Penny Jamieson


Penelope Ann Bansall Jamieson is a retired Anglican bishop. She was the seventh Bishop of Dunedin in the Anglican Church of New Zealand from 1989 until her retirement in 2004. Jamieson was the second woman in the world to hold the position of bishop in the Anglican Communion and the first to be elected a diocesan bishop.

Early life

Born in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, England in 1942, Jamieson attended Wycombe High School and studied linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, before moving to New Zealand, her husband's country of birth. She worked at the Wellington Inner City Mission while completing her doctoral thesis at Victoria University.

Ordained ministry

In 1985 she was ordained to priesthood and became assistant curate of St James’ Lower Hutt. After this she was vicar of Karori West with Mākara in the Diocese of Wellington.
In 1990 she was elected to head the country's southernmost diocese, the Diocese of Dunedin. She was consecrated a bishop on 29 June 1990. She was challenged by the power-structures of a predominantly male institution and spoke publicly about the difficulties of being the world's first woman diocesan bishop. At her retirement, after 14 years as Bishop of Dunedin, Jamieson expressed her regret that no other woman had been elected a bishop in New Zealand.

Personal life

She is married to Ian Jamieson.
In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, Jamieson was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the community. In 2009, following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government, she declined redesignation as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.