Bishop's letters something to talk about

Friday 30 June 2006

A researcher from the University of Newcastle has uncovered a different side to one of Newcastle's and the Hunter Region's great church leaders with letters revealing Bishop Francis de Witt Batty enjoyed ripping spins on his motorcycle and roughing it in the outback.

Dr Troy Duncan from the University of Newcastle said Bishop Batty was renowned for his eloquent and thought-provoking addresses, qualities which are also evident in his letters.

"He was extremely well-connected and his correspondence reads like a 'Who's Who' of the British Empire including such figures as the grandson of Lord Elgin of Elgin Marbles fame," Dr Duncan.

"I've spent the past year examining more than 63 boxes of the Bishop's papers held in the University's archives. I have photographed and digitised over 35,000 items of which more than 10,000 are letters which he wrote as Bishop of Newcastle between 1931 and 1958.

"Novocastrians may remember Bishop Batty as an aloof and shy man. However, his private letters reveal a very different side as a clergyman who relished performing ripping spins on his motorcycle and roughing it in the outback."

Dr Duncan said Bishop Batty's letters abounded in wit and humour. "One letter in particular, reminiscent of something from the Vicar of Dibley, describes a church service in which a large blue-grey sheep dog leapt into the air to catch and eat a cockroach the Bishop had flung into the Congregation after he found it climbing down his neck!"

The letters written by Bishop Batty (1879-1961), the longest serving Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle in the 20th Century, will form part of a public lecture to be given on the Bishop's life by Dr Duncan.

While the Bishop's amusing letters will feature in the lecture, Dr Duncan said he will not be neglecting the serious aspects of the Bishop's career.

"It is also important to remember the man who was a staunch defender of the right of free speech as well as a great advocate for higher education in this region," said Dr Duncan.

The Batty Lecture will be held on Tuesday 4 July at 6pm in Christ Church Cathedral.

For information: Christ Church Cathedral office on 02 4929 2052.

For interviews: Dr Troy Duncan on 0401 938 350.