William Timothy Cape (25 October 1806 – 4 June 1863) was an early school master in Sydney, Australia; several of the

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New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

attended his school. Cape was born at

Walworth Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross. Major streets in Walworth include the Old ...

, Surrey, England, the son of William Cape, a London bank manager who emigrated to Australia with his family in 1821. Cape senior became master of a private school, the Sydney Academy, at the end of 1822 and died in 1847. William Timothy Cape was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, London, and was intended for the Church of England ministry. However, on his arrival in Australia, became an assistant master at his father's school. Though just 20 years of age he was made headmaster of the Sydney public school on 1 July 1827 when his father resigned. He had already made a reputation as a teacher and shortly afterwards, when a number of public school teachers from the country were brought into Sydney for training, Cape was given charge of them as he was considered the only qualified person available. In 1829 he opened a private school in

King Street, Sydney King Street is a street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. It stretches from King Street Wharf and Lime Street near Darling Harbour in the west, to Queens Square at St James railway station in the east. ...

, and when the Sydney College was founded in 1835 he transferred his own pupils there on being appointed headmaster. For seven years Cape was a successful headmaster; some of his distinguished pupils included Sir John Robertson, William Forster,

William Bede Dalley William Bede Dalley (5 July 1831 – 28 October 1888) was an Australian politician and barrister and the first Australian appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. He was a leading lay representative and champion of the Catholic co ...

, Sir James Martin, and T. A. Browne, and the number of students was approaching 300 when Cape came into conflict with the trustees and resigned at the end of 1841. This was disastrous for the school, for though the number of pupils kept up for some time, between 1843 and 1847 there was a drop in numbers from 283 to 62. The colony was passing through bad times, but it is clear that the trustees had not been able to find a successor who could approach Cape in personality and knowledge. Cape in the meantime had opened a private school at

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, which was carried on until 1856 when he retired. In 1859 Cape was elected a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

for

Wollombi Wollombi ( ) is a small village in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is within the Cessnock City Council LGA, situated southwest of Cessnock and north of Sydney. To the south is the village of Laguna, to the east, the villa ...

, and interested himself in the educational life of the colony as a commissioner of national education, a fellow of St Paul's College 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 ...

, and in connexion with the Sydney School of Arts. He visited England in 1855 and was again in England 1860–1863. He died at London on 14 June 1863. A memorial was placed in St Andrew's cathedral by his former pupils, however it was destroyed in 1941 during renovation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cape, William Timothy 1806 births 1863 deaths Australian headmasters Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Sydney Grammar School headmasters 19th-century Australian politicians