Cathedral Scholars
The Very Reverend Dr John Shepherd
Dr Shepherd has degrees in Arts (History and Philosophy) and Theology from the University of Melbourne, where he studied at Trinity College, and a degree of Master of Sacred Music from Union Theological Seminary in New York.
He lectured in modern composition and electronic composition at Hofstra University, New York. At St Catharine’s College Cambridge he completed a PhD on the relationship between the theology and music of the English Reformation, and as Chaplain of Christ Church Oxford from 1980-88 taught Reformation theology and Renaissance music history.
From 1988-90, Dr Shepherd was Chaplain at the University of Western Australia, where he also taught in the Faculty of Music.
During his time as Dean of Perth, St George’s Cathedral has become noted for its innovative and exploratory theological teaching and popular preaching, its commitment to inter-faith worship, high musical standards, a Cathedral Education Centre unique to Australia, its involvement in the artistic, literary and sporting communities, and its engagement with the life of the City.
Emeritus Professor John Tonkin
Professor Tonkin’s major area of specialisation is the European Reformation. His publications include The Church and the Secular Order in Reformation Thought (1971); The Reformation in Historical Thought (with A G Dickens 1985) and translations of three historical works from French into English.
In recent years he has turned his attention to the history of the Anglican Church in Western Australia, and in 2001 published Cathedral and Community: A History of St George's Cathedral, Perth. He is currently undertaking further research on the history of Anglicanism in Western Australia under an ARC grant.
Emeritus Professor Chris Wortham
Professor Wortham’s publications include articles on Marlowe's Dr Faustus; Shakespeare's Othello, King Lear and Antony and Cleopatra; Milton's Paradise Lost; and Marvell's 'Cromwell' poems. His editions include the morality play, Everyman; Marlowe's Dr Faustus; Marvell's Poetry; Shakespeare: Readers, Audiences, Players ed. with R.S. White and C. Edelman; and Renaissance in the South ed. with Tom Burvill.
His research interests include Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, and Medieval literature and poetry. Professor Wortham is currently researching for the following books: Shakespeare and the Matter of Britain; Shakespeare's Maps; Devotional Poetry of the Seventeenth Century.
Dr Bill Leadbetter
Dr Bill Leadbetter is an historian, whose principal interest is in the Roman Empire. He has published widely in Roman history and in the history of the early church. He has participated in and led archaeological survey work at Aperlae in southern Turkey, and published a range of inscriptions from the site. Dr Leadbetter has, in addition, contributed to the study of genocide in antiquity, and the furtherance of History Education in Western Australian schools. He has also done a stint in government as a miniosterial policy adviser on Heritage matters.
Most recently, he has published a study of the politics of the Roman Empire at the turn of the fourth century AD entitled Galerius and the Will of Diocletian (Routedge, 2009). He is a regular participant in the ABC Program "Sunday Nights with John Cleary", and is currently working on a series of interlinked biographies to be entitled Roman Lives.
