Rev. Thomas Smellie (pronounced "smiley") ( – ) was a Presbyterian minister and educator in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

History

Smellie was sent out to South Australia by the

Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland ( gd, An Eaglais Shaor Chlèireach, ) was formed in 1893. The Church identifies itself as the spiritual descendant of the Scottish Reformation. The Church web-site states that it is 'the constitutional hei ...

to replace Rev. Peter Mercer, minister of the Port Adelaide church on the north-west corner of Marryatt and Leadenhall streets, who had transferred to Victoria to become first acting principal of

Ormond College Ormond College is the largest of the residential colleges of the University of Melbourne located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is home to around 350 undergraduates, 90 graduates and 35 professorial and academic residents. Hi ...

of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. Smellie arrived aboard ''Irene'' on 21 October 1861 and was formally welcomed by the congregations of the Port Adelaide church on 4 November and Chalmers Church a week later and ordained and inducted into the Port Adelaide church on 16 December 1861. He resigned before the 1865 union which formed the Presbyterian Church of South Australia, but stayed on until replaced by Rev. James Henderson on 18 April 1867. Smellie taught

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Adelaide Educational Institution Adelaide Educational Institution was a privately run non-sectarian academy for boys in Adelaide founded in 1852 by John Lorenzo Young.B. K. Hyams'Young, John Lorenzo (1826–1881)' ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 6, Melbourne Unive ...

from 1863 to 1866, and St Peter's College in 1866. He advertised for private tuition in mathematics and the Classics at his home,

Wakefield Street Wakefield Street is a main thoroughfare intersecting Adelaide city centre, the centre of the South Australian capital, Adelaide, from east to west at its midpoint. It crosses Victoria Square, Adelaide, Victoria Square in the centre of the city, ...

, in the year 1867–1868. He founded Gawler Academy on Church Hill,

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 ...

, around June 1868 with 28 pupils, assisted by Mrs. Smellie and L. S. Burton (died 1895). The school closed in December 1871 prior to his return to Great Britain. James Gordon S.M. was a notable student. His licence to marry was rescinded in 1870. Smellie and his wife returned to Britain aboard ''South Australian'' in 1872.

Other interests

*He was an active member of the

Aborigines' Friends' Association The Aborigines' Friends' Association (AFA) was established out of concern for "the moral, spiritual and physical well-being" of Australian Aboriginal people from the Northern Territory and particularly South Australia. This organisation operated ...

Family

Smellie married Louise Suzanne Wilhelmine Verdure (29 Jul 1832 – ) at Chalmers Church on 18 December 1866. Louise was a daughter of Pierre Jean Isidore Verdure, of Paris

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smellie, Thomas Australian Presbyterian ministers Australian headmasters Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown 19th-century Australian Presbyterian ministers 19th-century Australian educators