ARCHBISHOP MOWLL

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 105, 15 April 1933, Page 8

ARCHBISHOP MOWLL

A GREAT ADMINISTRATOR IDEAL FOR POSTION. BIG MAN IN EVERY SENSE. The Rt. Rev. W. K. Mowll, D.D., Bishop in Western China, who on Thurs day, April 6, was elected by the New South Wales Synod by 306 votes to 58 to be Archbishop of Sydney in succession to the late Dr. Wright, is stated by those who know him to be the ideal man for the positiou. Further to his other qualifications he is a man or handsome physique, and is 6t't 4iu high. The Rev. G. P. Birk, secretary foi the New South Wales Diocesan Association of Western China, and rector of St. Thomas’, Auburn, speaks enthusiastically of him. ‘‘Bishop Mowll,” he said, “is a man of outstanding persouality and of charming disposition. The record of his work shows that he has built up and extended the Diocese of Western China in au amazingly statesmanlike manuer, approaching every problem that beset him in the East with the skill of the expert. By force of circumstances he possesses a wide and complete knowledge of international questions. His advice has been frequently sought regarding problems which have been difficult of solution, many of them affecting Australia itself.. To this end he may often be able to give valuable advice to the Governments of the Commonwealth. As a Church administrator, he has shown a great spirit of tolerance; but has invariably stood firm when the occasion demanded, “In tho face of the turmoil which is ever prescut in the East, he has shown remarkable courage. These factors, added to his knowledge of Western affairs, particulary since his work lay amongst a race which is often difficult to manage in other respects, make him well-fitted for high office. All his coworkers love and esteem him, and would make any sacrifice for him. To the lowliest individual in his diocese he has been counsellor and friend, and it will not be difficult to imagine the regret that will be felt among them at his departure. On the other hand, there will be a wide circle who will be pleased that hi s devotion and duty has been so sig nally rewarded. Many diggers will, in the vernacular, ‘take their hats off to him,’ for during his work at the front he unselfishly shared their discomforts and showed that he was not afraid to venture where the greatest danger existed to offer help aud consolation to the soldiers. “Mrs Mowll is bound to be a general favourite. A woman of homely disposition, she is certain to appeal to the younger people. She is a charming hostess, and in the particular activities of Church life in which women share, she will be an outstanding figure. She has special regard for Mothers’ Unions.”