Anne van Gend

Anne van Gend is the eleventh bishop of Dunedin, New Zealand.

Early life and education Born in South Africa, she worked as a music teacher and a music therapist, including posts as a music therapist and English and music teacher in Australia, Zambia and South Africa. Van Gend earned an A.Mus.A, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland, and a Graduate Diploma in Teaching from Griffith University. She has a Master of Theology from Brisbane College of Theology and a PhD from Victoria University of Wellington, which explored themes of atonement in teenage fantasy fiction. She received her secondary education at Grafton High School (New South Wales).

Ministry Van Gend was ordained as a deacon in 1996 She subsequently served in parishes in South West Queensland in the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane, as a Ministry Enabler in the Anglican Diocese of Auckland, and as Ministry Development Officer for the Anglican Diocese of the Northern Territory before becoming Executive Director of the Anglican Schools Office of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia from 2014 until 2021. She was consecrated in St Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin on March 29, 2025.

Personal life Bishop Anne is married to Rev Dr. Michael Godfrey, a priest in the Diocese of Dunedin, and has two sons, six step-daughters and nine step-grandchildren in Australia.