Biography

Born in Hedon, Yorkshire, Sawyer trained at Oriel College, Oxford and was he was ordained deacon and priest for the Diocese of Gloucester and Bristol (1855). He emigrated to New South Wales to become the first bishop for the newly formed diocese of Grafton and Armidale (1868). After giving the evening service at Grafton on 15 March of that year, he was returning home by boat with his second son and servants. The boat capsized in a sudden gust of wind and the bishop, not being a swimmer, with his sleeping son were drowned; their bodies not recovered for two days.

His British herbarium had been donated to the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum (SBY) but was later transferred to BM. Australian specimens labelled as 'Grafton & Armidale' are sometimes referred to W.C. Sawyer but there were four different individuals, at least the first two being botanical collectors. The First Bishop of Grafton and Armidale (1868) was W.C. Sawyer; the Second Bishop of Grafton and Armidale (1869-1892) was Right Rev. James Frances Turner (1827-1893); the Third Bishop of Grafton and Armidale (1894-1900) was Right Rev. Arthur Vincent Green (1857-1944) and the Fourth Bishop of Grafton and Armidale (1900-1914) was Right Rev. Henry Edward Cooper (1845-1916). After 1914 the diocese was divided and the title was no longer used.