P.W. Gledhill – Historian Extraordinaire

Percy Walter Gledhill (1890-1962) had a passion for Australian church history which resulted in numerous publications and a significant collection of papers which provide valuable information about many parishes in the Sydney Diocese.
He was also a keen committee man and a foundation member of the Society of Australian Genealogists as well as the Church of England Historical Society. Additionally, he was a fellow of both the Royal Australian Historical Society and the Manly Warringah & Pittwater Historical Society. Artist Percival James Norton painted his portrait which made the shortlist of the 1939 Archibald Prize.
His works include Anglican Heraldry (1953), a history of Bishopscourt (1959), as well as numerous parish histories.
Additionally, he compiled a card index of Anglican Churches in Sydney, many with photographs attached, as well as notebooks and scrapbooks on various topics such as towns along the banks of the Darling River, and streets & public places around Newtown. He also collected some original records from churches and individuals, which unfortunately separated these documents from the rest of their collection. For example, the register of services and churchwardens’ minute book from St George’s Hurstville may be found among Gledhill’s papers.
In 1952 he coordinated the donation of a stone obelisk memorial erected in Sackville Reserve, in order to remember the indigenous people of the Dharug and Darkinjung tribes who had lived in the Hawkesbury region. The monument was dedicated by the Dean of Sydney, Rev Dr Stuart Barton Babbage.
For more information about the Gledhill collection, go to the Archives Catalogue. Additional papers and photographs are held by the State Library of NSW.