John Stoward Moyes [1] (25 July 1884 - 29 January 1972) was an Australian Anglican[2] bishop[3] and author.[4]
Moyes was born in Koolunga, a son of John Moyes (died 1927), headmaster of Port Pirie and Thebarton high schools, and his wife Ellen Jane Moyes, née Stoward (died 1898).He was educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide and the University of Adelaide.[5] Ordained in 1908[6] he began his career with curacies at St Paul's, Port Pirie and St Mary's, Lewisham.[7] Next he held incumbencies at St Cuthbert's Prospect and St Bartholomew's Norwood during which time he became Archdeacon of Adelaide. In 1929 he was appointed Bishop of Armidale,[8] a post he held for 35 years.[9]
Moyes was a proponent of the social gospel, having been influenced by his observation of extremes of wealth and poverty during his tenure at Lewisham.[10]
Moyes was a prominent opponent of the 1950 Act of Parliament and the 1951 referendum to ban the Communist Party of Australia.[11] Advocating for the "no" case, Moyes said:
Moyes was also a prominent opponent of the Vietnam War.
Moyes married Helen Margaret Butler (1882–1970) in 1909. She was a daughter of Richard Butler, Premier of South Australia.
His wife died in 1970 and the following year he remarried to Mary Scott Pentreath (nee Holland). His brother, Captain M. H. Moyes OBE RAN, was a member of Douglas Mawson's Antarctic expedition and the rescue of Shackleton; another brother, Lieutenant Colonel A. G. Moyes MBE MC, was an international cricketer and journalist.