For the first time women were
ordained as priests in the
Anglican Church of Australia in 1992. These women are notable as a group as the
ordinations were a historic milestone for the church.[1] The debates in the
General Synod and diocesan synods of the church about the proposal to
ordain women were reported in church and mainstream press in the years leading up to 1992, as were the ordination services in 1992. The first ordination service in
Perth was televised.[2][3] The anniversary of the 1992 ordination of women priests is regularly celebrated in the relevant dioceses and the women's names are often listed in media reports of those ceremonial services.[4][5][2][6][7]
There were 90 women ordained as priests in Australia in 1992. Three women were ordained priests in other countries but were given permission to officiate in Australia in 1992.[8][9][10][11]
The dioceses are listed in chronological order of the dates they ordained the first women as priests. The women are listed alphabetically under the diocese in which they were ordained. The last name is the name they were ordained under. A later married name is in brackets after their last name and a preferred first name is also in brackets after their first name(s).
Ordained outside Australia but granted licences or permission to officiate as priest in 1992
Kenyon, Colleen Dawn. Ordained priest in Auckland NZ 1987, licensed as Priest in Perth in January 1992.
Leaves (Craig-Leaves), Julie Elizabeth. Ordained priest in Hong Kong 1992, licensed as Priest in Perth and Brisbane from 1992.[notes 1][9]
Pearce, Caroline Heath. Ordained priest 1988 Newark US, Licensed as Priest in Melbourne from December 1992.[26][27]
Notes
^Julie Leaves was ordained priest in St John's Cathedral Hong Kong but moved to Perth soon after where she was granted permission to officiate then to Brisbane where she has spent most of her career as a chaplain or priest. She is sometimes counted as a woman priest ordained in Australia in 1992.
^"Days that changed the face of the Anglican Church". Movement for the Ordination of Women: The national magazine for the Movement for the Ordination of Women Incorporating Ebb and Flow. MOW Sydney: 27–43. 18 April 1994 – via University of Divinity Digitised Collections.