Primary contact
50 Victoria Street, Grafton Postal address: The Diocesan Archivist, PO Box 4 Grafton NSW 2460Grafton, New South Wales 2460
The Anglican Church has been present since 1824 in what is now the Diocese of Grafton, which covers the northern rivers region of New South Wales. In that year the first Chaplain, the Reverend Thomas Hassall, was appointed to the Penal Station at Port Macquarie.
By 1842 William Grant Broughton was Bishop of Australia and in that year he sent the first Anglican minister to Grafton.
From 1847 William Tyrell, as Bishop of Newcastle, led the Anglican Church from the Hawkesbury to Mackay, continually riding over this vast area on horseback.
In 1869, Tyrell as Bishop of Newcastle formally ceded the northern part of his diocese to be the new diocese. Turner was installed as Bishop of the Diocese of Grafton and Armidale in September 1869, remaining till 1892.
For further information about the history of the diocese, see https://www.graftondiocese.org.au/about/background-history/