Born at Aberdeen, Scotland 17 May 1851. Educated at King’s College, Aberdeen, and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Robert Machray received prizes in mathematics, philosophy and divinity. He was ordained in 1855, served in English parishes and was dean of Sidney Sussex College 1859-62. He succeeded David Anderson as bishop of Rupert’s Land and was consecrated in June 1865.
During his years there he helped extend and consolidate the church’s work and built up St John’s College, Winnipeg. At the start of his episcopate the area first suffered economically from a grasshopper plague then the following year brought the Red River Rebellion but stability and properity did slowly come.
In 1873 the Diocese of Moosonee was formed and in 1875 the dioceses of Athabasca and Saskatchewan were formed reducing Diocese of Rupert’s Land to cover Manitoba and some additional districts. Rupert’s Land, Moosonee, Athabasca and Saskatchewan were formed into a Provincial Synod and in 1875 Robert Machray became its first Metropolitan.
13 September 1893 the first General Synod of the Church of England in the Dominion of Canada was held in Toronto. Robert Machray was elected the first Primate of all Canada. He died in office at Winnipeg 9 March 1904.