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John Woolley (28 February 1816 – 11 January 1866) was an academic and clergyman, the first principal of the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
, Australia.K. J. Cable,
Woolley, John (1816–1866)
, ''
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'', Volume 6,
Melbourne University Press Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) is the book publishing arm of the University of Melbourne. History MUP was founded in 1922 as Melbourne University Press to sell text books and stationery to students, and soon began publishing books itself. ...
, 1976, pp 435–437. Retrieved 21 March 2010


Early life

Woolley was born at
Petersfield, Hampshire Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...
, England, the second son of George Woolley, physician, and his wife Charlotte, ''née'' Gell. Woolley attended Western Grammar School,
Brompton, London Brompton, sometimes called Old Brompton, survives in name as a ward in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. Until the latter half of the 19th century it was a scattered village made up mostly of market gardens in the county of ...
and then the
University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...
from 1830, and during the next two years passed every subject he took with first-class honours. Woolley then won an open scholarship at
Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...
, graduating BA, 1836, with a first-class in classics, MA, 1839, and DCL in 1844. Woolley was ordained a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
on 14 June 1840 and a priest on 4 July 1841. In 1840 Woolley published ''An Introduction to Logic''. In 1842 he was appointed headmaster of Edward the Sixth's Grammar School,
Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester, England, Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. ...
, and three years later held the same position at
Rossall School Rossall School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was fou ...
in Lancashire. Woolley published ''Sermons Preached in the Chapel of Rossall College'' in 1847. He became headmaster of
Norwich Grammar School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a selective English independent day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 ...
in 1849, and in 1852 was appointed principal and professor of classics at the University of Sydney.


Australia

Woolley arrived in Sydney with his wife and daughters on 9 July 1852 and quickly started making arrangements for the opening of the University. The first matriculation examination was held in October, and 24 students were admitted to matriculation; teaching work began at once. Woolley afterwards added to his duties the teaching of logic. He had an extremely difficult task as principal. Parliament was unsympathetic, there were few students, and in many cases their preliminary schooling had been inadequate.''Record of the Jubilee Celebrations of the University of Sydney'', pp. 31–3 One of the means of improving the position of the University that Woolley brought forward (not developed until after his death) was linking the primary education of the colony with the university. Woolley published a volume of ''Lectures Delivered in Australia'' (1862), some of which had been given at the
Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts The Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts (SMSA) is the longest running School of Arts (also known as a " Mechanics' Institute") and the oldest continuous lending library in Australia. Founded in 1833, the school counted many of the colony's educat ...
, Sydney, and similar institutions. Woolley gratuitously held classes at the mechanics' school of arts and endeavoured to expand the classes there into a regular curriculum of studies, and though in 1860 he had to admit the comparative failure of the attempt, after his death more was done in this area. In 1882, 1100 Pupils were attending classes. (Commemorative address on the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary by Sir William Windeyer).


Late life and legacy

Woolley took leave and left for England on 26 December 1864 aboard HMS ''Miranda''. There he visited friends and relations. On his way back to Australia, Woolley was drowned in the
Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
when the '' SS London'' sank on 11 January 1866. Woolley married in July 1842 Mary Margaret, daughter of Major William Turner, who survived him with six children. A sum of £2000 was raised by subscription among his friends and presented to his widow. Woolley was regarded as a scholarly and amiable man. J. Sheridan Moore's lecture on ''The Life and Genius of
James Lionel Michael James Lionel Michael (October 1824 – 26 April 1868) was an Anglo-Australian solicitor and poet. Early life Michael was born in Red Lion Square, London, the second son of James Walter Michael, a solicitor, and his wife, Rose Lemon ''née'' Hart. ...
'' contains a glowing reference to Woolley. Henry Barff, in ''A Short Historical Account of the University of Sydney'', speaks highly of his scholarship and enthusiasm, and of the work he did in the forming of the university and the moulding of young men's minds throughout the colony. Woolley however, found it almost impossible to make the young university take its proper place in the life of the colony. It was not until several years after his death that the number of students reached 100. The John Woolley building at the University of Sydney is named in his honour. It currently houses the School of Art, Communication and English.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolley, John 1816 births 1866 deaths University of Sydney faculty Rossall School Headmasters of Norwich School English emigrants to colonial Australia Deaths due to shipwreck at sea