Field Flowers GOE

GOE, FIELD FLOWERS (b. Louth, Lincolnshire, England, 25 Jan 1832; d. Wimbledon, England, 25 June 1910). Third Anglican bp of Melbourne.

Goe was baptised l0 Feb 1832 and given the family names of Field Flowers, the same as his father. He had two sisters, Mary Jane and Frances Catherine (not Hot House and Garden Flowers as one legend has it!). Field Flowers junior attended King Edward VI School at Louth, and was articled to his father in law, before turning to the ministry. He then attended Hertford College (Magdalen Hall) in Oxford (BA, third class honours 1857; MA 1860). Later, as was customary, he received his honorary Doctorate when appointed bishop. Goe was ordained deacon by the abp of York on 28 Feb 1858, and appointed curate at Christ Church, Kingston Hull. In October he was ordained priest and remained there for fifteen years as perpetual curate-in-charge. He developed the ministry, assisted by his wife, Emma Rogers Hurst, whom he married on 5 June 1861. His strengths were seen in sympathetic pastoring and good organising, from a broad evangelical perspective.

In 1873 he was appointed rector of Sunderland and then in 1877 moved to the busy inner London parish of St George's Bloomsbury. Although an Oxford graduate, he was appointed a select preacher at Cambridge, and led or spoke at various missions and congresses, so he was known and appreciated beyond his own parish, especially in CMS circles. Goe came from the evangelical wing of the church but was willing to listen to different points of view. This broadmindedness helped in his appointment in 1886 as third bp of Melbourne, Australia, in succession to Bp Moorhouse. He was consecrated in St Paul's Cathedral London on 24 Feb 1887, and installed in St James (now Old Cathedral) Melbourne on 14 April 1887, serving until 1902.

Goe followed the dynamic Bp Moorhouse. He was not such a charismatic leader but his farewell testimonies all record appreciation of his pastoral concern, his confirmation addresses his organisational abilities, leadership of the Assembly (Synod), and his efforts in two special areas—the completion of the cathedral and the subdivision of the diocese. The foundation stone of St Paul's Cathedral had been laid in April 1880. Goe encouraged its completion just before the depression affected Melbourne in the 1890s. He consecrated the building on 22 Jan 1891, although the spires were not completed until 1933. He was concerned for the ministry and opportunity of the cathedral, ensuring regular daily services were provided, preaching there regularly himself, and encouraging the development of the choir.

His second main achievement was to leave a much smaller and more manageable diocese for his successor. In October 1901, the Assembly of the diocese passed the Act which divided Melbourne Diocese into the four sees of Melbourne, Bendigo, Wangaratta and Gippsland. (Ballarat had already been formed in 1876.) This enabled the new province of Victoria to be formed. Goe became bishop in the heady days of 'Marvellous Melbourne', but these were soon replaced by the crash and depression of the 1890s. Goe himself, as he had no children, voluntarily accepted a cut of £500 in his annual stipend to help with cost cutting.

He was assisted in many ways in his ministry by his wife. She was involved in a great variety of church and charity committees and organisations, including the Bishop of Melbourne's Fund, the Girls' Friendly Society, setting up the Mothers' Union, the Sunday School Association, the Cathedral Guild and the Women's Hospital. However, after a difficult illness she died in July 1901. Her death profoundly affected the bishop, also unwell himself. He resigned in October 1901, and in April 1902 returned to England, where he lived in retirement after a short period as suffragan bishop of Durham. Goe died aged 78 and was buried in his hometown of Louth.

The Melbourne Church of England Messenger of 8 July 1910 recorded with sadness his passing and recalled his ministry with affection. He was described as an 'advanced Evangelical' who adhered to the Scriptures, while being concerned for tolerance and fair play. He promoted the mission by the Irish evangelist George Grubb in 1891, and encouraged the formation of the Church Missionary Association (later CMS) in 1892. He also supported the Deaconesses of the Missions to Streets and Lanes, happy to ordain them as deaconesses but not to profess them as sisters—an action considered very Catholic at the time. Goe's was not a great and outstanding episcopate but one of some growth. His papers have not survived, except for one printed sermon and his Charges to the Assembly.

Argus 30 Sept 1886, 15 April 1887; Church of England Messenger Melbourne, 7 Oct 1886, 11 Nov 1886, 8 Dec 1886, 10 Nov 1898, 1 Aug 1901, 4 Oct 1901, 1 May 1902, 8 July 1910; James Grant, Bishop Field Flowers Goe (1832-1910), First Sydney Smith Memorial Lecture, 17 March 1982, Melbourne Anglican Historical Society; ADB 9; E G Veal, The Episcopate of Bishop Goe, manuscript, no date

BARBARA BRINSLEY DARLING