2001
Honorary award citation
The Archbishop of Perth will receive an honorary Doctor of Letters at a University of Queensland graduation ceremony on Monday, August 19.
The Most Reverend Dr Peter Frederick Carnley, AO, will be recognised as a distinguished scholar and author, a champion of social justice and a force for a tolerant and united Australia.
Dr Carnley become Archbishop of Perth in 1981 when he was just 43 years old, and in 2000 was elected Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia.
He ordained the first women to the priesthood in this country and as a special friend to the Ngarinyin people in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, he staunchly supports Aboriginal causes, including land rights, while advocating reconciliation in Australia.
In 1972, he spent a year as Resident Fellow at St John’s College, Cambridge before accepting University of Queensland posts as Warden of St John’s College and as a lecturer in Studies in Religion until 1981.