William Thomas Thornhill Webber (30 January 1837 – 3 August 1903) was the third

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Bishop of Brisbane in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia.

Early life

Webber was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the son of a surgeon, William Webber and his wife Eliza (née Preston). He was educated at

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, at

Norwich 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 as a ...

under John Woolley and

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

where he obtained B.A. in 1859 and M.A. in 1862.

Religious life

Webber was ordained a deacon in 1860 and a priest in 1861. Webber spent four years as curate of

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...

(1860–64). He was then Vicar of St John the Evangelist,

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

, (1864–85) and was a member of the

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 was the first to provide for ...

(1882–85). He was consecrated bishop of Brisbane on 11 June 1885 by

Edward White Benson Edward White Benson (14 July 1829 – 11 October 1896) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death. Before this, he was the first Bishop of Truro, serving from 1877 to 1883, and began construction of Truro Cathedral. He was previousl ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, at St Paul's Cathedral, London and enthroned on 17 November 1885 in

St John's Cathedral, Brisbane St John's Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane and the metropolitan cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of Queensland, Australia. It is dedicated to St John the Evangelist. The cathedral is situated in Ann Street ...

. He brought clergymen over from Oxford and Cambridge Universities for work in

on five-year tours of duty. Webber visited England in 1888 to attend the Pan-Anglican synod at Lambeth. He spent a lot of his time in raising funds, including money for a cathedral in Brisbane but died before work commenced. Webber visited England again in 1901, and early in 1902 preached by command before

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...

. He fell ill during the year and on his return in May 1903 his condition worsened.

Later life

On 3 August 1903, Webber died in Brisbane at his residence

Bishopsbourne Bishopsbourne is a mostly rural and wooded village and civil parish in Kent, England. It has two short developed sections of streets at the foot of the Nailbourne valley south-east of Canterbury and centred from Dover. The settlement of P ...

. He was buried on Tuesday 4 August 1903 in

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest cemet ...

References

* *George P. Shaw,
Webber, William Thomas Thornhill (1837–1903)
, ''

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 12, MUP, 1990, p. 429. * Sources listed by the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'': :Church of England Diocese of Brisbane, ''Proceedings of Synod'', 1884-1904 and ''Year Book'', 1890-1904; K. Rayner, The History of the Church of England in Queensland (PhD thesis, University of Queensland, 1962); Webber papers (Church of England Diocesan Archives, Brisbane). 1837 births 1903 deaths People educated at Tonbridge School People educated at Norwich School Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Anglican bishops of Brisbane Members of the London School Board {{Australia-anglican-bishop-stub