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 within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13,028 ...

, 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. The town began as a single company ...

, arriving on the ''Hooghly'' in 1855. William was educated there and at

Stanley Grammar School Stanley Grammar School was a private day and boarding school in Watervale, a small town in South Australia's Clare Valley. Its history, which dates from 1858 to 1904, is inextricably linked with that of its founder and headmaster, Joseph S. Co ...

, 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, in Adelaide, South Australia. It is on the northern border of Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market, and is a lively centre for shopping and r ...

, (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 Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, 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 in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he gained his MA and BCL, then

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, where he gained his LLD. Way College (named for Rev.

James Way Rev. James Way (17 June 1804 – 14 August 1884) was a Bible Christian Church, Bible Christian minister in the early days of the colony of South Australia, and for whom Way College was named. He was the father of Sir Samuel Way. History Way was ...

), in a building which was previously Dr. Joyce's Eye Infirmary, was opened in 1892 for the

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

and

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

denominations as a religious school for boys on Park Terrace, North Unley (renamed

Greenhill Road Greenhill Road is a major road in Adelaide, South Australia, that provides a connection to the eastern and hills suburbs. Its western section, running along the south side of Adelaide Parklands, forms part of Adelaide's City Ring Route. Route ...

, Parkside), and Torr was appointed first head master. Torr was succeeded by Frank Lade, but stayed on as an assistant. With Methodist union in 1900, the work of Way College was taken over by

Prince Alfred College , motto_translation = Do Brave Deeds and Endure , established = 1869 , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boarding , headmaster = David Roberts , chaplain = Reverend ...

, and the school closed, and in 1903 became Methodist Ladies' College (later Annesley College). 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 gumboots or sea cradles or coat-of-mail s ...

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 ed ...

. 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 The ''Australian Christian Commonwealth'' was a weekly newspaper published by Hussey & Gillingham in South Australia from 1901 to 1940. History The ''Australian Christian Commonwealth'' was first published on 4 January 1901. Although "new", t ...

'', 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

John Torr's (1815–1884) family included: James Brown Torr of Mintaro; Mrs. R. Dale of Bath, England; Mrs. Maughan of Wallaroo Bay; James C. Torr of "Roseneath", Upper Mitcham; John S. Torr of Redhill; Thomas Torr of Redhill; and William George Torr. His youngest daughter Eliza Ann Torr (16 November 1855 – ) married Milton Moss Maughan (2 November 1866 – ), son of

James Maughan Rev. James Maughan (October 1826 – 8 March 1871) was a Methodist minister in Adelaide, South Australia. His name was commemorated in the Maughan Church, Franklin Street, which has since been demolished. Biography James Maughan was born at ...

, 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torr, William George 1853 births 1939 deaths People from Tavistock Australian educators Australian Christian clergy Australian Methodist ministers