Lowther Clarke - Melbourne

Melbourne

Clarke was consecrated bishop of Melbourne in St Paul's Cathedral, London, on 1 November 1902. He arrived in Melbourne in February 1903. Since the resignation of Bishop Goe the area of the diocese of Melbourne had been greatly reduced by the formation of new dioceses at Bendigo, Wangaratta and Gippsland. When Clarke began his work he appointed a commission to document the present position and future needs of the diocese, and he later came to the conclusion that certain parishes had become too large and needed subdividing, that means must be found for a more complete training of the clergy, and that there must be an extension of secondary education by means of church schools. In 1905 Clarke became first archbishop of Melbourne and metropolitan of Victoria. He ruled his diocese firmly and refused to allow himself to be allied to any party. Recognizing that what may be called the puritanical and the aesthetic types of mind are permanent in human nature, he felt that the safest approach would be found in a middle course, and that no good would be done by straining for uniformity in minor issues. The question of the reunion of the churches was given some consideration, but little progress was made. There was, however, much expansion in the social work of the church, and several successful secondary schools were established, including the Melbourne Church of England Girls' Grammar School, and Trinity Grammar School, Kew. In 1910 Clarke persuaded the Parliament of Victoria to establish the Melbourne College of Divinity to examine for and grant degrees. He married in 1876 Alice Lovell, daughter of the Rev. Canon Kemp, she died suddenly in 1918. In March 1920 Clarke went to London to attend the Lambeth conference, and in November resigned his position as archbishop of Melbourne.