Curnow has lived, studied and ministered in widely diverse communities and parishes, ranging from those in rural Victoria (Elmore, Lockington), to regional centres such as Bendigo, Melbourne suburbs (West Coburg, Pascoe Vale South, Kew and Malvern) and overseas in New York and Virginia in the United States and Oxford in England.
He was enthroned as bishop on 28 June 2003 after a period as an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Melbourne, serving the northern region of the diocese. He has degrees in commerce, divinity and arts He was ordained as a priest in 1974 and has served in the Bendigo, Melbourne and New York dioceses.
His family is of Cornish origins.
He is prominent in his concern for welfare issues (through involvement in and leadership of groups such as Anglicare Australia, Street Luke"s Anglicare, the Brotherhood of Street Laurence and welfare services such as New Horizons Welfare Services in Kyneton, Victoria). Curnow has played significant leadership roles in Christian education in the Council for Christian Education in Schools, at Braemar College and the Melbourne College of Divinity.
He has a particular interest in the theology of mission in contemporary Australia on which he has written extensively.
