Donald Norman Shearman (6 February 1926[1]–2019[2]) was an Australian Anglican bishop who served as Bishop of Rockhampton from 1963 to 1971[3] and Bishop of Grafton from 1973 to 1985. In 2004, a church tribunal found Shearman guilty of misconduct for sexually abusing a schoolgirl while serving as a boarding master at an Anglican hostel in Forbes, New South Wales, in the 1950s. On 25 August 2004, Shearman became the first member of the clergy in the Anglican Church of Australia to be removed from holy orders as a result of that finding.[4]
Donald Shearman | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Rockhampton (1963–1971) Bishop of Grafton (1973–1985) | |
| Church | Anglican Church of Australia |
| Province | Queensland (1963–1971) New South Wales (1973–1985) |
| Diocese | Rockhampton (1963–1971) Grafton (1973–1985) |
| Predecessor | Theodore McCall (Rockhampton) Gordon Arthur (Grafton) |
| Successor | John Grindrod (Rockhampton) Bruce Schultz (Grafton) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1950 |
| Consecration | 24 February 1964 |
| Laicized | 25 August 2004 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donald Norman Shearman 6 February 1926 |
| Died | 2019 (aged 92–93) |
| Denomination | Anglican |
Shearman was educated at Orange High School. After World War II service with the Royal Australian Air Force he studied for the priesthood at St John's Theological College, Morpeth. Ordained in 1950,[5] his first post was a curacy at Dubbo. Later he was warden of St John's Hostel, Forbes, then rector of Coonabarabran. His last post before being ordained to the episcopate was as Archdeacon of Mildura.[6] In 1963 he became Bishop of Rockhampton,[7] (he was consecrated a bishop on 24 February 1964 at St John's Cathedral (Brisbane))[8] a post he held for eight years. After two years as chairman of the Australian Board of Missions[9] he became Bishop of Grafton in 1973, serving until 1985.[10] He resigned his holy orders in 2003 and was later defrocked.[11] The handling of the case by then Archbishop of Brisbane, Peter Hollingworth, led to Hollingworth's later resignation as Governor-General of Australia in 2003.
Shearman was the subject of a submission to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.[12] In 2007, Shearman's OBE that he was awarded in 1978 was revoked, following being defrocked for sexual assault.[13]
Shearman died in late 2019.[2]
References
edit- ^ Who's Who 2008: London, A & C Black, 2008 ISBN 978-0-7136-8555-8
- ^ a b "In brief" (PDF). North Coast Anglican. No. 1 - Autumn 2020. Anglican Diocese of Grafton. March 2020. p. 12. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ The Times, 25 May 1963; p10, "New Bishop of Rockhampton"
- ^ Waters, Jeff (26 August 2004). "Anglican Bishop defrocked over sexual abuse allegations". AM. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ Crockford's Clerical Directory1975-76 Lambeth, Church House, 1976 ISBN 0-19-200008-X
- ^ "St Margaret's, Mildura". Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ Victoria Government Gazette
- ^ "Archived copy". anglicanarchives.org.au. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Anglican archives Archived April 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Grafton Yearbook" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ "Ecclesiastical Law Society". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
- ^ The Age
- ^ Clarence Valley (6 March 2007). "Disgraced bishop stripped of OBE | Grafton Daily Examiner". Dailyexaminer.com.au. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
Further reading
edit- Hawkins, Belinda; Australian Story (7 May 2023). "Secrets in the suitcase that still haunt Anglican church sexual abuse survivor Beth Heinrich". ABC News. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
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