Anglican Communion News Service

Bishop Ted Mosby, a Torres Strait Islander who was Assistant Bishop of North Queensland responsible for the Torres Strait region, died suddenly from a heart attack on Friday 17 March. His death has brought great sadness to the Torres Strait people and tributes are flowing from many people who appreciated his ministry and gifts.

"His vision was that the word of the gospel that came into the Torres Strait in 1871 should now go out from the Torres Strait to the whole of Australia (he liked to call the Australian mainland the biggest island in the Torres Strait) and even beyond Australia, Bishop Clyde Wood, Bishop of North Queensland said. "He wanted the people of the Torres Strait to recognise How much they had to give to people outside the Torres Strait and no longer Be people in a mission mode receiving from the outside."

"As a Torres Strait Islander and a Bishop, Ted Mosby made a major contribution to heightened Anglican awareness of their indigenous fellow Christians," Professor Michael Horsburgh, Acting National Director of the Anglican Board of Mission (Australia), said. "In September last year he travelled Australia for ABM bringing a message of reconciliation. That message was grounded in his strong faith and his experience of his own Torres Strait Island community."

The Bishop of North Queensland, the Right Rev Clyde Wood has circulated the following reflection on Bishop's life and ministry:

Morrison Ted Mosby: Reflections on his life

Born: York Island 2 February 1949
Died: Thursday Island 17 March 2000

Ted Mosby was husband of Mary (Marie) Theresa with whom he shared 10 children, 5 boys and 5 girls. They have 7 grandchildren.

He was educated at Cairns where he later qualified as a boiler maker and became known as a top Queensland footballer.

From 1978 until 1980 he studied for the Anglican Priesthood at St John's College, Morpeth near Newcastle in New South Wales. He was ordained a deacon in the Anglican Church in 1981 and was priested in 1982. Both services taking place at the Quetta Memorial Cathedral, Thursday Island in the Diocese of Carpentaria.

From 1982 to 1985 he was an assistant priest in Weipa. From 1985 to 1989 he was an assistant priest on Thursday Island and in 1986 he was priest in charge of Injiinoo. He and his family moved back to Yorke Island in 1987.

From 1989 to early 1995 as an Anglican priest he held the Bishop's Licence on Yorke Island but also acted as Quarantine Officer for the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS). During this time he was actively involved in management and was instrumental in the appointments of other indigenous officers in AQIS throughout the Torres Strait/Northern Peninsula communities. To date AQIS now have a total 100% indigenous staff of 23.

In 1995 he returned to Thursday Island to be priest in charge of the Cathedral parish. In 1997 he was appointed Bishop of the Torres Strait Region by the Bishop of North Queensland, following a request to the Bishop by the people of Torres Strait Region. He was consecrated Bishop on Thursday Island on 29 September 1997 and since then until his death he was responsible for the Torres Strait Island Region of the Diocese of North Queensland and Torres Strait Island people around Australia.

Bishop Morrison Ted Mosby - some reflections

The most striking aspect of Bishop Mosby's personality was his openness and warm response to everybody he met.

A member of his family has remarked "He was never too busy to stop and respond to the need of anyone, driving a motor car, walking down the street, he greeted everyone he saw. He had an infectious laugh, which always let everyone know that he was around".

In terms of his ministry he may best be described as a prophetic person both in the Church and the wider society. As some have remarked, "He always called a spade a spade, never in a rude way but always with a deep concern for the simple telling of the truth.". In his capacity to be himself he often did unusual things such as at one time driving a car in Weipa, the driver in the car he was following threw his empty beer can from his vehicle. Ted stopped his car, picked up the beer can, following the offending driver until he stopped, put the beer can on the driver's bonnet and said "Don't rubbish my country."

He had a strong sense of the way things could and should be done in the Torres Strait amongst his own people and frequently referred to 'good passin' and when originally approached about the possibility of being bishop for the Torres Strait Island people said he was not appropriate as it was not 'good passin' for a man of his age to hold such a position of leadership amongst his people.

It was ironic that in voting for the amalgamation of the former Diocese of Carpentaria he opposed the process of amalgamation of the Diocese of North Queensland and he was the only person in the conference to publicly oppose the process for the election of the Bishop in 1997 and yet he became the Bishop. These were signs of his independence, his thought and his willingness to be open with everybody.

The time of his consecration and his first year as Bishop in the Torres Strait Region were very difficult for him, for Mary and for the family. He was quite clear that he would never hit back at anyone who was nasty to him. He simply believed that His Lord would make everything right in the end. The troubles in the Torres Strait Region caused him to choose not to go to the world-wide Gathering of Anglican Bishops Lambeth Conference in 1998. It was a mark of his personal humility and strong sense of pastoral care that he chose not to attend a conference that many people would spend a lifetime dreaming about.

He had a dream of unity for the people of the Torres Strait and recently challenged church leaders to form a Council of Torres Strait Churches beginning with the Ministers Fraternal on Thursday Island. Part of this dream was to see the feast of the coming of the light not as something looking backward to 1871 but as something new for the new millennium.

His vision was that the word of the gospel that came into the Torres Strait in 1871 should now go out from the Torres Strait to the whole of Australia (he liked to call the Australian mainland the biggest island in the Torres Strait) and even beyond Australia. He wanted the people of the Torres Strait to recognise how much they had to give to people outside the Torres Strait and no longer be people in a mission mode receiving from the outside.

He was a strong supporter of translation of the bible and other materials into creole. Since he became Bishop whenever he was in Cairns he stayed with, to encourage the people of SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) and others associated with creole translation.

Bishop Ted's sudden and untimely death has left his family, the people of the Torres Strait and the Anglican Church around Australia in a state of shock. However there are already people expressing a strong sense of personal commitment to see that his vision for the people of the Torres Strait become reality.

He will be laid to rest on Wednesday 22nd March 2000 at his birthplace, Yorke Island by his family and visitors from around the country.

May he rest in peace.

+Clyde Wood
Bishop of North Queensland.