William George Torr MA, BCL, LLD (29 March 1853 – 13 September 1939), often referred to as "Old Oxford", was a religious educator in South Australia.

History

William G. Torr was a son of John Torr (c. 1815 – 14 February 1884) of

Tavistock, Devon Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy, from which its name derives. At the United Kingdom 2011 Census, 2011 census, t ...

, who with his wife Ann Montrose Torr, née Green, and family emigrated to

Burra, South Australia Burra is a pastoral centre and historic tourist town in the mid-north of South Australia. It lies east of the Clare Valley in the Bald Hills range, part of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, and on Burra Creek (South Australia), Burra Creek. The t ...

, arriving on the ''Hooghly'' in 1855. William was educated there and at Stanley Grammar School, Watervale, before taking up work on a sheep station in Tasmania.Arnold D. Hunt
'Torr, William George (1853–1939)'
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1990. Retrieved 18 May 2015 He started his working life as a teacher at Ulooloo in 1872, and gained experience as an assistant at the City Model School,

Grote Street Grote Street is a major street running east to west in the western half of Adelaide city centre, South Australia. It is on the northern border of Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market, and is a lively centre for shopping and restaurants. Th ...

, (an institution devoted to giving young teachers practical experience) from 1875. The following year he was in charge of a new class intended to give a few student teachers experience in running a small country school. During his stay in Adelaide he also took Bible classes at the Bible Christian church in Young Street, Adelaide. In 1878 he was appointed head master of the Moonta Mines Model School. He visited England around late 1884 or early 1885, possibly to enroll as a student with

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, as around the end of 1885 he resigned his position with the Education Department to undertake studies preparatory to his taking charge of Way College, which was then being planned. He then studied at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, where he gained his MA and BCL, then

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where he gained his LLD. Way College, named for Rev. James Way, was opened in 1892 for the

Bible Christian The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist denomination founded by William O'Bryan (born Bryant), a Wesleyan Methodist local preacher, on 18 October 1815 in North Cornwall. The first society, consisting of just 22 members, met at Lake Farm ...

and

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Christian denomination within the holiness movement. Originating in early 19th-century England as a revivalist movement within Methodism, it was heavily influenced by American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–18 ...

denominations as a religious school for boys and to prepare students for the ministry. Torr was appointed first head master, and succeeded by Frank Lade, but stayed on as an assistant. Following Methodist union in 1900, the work of Way College was taken over by

Prince Alfred College Prince Alfred College is a private, independent, day school, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, South Australia, Kent Town, near the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, South Australia. One of th ...

, and the school closed at the end of 1903. Torr founded Brighton Training College, opened in 1909, devoted to training young men for the ministry, with residential accommodation built at his own expense. This function was taken over around 1925 by Wesley College, North Unley, and the home, renamed "Old Oxford House", became a Methodist retreat and memorial to Torr and his assistant Rev. John Thorne. He was an authority on

chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora ( ), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck ...

s; and made numerous collecting expeditions with Sir

Joseph Verco Sir Joseph Cooke Verco (1 August 1851 – 26 July 1933) was an Australian physician and conchologist. Early years Verco, born at Fullarton, South Australia, was a son of James Crabb Verco. Both his parents came from Cornwall, UK. He was educ ...

. He was a keen bowler, and was first captain of the Brighton Bowling Club. He contributed over 1800 weekly articles in the series "Talks with Young Men" to '' Australian Christian Commonwealth'', official organ of the Methodist Church.

Recognition

*Torr Avenue Brighton, a new thoroughfare which was created when a property belonging to the S.A. Blind, Deaf and Dumb Institution, was subdivided, was named for him. *A stained-glass window at the Brighton Methodist Church was dedicated to his memory.

Family

Torr's siblings included: *Sophia Jane Torr (c. 1838 – 29 November 1917) married James Brown of

Mintaro, South Australia Mintaro is a historic town in the eastern Clare Valley, east of the Horrocks Highway, about north of Adelaide, South Australia. The town lies at the south-eastern corner of the Hundred of Clare, within the Clare Valley wine region. Established ...

in 1856 :* William Jethro Brown (29 March 1868 – 27 May 1930) *Mrs R. Dale of Bath, England *James Cotton Torr (c. 1841 – 24 March 1921) of "Roseneath", Upper Mitcham *John Sampson Torr (c. 1846 – 30 October 1932) of Redhill, South Australia :*(Florence) Laura Torr (born 1878) married William Arthur Brown on 15 April 1895 *Thomas Torr (c. 1848 – 6 October 1939), also of Redhill *Eliza Ann Torr (16 November 1855 – c. 28 March 1935) married Milton Moss Maughan (2 November 1866 – 1921), son of James Maughan, on 6 August 1880. William George Torr (1853–1939) married Charlotte Chewings (2 January 1854 – 10 August 1885) on 30 March 1877. Their children included: *Leonie May Torr (16 September 1883 – 20 February 1944) married William R. Christie (c.1863 – c. 1940) on 16 July 1904 *Claude Montrose Torr (2 May 1885 – 1917) He married again, to Albertina Santo (née Kidner) (c. 1845 – 10 December 1909) on 20 December 1893. :Albertina was the widow of Philip Santo, Jnr (11 December 1842 – 13 June 1868); they had two daughters, Albertina Mary Santo (1867– ) and Amelia Elizabeth Santo (1868–1941), who both married Messent boys. He married a third time, to Mary Frances Buchan, née Walter, (c. 1856 – 17 March 1937) on 6 February 1912. :Mary was the widow of auctioneer David Thomas Buchan (1840–1891) of Melbourne, who had a son, Allan Carnegy Buchan. The Torrs lived at Way Cottage, Great Downing Street (became Wattle Avenue), Brighton.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torr, William George 1853 births 1939 deaths People from Tavistock Australian educators Australian Methodist ministers English emigrants to Australia 19th-century Australian Methodist ministers 20th-century Australian Methodist ministers 19th-century Australian educators 20th-century Australian educators