Bishop Mathew Hale
Mathew Bladgen Hale
The First Bishop of Perth (1857 – 1875)
Born in 1811 in Gloucester, England and educated at Cambridge, Hale was ordained priest in June 1837. Hale arrived in Adelaide in 1847 to become archdeacon and examining chaplain in South Australia. Hale was appointed first Bishop of Western Australia, and on 25 July 1857 was consecrated at Lambeth Palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury (John Sumner), assisted by the Bishops of London and Ripon.
Hale School
Hale founded his Collegiate School, Hale School, on 28 June 1858. He went on to serve as bishop in the Diocese of Brisbane and as senior bishop presiding over the General Synod of the Church of England in Australia. Hale retired in March 1885.
Bishop Hale was more missionary than administrator and he was rewarded the title ‘the good bishop’. He lacked nothing in unselfish devotion to duty. We are grateful for Bishop Hale, as on his return to England upon his retirement, he championed the development of the Church in Australia, where his wide experience in three Australian colonies made him a valued adviser.
Legacy of Bishop Hale
Hale School
Hale School is an Anglican day and boarding school, for boys from Pre-Primary to Year 12.
