Charles Owen Leaver Riley (26 May 1854 – 23 June 1929) was the first Anglican Archbishop of Perth, Western Australia.
Charles Riley | |
|---|---|
| Bishop and Archbishop of Perth | |
 Charles O L Riley Chaplain General of the Australian Military Forces (1914–1918) | |
| Church | Church of England |
| Province | Western Australia |
| Diocese | Perth |
| In office |
|
| Predecessor | Henry Parry |
| Successor | Henry Le Fanu |
| Other post | Metropolitan of Western Australia (ex officio) |
| Previous posts |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1878 (as deacon) 1879 (as priest) |
| Consecration | 18 October 1894 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Owen Leaver Riley 26 May 1854 Birmingham, Warwickshire, England |
| Died | 23 June 1929 (aged 75) Perth, Western Australia |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Parents |
|
| Spouse |
Elizabeth Merriman (m. 1886) |
| Children |
|
| Education | |
| Alma mater | Caius College, Cambridge |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
|
Branch | |
Service years | 1895–1918 |
Rank |
|
Early years
editRiley was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, the eldest child of the Reverend Lawrence William Riley, the vicar of St Cross, Knutsford, England, and his wife Emma, née Shaw.[1] Riley was educated at Heversham Grammar School and Owen's College, Manchester, and Caius College, Cambridge. He obtained his B.A. in 1878, his M.A. in 1881, and received an honorary D.D. in 1894.[2] In 1878 he was ordained as a deacon in 1878, and in 1879 he was ordained as a priest. He was curate at East Bierley, Yorkshire from 1878 to 1880, Bradford from 1880 to 1882, and Lancaster from 1882 to 1885.[3] He became vicar of St Paul's, Preston, in 1885, a position he held for nine years.[4]
Archbishop of Perth
editIn 1894 Riley was appointed Bishop of Perth.[4]
Riley arrived in Western Australia on 3 February 1895.[1] He led the church's efforts to take over Guildford Grammar School, but frequently came into conflict with Percy Henn, the school's headmaster.[1] He was also noted for his close association with Sir John Winthrop Hackett in working for the establishment of the University of Western Australia.[1] He became senior chaplain of the Australian Military Forces in Western Australia and chaplain-general in 1913. Riley toured the UK, France & Egypt for 3½ months in late 1916 early 1917 enquiring into the administration of each theatre's Chaplain's Dept, returning to Australia in February 1917.[5]
Personal life
editRiley married Elizabeth Merriman on 7 January 1886; subsequently they had three daughters and three sons.[1] One of his sons, Charles Lawrence Riley (born 1888) became the Bishop of Bendigo in Victoria.[4]
Riley was active in freemasonry, in both English and Australian jurisdictions. In 1897 in the United Grand Lodge of England he was granted the honorific rank of Past Grand Chaplain in recognition of his services to English Freemasonry, as part of a series of similar honorary promotions intended to mark the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria.[6] In Australian Freemasonry he is particularly notable as the longest serving Grand Master of the Western Australian Grand Lodge. He held this position from 1904 until his death, with the exception of a three-year term (1917–1920) by Sir William Ellison-Macartney.[1]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Boyce, Peter (2006). "Riley, Charles Owen Leaver (1854–1929)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition. Australian National University. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
- ↑ "Riley, Charles Owen Leaver (RLY874CO)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ↑ Malden Richard (ed) (1920). Crockford's Clerical Directory for 1920 (51st edn). London: The Field Press. p. 1176.
- 1 2 3 Serle, Percival (1949). "Riley, Charles". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
- ↑ AWM B2455, C.O.L Riley's Service Record, Canberra
- ↑ Horsley (The Rev'd Canon), JW (1906). "Notes on the Grand Chaplains of England". Ars Quatuor Coronatorum. Vol. 19. London: Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle Ltd. p. 195.
Further reading
edit- Alexander, Fred, ed. (1957). Four Bishops and Their See: Perth, Western Australia, 1857-1957. Crawley, WA: University of Western Australia Press.
- Battye, J. S. The Cyclopedia of Western Australia
- Kimberly, W.B. (compiler) (1897). History of West Australia. A Narrative of her Past. Together With Biographies of Her Leading Men. Melbourne: F.W. Niven.
- Serle, Percival (1949). "Riley, Charles". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
- Wilson, J. G. Western Australia's Centenary; Crockford, 1929.
- The Westralian, 24 and 25 June 1929;
External links
edit
Media related to Charles Riley at Wikimedia Commons