Sydney Thomas Charles Best (7 November 1864 – 8 June 1949) was a long serving Anglican priest in South Australia.

History

Best was born in

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...

, England, the second son of George Frederick Best (1834–1906) and his wife Sophy Maria Best (1832 – 24 July 1908) who emigrated to South Australia aboard S.S. ''Cicero'', arriving in Adelaide on 13 April 1883, and lived at Sydenham Cottage,

Kent Town Kent Town is an inner suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters. History Kent Town was named for Dr. Benjamin Archer Kent (1808 – 25 November 1864), a medical practitioner of Walsall, Staf ...

. He was engaged in business for some years and closely involved with the (Anglican)

St. John's Church St. John's Church, Church of St. John, or variants, thereof, (Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Baptist, but also, sometimes, to John the Apostle or John the Evangelist) may refer to the following churches, former churches or other ...

Halifax Street, Adelaide Halifax Street is a street in the south-eastern sector of the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, South Australia.

. He was an active member of St. John’s Young Men’s Society, Dramatic and Literary societies and superintendent of the Sunday school. He was appointed to several important lay positions before deciding on a full-time career in the Church. He enrolled with St. Barnabas' College, North Adelaide to study for the ministry, graduated in 1900, was ordained deacon by Bishop Harmer in 1901 and priest in 1902. Best served as assistant

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

to Canon Andrews, at St. Bartholomew's, Norwood from December 1901 to August 1903, and at St. Mark's, Maylands from September 1902. He then served as

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at St. Augustine’s Church,

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...

from September 1903 to December 1906, then succeeded the Rev. C. E. Doudney at St. George’s Church and the Church of the Transfiguration in

Gawler Gawler is the oldest country town on the Australian mainland in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the ...

, then from 1911 to 1920 he served as

rural dean In the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion as well as some Lutheran denominations, a rural dean is a member of clergy who presides over a "rural deanery" (often referred to as a deanery); "ruridecanal" is the corresponding adjective. ...

in Gawler, and while there also served as chaplain to

Roseworthy Agricultural College Roseworthy Agricultural College was an agricultural college in Australia. It was north of Adelaide and west of Roseworthy town. It was the first agricultural college in Australia, established in 1883. It is now part of the University of Adela ...

in 1912 and chaplain to the Australian Military Forces from 1916 to 1919. He left Gawler in 1925, to be replaced by the Rev. T. Percy Wood. Among the church's accomplishments during Best's incumbency may be numbered the completion of St. George's church, Gawler South, the re-establishment of St. Michael's Church, Barossa, and clearance of all church debts. He was appointed rector of

St Jude's Church, Brighton St Jude's Church, Brighton is an Anglican church on Brighton Road, Brighton, South Australia. History The land for the church was purchased from John Alexander Voules Brown. The foundation stone was laid on 16 December 1854 by Lady Fox Young ...

and All Saints',

Seacliff Seacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies east of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. History The beach and estate command a strategic position at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and control of the area has been conte ...

in December 1925 and elected

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

on 9 March 1934. He retired from parish work on 30 June 1936, but served from 1939 to 1946 as acting secretary of the

Australian Board of Missions The Anglican Board of Mission - Australia (ABM), formerly Australasian Board of Missions and Australian Board of Missions, is the national mission agency of the Anglican Church of Australia. In its earliest form, it was established in 1850. ...

and from 1940 to 1944 at the North Adelaide Church of Christ.

Other interests

*His involvement with the St John's Literary Society extended to membership of the

South Australian Literary Societies' Union South Australian Literary Societies' Union (1883–1926) was a peak or advocacy organisation of literary societies in South Australia. It organised competitions between the member societies and established a "Union Parliament" to debate issues o ...

, of which he was in 1895 elected vice president and served as general secretary 1896–1901, and was credited with reviving the Union's moribund finances. *He was appointed to the Aborigines' Protection Board in January 1940 and retired in January 1949. *He played

Lawn Bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

with the Gawler Bowling Club then the Brighton club.

Family

Best married Alice Adelaide Uffindell (died 3 August 1935) in 1889 *Alice Muriel Best (1890-1981) married George Campbell McNeilage (1890–1967) in 1915 *(Sydney) Harold Thomas Best (1892–1969) married Grace Marguerite Brickwood Hocking (1896–1984) in 1916, lived in Western Australia. *Stanley Arthur Best (1897–1982) married Dorette Kathleen Woodward ( –1932) in 1921, lived at Helmsdale. He died at his home, Stanley Street

Woodville Park Woodville Park is a suburb in the northwestern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia, around 8 km from the city centre. Woodville Park is bordered to the north by Torrens Road, to the east by Kilkenny Road and David Terrace, to the south by ...

, and his remains were buried in the churchyard at St Jude's, Brighton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best, Sydney Thomas 1864 births 1949 deaths Australian Anglican priests