The Anglican Diocese of Grafton is one of the twenty-three dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia

Anglican Church of Australia

The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...

. It is located in north-east New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and covers the area from the Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 border to Port Macquarie

Port Macquarie, New South Wales

Port Macquarie is a city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The city is located on the coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and has an estimated population of 44,313....

 in the south and west to the Great Dividing Range

Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...

.

Created in 1914 as a result of a division of the previous Diocese of Grafton and Armidale it has twenty-six Parishes, an active Environment Commission and Anglicare

Anglicare

Anglicare Australia is the national umbrella community services body of agencies associated with each diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia....

 organisation seeking to support community and social needs with the Diocese.

The Church of St Thomas at Port Macquarie was built by an early New South Wales Governor, Thomas Brisbane

Thomas Brisbane

Major-General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet GCH, GCB, FRS, FRSE was a British soldier, colonial Governor and astronomer.-Early life:...

, and is the fifth oldest church building in Australia.

The Bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 is the Right Reverend Keith Francis Slater

Keith Francis Slater

Keith Francis Slater is a bishop in the Anglican Church of Australia. He is the current Bishop of Grafton.Slater was educated at Kelvin Grove Teachers College and the Australian College of Theology. He was a curate in Gladstone, Queensland, priest in charge at Springsure. and the Archdeacon of...

, previously Archdeacon

Archdeacon

An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...

 of Lilley in Brisbane and the Registrar is Anthony Newby. The Bishop is based in Grafton, New South Wales

Grafton, New South Wales

The city of Grafton is the commercial hub of the Clarence River Valley. Established in 1851, Grafton features many historic buildings and tree-lined streets. Located approximately 630 kilometres north of Sydney and 340 km south of Brisbane, Grafton and the Clarence Valley can be reached...

, and the Cathedral Church is Christ Church in Grafton, designed by John Horbury Hunt

John Horbury Hunt

John Horbury Hunt was a Canadian-born architect who worked in Sydney, Australia and rural New South Wales from 1863.-Life and career:...

 and commenced in 1884, completed to its present stage in 1937.

The Diocese has a number of Church-based Schools providing education across a range of age-groups.

Founded	School	Enrollment	Years	Location
1981	Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School is a co-educational private day school on the southern end of the Gold Coast, Australia offering an integrated NSW curriculum from Pre-School through to Year 12. The School has two campuses, Pre-School through to Year 4 at Tweed Coast, and Year 5 through to Year...	1100	P-12	Tweed Heads
1993	Bishop Druitt College Bishop Druitt College Bishop Druitt College, or BDC, is a private Anglican school located in southwest Coffs Harbour. It consists of a primary, middle school and senior school section .-Background:...	1192	K-12	Coffs Harbour
1998	Emmanuel Anglican College Emmanuel Anglican College Emmanuel Anglican College is a co-educational Anglican day school at Ballina, New South Wales, Australia. Its current principal is Mrs Heidi O'Brien...	388	P-12	Ballina Ballina, New South Wales Ballina is a town on the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire Local Government Area. It had a population of 16,477 in the 2006 Census.-Location:...
1998	Clarence Valley Anglican School	297	P-12	Grafton Grafton, New South Wales The city of Grafton is the commercial hub of the Clarence River Valley. Established in 1851, Grafton features many historic buildings and tree-lined streets. Located approximately 630 kilometres north of Sydney and 340 km south of Brisbane, Grafton and the Clarence Valley can be reached...
2002	St Columba Anglican School	680	P-12	Port Macquarie

External links

• Diocese of Grafton