James Housden

{{Short description|Australian Anglican bishop}}

{{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

File:Bishop J. A. G. Housden inspecting two large turnips, 1951.jpg

James Alan George Housden (16 September 1904 – 22 April 1994) was the fifth Anglican Bishop of Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia, serving from 1947 to 1958.Ecclesiastical News New Bishop Of Rockhampton, The Times, 18 July 1947; p. 6; Issue 50816; col B In 1958 he then became the Bishop of Newcastle in New South Wales until 1972.{{Cite web |title=Bishop's Registry Records: James Alan George Housden: Bishop of Newcastle, 1958 - 1972 |url=http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/archives/anglicandiocese/bishops/housden.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017063307/http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/archives/anglicandiocese/bishops/housden.html |archive-date=17 October 2009 |access-date=25 November 2022 |website=University of Newcastle (Australia)}}

Housden was born in Birmingham{{Cite web |title=Housden, James Alan George - Unlocking Regional Memory Biographical entry |url=https://www.nswera.net.au/biogs/UNC0074b.htm |access-date=2022-11-25 |website=New South Wales Electronic Regional Archives |language=en-AU}}“Who was Who” 1897-1990 London, A & C Black, 1991 {{ISBN|0-7136-3457-X}} and educated at Essendon High School and the University of Queensland before being ordained in 1929.Crockford's Clerical Directory1940-41 Oxford, OUP, 1941 His first position was as a curate at St Paul's Ipswich, Queensland after which he was chaplain of the Mitchell River Mission. He then became rector of Darwin, Northern Territory then vicar of Coolangatta. From 1940 to 1946 he was the Rural Dean of Warwick and finally (before his ordination to the episcopate) vicar of Christ Church, South Yarra.{{Cite web |title=Former Vicars of CCSY |url=http://www.ccsy.org.au/vicars.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201205209/http://www.ccsy.org.au/vicars.htm |archive-date=1 February 2014 |access-date=25 November 2022 |website=Christ Church South Yarra}}

Housden was consecrated a bishop on 28 October 1947 at St John's Cathedral (Brisbane).{{Cite web |title=Series SPSES257 - Special Services |url=http://anglicanarchives.org.au/HDMS-HTML/SPSES257.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410114708/http://anglicanarchives.org.au/HDMS-HTML/SPSES257.htm |archive-date=10 April 2013 |access-date=25 November 2022 |website=The Anglican Records and Archives Centre Guide to Records}} On Sunday 2 November 1947, he was enthroned at St Paul's Anglican Cathedral in Rockhampton.{{cite news |date=6 November 1947 |title=Enthronement Of Bishop Housden |volume=18 |page=16 |newspaper=The Central Queensland Herald |issue=972 |location=Queensland, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75576755 |accessdate=25 November 2022 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{Cite web |title=Church of England |url=http://sites.rootsweb.com/~auscqfha/churches_cofe.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125040237/http://sites.rootsweb.com/~auscqfha/churches_cofe.htm |archive-date=25 November 2022 |access-date=25 November 2022 |website=Central Queensland Family History Association}}

In 1958, Housden translated from Rockhampton to Newcastle where he was enthroned on 21 November 1958, where he remained until his retirement due to poor health in 1972.{{Cite web |title=Our History |url=http://www.angdon.com/history/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429002951/http://www.angdon.com:80/history/ |archive-date=29 April 2009 |access-date=25 November 2022 |website=Anglican Diocese of Newcastle}}