908   The Venerable A. Richard Beresford
1908 – 1913   The Reverend John S. Bryers, M.A.
1913 – 1919   The Reverend Harold N. Baker, B.A. (N.Z.), M.A. (Syd.)
1919 – 1921   The Reverend F. E. Cassian Crotty, Th.L B.D.
1921 – 1933 The Reverend D. Ross Hewton, F.R.G.S.
1933 – 1949   The Reverend Canon William Greenwood
1949 – 1961   The Reverend Leonard N. Sutton, B.A.(Syd.), Th.L., M.A.(Oxf.)
1961 – 1970   The Venerable Henry A. Jerrim, E.D., Th.L.
1970 – 1974   The Reverend H. Hugh Girvan, Th.L., Dip.C.C.A.C.
1974 – 1981   The Venerable Ian E.A. Booth, Th.L.
1981 – 1986   The Reverend Ernest E. Horth, R.F.D., B.A., Th.L.
1987 – 1993   The Reverend John A. Brook, B.A., Th.L.
1993 – 2004   The Venerable Gregory K. Clifton, Th.L.
2005 –  2016  The Right Reverend Ross J. Nicholson, Dip.A., B.Com., M.A.(Theol.)
2017 –            The Reverend James W. Hornby, B.Forest Sc., M.Div.

An early hand-tinted photo of St. John’s – likely about 1900

Assistant Curates, Locum Tenentes and
Deaconesses and Sisters of the Church

* An interim appointment during a rector’s absence, locum tenens, is indicated with an asterisk by the minister’s name.

1827-1828   The Revd James Norman *
1834-1842 The Revd William L. Gibbon
1849-1851 The Revd Henry P. Kane, M.A.
1851-1852 The Revd William Dry *
1853 The Revd Henry P. Kane
1853-1856 The Revd James M. Norman *
1883-1885  The Revd William H. Savigny, M.A.
1886-1897 The Revd Samuel Hart
1889-1890 The Revd Gerard Bourdillon, M.A.
1892 The Revd Frank Parnall, B.A.
1894-1895 The Revd R. William H. Christie
1894-1916 Deaconess Sr Charlotte Shoobridge
1895-1898 The Revd Edwin C. Spink, L.Th.
1895-1919 The Revd Christopher Wilkinson , M.A.
1899 The Revd L. A. Wyatt
1899-1901 The Revd William S. Stone
1902  The Revd Ambrose Pollard
1902-1906 The Revd Felix Albert Fernau
1905  The Revd Frank Bethune, M.A.
1905-1906 The Revd Frederick Riley, M.A.
1906 The Revd James R. Norman, M.A.
1907 The Revd Richard O. Ball
1908 The Revd Christopher Lumsden
1908 The Revd Evelyn Muschamp, B.A.
1908-1910 The Revd George N. Watson
1909 The Revd John K. Wilmer
1909-1911 The Revd Leslie U. Alley
1911 The Revd Gordon C. Rawlings
1911-1913 The Revd Francis B. G. Birch
1914 The Revd Karl E. Hamilton, Th.L
1915-1916 The Revd David Sherris, Th.L
1916-1917 The Revd William R. Barrett, B.A.
1917 The Revd Henry C. Bramall
1918-1919 The Revd Oscar V. A. Abram, L.Th., B.A.
1918 The Revd Maxwell J. Stephens
1919 The Revd Frank Bethune, M.A.
1919 The Revd C. G. Crawley
1919-1920 The Revd Thomas Smith, L.Th., B.A.
1921-1922 Deaconess Sister Flora Cole
1921-1922 The Revd Edward Barnes
1921-1923 The Revd Charles T. Pargiter
1923-1924 The Revd Frederick A. Carr
1924-1926 The Revd Francis (Frank) McCabe, Th.L, B.A.
1926-1928 The Revd Eric N. Gidley
1927-1928 The Revd Frank L. Wyman *
1929-1930 The Revd Reginald C. Brown, Th.L *
1931-1932 The Revd E. Wynne Evans
1933 The Revd Clifford J. Nash, Th.L
1934-1936 The Revd Lancelot (Lance) Benjafield, Th.L *
1937 The Revd Alfred Gamble
1938-1940 The Revd William L. B. Verrall, M.A., Th.L
1940-1942 The Revd Alfred Gamble

