Thomas Caterer (31 July 1825 – c. 4 January 1917) was a pioneer schoolteacher of

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

who founded in 1862 a private school for boys which in 1866 became Norwood Grammar School. His brother, Frederick Isaac Caterer (c. 1840 – c. 24 August 1892), founded a similarly influential school in Glenelg. His eldest son,

T. Ainslie Caterer Thomas Ainslie Caterer (16 May 1858 – 25 August 1924) was a leading South Australian cricketer, Australian rules footballer, cricket administrator and educator of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in Woodville, South ...

(died 1923), noted cricketer and teacher, was the first student of the University of Adelaide to be awarded a BA.

Thomas Caterer

Thomas was born in

Tetsworth Tetsworth is a village and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. Its Parish Council is made up of six elected Councillors. The estimated population in 2018 was 752 persons. According to the Council (in late 2019), business included ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

in 1827, the son of Elizabeth (died at Upper Mitcham, South Australia 17 July 1875) and Isaac Caterer (died 17 March 1868), a schoolteacher who later became a Congregational minister. He was educated at Lewisham College and was for a time on the staff of Taunton's School,

Somersetshire ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

before teaching under Professor Newth in Reading,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

. He emigrated to South Australia, arriving in Adelaide 17 December 1854 in the ship ''Standard''A Scholastic Pioneer
''The Advertiser'', 1 August 1914, accessed 8 June 2011. He had married Marina Mudie (c. 1830 – 16 March 1899), sister of

W. H. Mudie Rev. William Henry Mudie (1830 – 10 July 1903) was an Anglican priest and educator in Adelaide, South Australia. Early years Mudie was born at Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield in Derbyshire where he married Mercy Anne Caterer (1831 – ...

and daughter of the Rev. G. D. Mudie, then of England, but later Congregational minister of Salisbury, South Australia. She followed Thomas to Adelaide in the barque "David Malcolm", arriving 30 April 1855. She was an educated and accomplished woman who had been secretary to Elihu Burritt for some years. He taught at J. L. Young's Adelaide Educational Institution for three or four years then secured appointments as headmaster at

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

1857–1858, Glenelg 1858–1859,

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

School 1860–1861 and Glen Osmond. He founded Beaumont Grammar School at his home "Greenhills" at Beaumont in 1862. which moved to Beulah Road, Norwood in April 1866, and renamed the Norwood Grammar School.Presentation to Mr. Thomas Caterer
''South Australian Register'', 28 March 1896, p. 7. Accessed 7 June 2011. In 1883 he was assisting Harry P. Macklin (1856 – 2 August 1902) at the S. A. Commercial College on Osmond Terrace, Norwood then together in 1886 they founded the Semaphore Collegiate School in a building on Ward St,

Semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

where the Rev. James Coglin previously conducted a Church school. On Macklin's death in 1902, he sold the school to John F. Hills and retired in 1904. He was for two years (around 1880 – 1882) Mayor of the

Corporate Town of Kensington and Norwood The City of Kensington and Norwood, originally the Corporate Town of Kensington and Norwood, was a local government area in South Australia from 1853 to 1997, centred on the inner eastern Adelaide suburbs of Kensington and Norwood. In November 1 ...

. He was a fine cricketer and friend of East Torrens team-mate Sir Edwin Smith.Personal
''The Advertiser'', 6 January 1917. Accessed 8 June 2011. His wife Marina worked closely with Thomas in teaching and school management.Death of Mrs Thomas Caterer
''South Australian Register'' 17 March 1899 p. 5 accessed 22 June 2011

T. Ainslie Caterer

His eldest son,

(1858–1923), was a noted cricketer and educator, the first student of the University of Adelaide to be awarded a B.A. He taught at St Peter's College from around 1890 and from 1916 was acting headmaster, and successfully so, until the appointment of the Rev. Bickersteth in 1919. He retired in 1921 and died two years later. He is remembered there by the Caterer Memorial Scholarship. He married Elizabeth Amy Edmunds (1866– ), daughter of

Arthur Joseph Edmunds Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, in 1890

F. I. Caterer

Thomas's younger brother, Frederick Isaac Caterer (c. 1840 – c. 24 August 1892) was born in Peppard,

, and arrived in Adelaide around 1866. For a time he worked for Thomas, but moved to Glenelg and founded the Glenelg Grammar School. on 1 October 1868. Students who achieved a degree of notability included F. C. Howard, E. Jones,

Thomas McCallum Thomas McCallum (17 March 1860 – 20 April 1938) was a politician in South Australia. History McCallum was born at Langhorne's Creek a son of John McCallum of "Ballindown", and was educated at Glenelg Grammar School for a year, then under a pr ...

, C. E. Manthorpe, B. Miller, J. H. Cooke MLC, F. H. Counsell, W. T. Stacy, W. A. Hamilton M.P., H. B. Crosby M.P. and

Charles Rischbieth Jury Charles Rischbieth Jury (13 September 1893 – 22 August 1958), generally known by his initials or full name, was a poet and academic in Adelaide, South Australia, who spent much of his working life in Europe. History Charles was born in Glenel ...

. In 1869 he married Jane Phillipps (died 1 January 1916), a sister of

Herbert Phillipps William Herbert Phillipps (3 December 1847 – 6 January 1935), generally referred to as W. Herbert Phillipps, later Sir Herbert Phillipps was a prominent South Australian businessman and philanthropist. Early days Herbert was the son of Susanna ...

.Obituary
''South Australian Register'' Tuesday 30 August 1892 p. 3 accessed 7 June 2011 Frederick attended the Glenelg Congregational Church regularly and was a great friend of the pastor, the Rev. C. Manthorpe. He ran the Sunday-school from 1872 to 1883. He was reported missing on 22 August 1892 and was the subject of an extensive search. He was found dead four days later, having committed suicide by taking poison. Thomas and Frederick had two sisters: Mercy Anne Caterer (1831 – 25 August 1908), who was married to Rev. W. H. Mudie, and Jessie (died 1925), who never married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caterer, Thomas Australian educators 1825 births 1917 deaths Mayors of places in South Australia