William Henry PownallPrint Page

A plaque commemorates William Henry Pownall who was the Dean of Goulburn , and rector of this parish from 1864 to 1870, and 1895 to 1903.

Pownall laid the foundation stone of St John the Evangelist's Church, Young, on 21 March 1865 and next year added a schoolhouse. In the turbulent mining community he preached and expected high standards of spiritual life from his people and worked to improve their education by weekly lectures in English history. In 1867-69 by arrangement with the Sydney diocese he also held services on the new goldfield at Grenfell.

In January 1874 Pownall was appointed archdeacon of the western part of Goulburn diocese and one of three commissaries to administer the diocese when Bishop Thomas was absent in 1874-75. Despite the illness of his wife, Pownall ably handled the complex problems of the diocese. In 1874 he was granted the Lambeth B.A. degree and in 1884 made a canon of St Saviour's Cathedral, Goulburn. 

In 1891 he had become dean of St Saviour's Cathedral and as registrar of the diocese in 1892-95 assisted Chalmers in the settlement of the cathedral dispute. He returned to Young in 1895 and when Chalmers died in November 1901 acted again as vicar-general. As acting registrar with temporary charge of the parish of West Goulburn, he gave invaluable help to the incoming bishop, C. G. Barlow.

In September 1903 Pownall resigned from the Young parish but died of diabetes in Goulburn on 29 November and was buried at St Saviour's Cathedral.

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