1948 The Revd David Carr-Boyd
1948 The Revd William W. Gregson
1949 The Revd Frederic Reeves, Th.L. *
1952-1953 The Revd Frank A. Stewart
1953 The Revd A. Victor Maddick, B.A.,L.Th.,Dip.Ed.
1957-1959 The Revd Terrence Dicks , Th.L
1960-1962 The Revd John Goldsworthy
1962-1966 The Revd Trevor G. Cowell Th.L
1966-1967 The Revd Alfred (Alf) Chipman, Th.L
1967 Deaconess Beatrice Robinson, Th.L
1969 Deaconess Sister Jenny Shaw, Th.L
1968-1970 The Revd Murray G. Johnson, Th.Schol.
1971-1973 The Revd Graham Thurley, Th.L
1973-1975 The Revd David Lewis
1974 The Revd Henry (Harry) W. Ikin, L.Th. *
1976 The Revd W. J. Foster *
1976-1977 The Revd David Le Rossignol, Th.L
1977-1979 The Revd David Jones, M.A., B.A. (Theol.), M.A.Ps.S.
1979-1981 The Revd Tony Henricks, Th.L
1981 The Revd Alfred (Alf) Reynolds, Th.L *
1981-1983 The Revd Robert (Bob) McKay, B.V.Sc., Th.Dip., A.R.C.
1983-1985 The Revd Craig Arnold, B.Th., Dip.Min., A.C.A.
1984-1986 Sister Jan Syme
1985 The Revd Gerald (Jed) Crispin, Th.Dip., Dip.Min.
1985-1987 The Revd Brian Curtis, Th.L., Dip.Min.
1986 The Revd Brian Mattingley, D.F.C., B.A., Dip.Ed., F.A.C.E. *
1986 The Revd R. Desmond Tyson, E.D., Th.L. *
1987 The Ven. John Moroney M.A., E.D. Th.L *
1988-1989 The Revd Henry Ivey, Th.L., Dip.Min.
1988-1991 The Revd David Hayman, B.Soc.Stud., B.Th. (University Chaplain)
1989-1991 The Revd Paul Wood, B.Th.
1991 The Revd Canon Lancelot (Lance) Shilton, A.M., Th.L., B.A., B.D. *
1991-1994 The Revd Dr Philip Blake, Ph.D., Dip.Th., Dip.P.S., Dip.R.E., F.A.I.W.C.W., M.A.C.C. (University Chaplain)
1991-1993 The Revd Peter Stuart, B.Com., B.D.
1993-1997 The Revd Richard Minol, Th.L, Dip.Min
1994-1996 The Revd Andrew Osborn, B.Sc., Dip.Ed., B.Th., Dip.Min.
1994-1995 The Revd Gilbert Page
1997-1998 The Revd Andrew Lang, B.Sc.(Hons.), Grad.Dip.Management
1998-2000 The Revd Dianne Milligan, Dip.T.Ed., B.Th.
1998-2000 The Revd Stephen Savage, B.Min.
2001 The Revd Canon Peter Kemp, M.A., M.Ed., Th.L, Dip.R.E. *
2001-2002 The Revd Scott Sargent, Th.Dip.
2002-2011 The Revd Roger Hesketh, Th.Dip., Dip.Min. (Senior Associate Priest)
2012-2017 The Revd Matias (Mat) Socorro
2015-2017 The Revd Nathanael (Nat) Reuss,
B.A.Sc., Grad.Dip.Comp., Grad.Cert.Th.&Min., M.A.(Mission & Ministry)
2015 The Revd Laurie Skilton, Dip.Th., M.A. *
2016- The Revd Roger Hesketh, Th.Dip., Dip.Min. * (from July 2017-2019: Senior Associate Priest)
20192023 The Revd Mark Barry, B.Arch., B.Th.

See also Churchwardens of St. John’s Church and All Saints Anglican Network