From T.T. Reed’s Colonial Gentlemen to Trove: Rediscovering Anglican Clergymen in Australia’s Colonial Newspapers

Abstract

T. T. Reed’s pioneering book on the lives of Anglican clergymen in South Australia is still an important guide to the contribution made by these men to the expansion of educational opportunities for children. However, the development of Trove by the National Library of Australia has provided new ways of tracing the educational activities of Anglican clergymen in Australia. Researchers have frequently acknowledged the importance of the roles played by Protestant ministers of religion in the expansion of primary and secondary education during the nineteenth century. Much of the focus of this research work in religious history and educational history has been linked to the contribution of Protestant clergymen in educational administrations, either through leadership roles as headmasters or through participation in activities established by school boards or councils. Numerous Protestant ministers of religion developed high profile roles during the early growth of non-government as well as government-supported primary and secondary schools in colonial South Australia. This article will emphasise the ways that information searches using Trove can highlight forgotten aspects of educational activities undertaken by clergymen. It will focus on the activities of three ministers from the Church of England who combined their parish duties in the Diocese of Adelaide with attempts to run schools funded by private fees. Their willingness to undertake teaching work in this way thrust them into the secular world of an emerging Australian education market, where promotional activity through continuous newspaper advertising was part of the evolution of early models of educational entrepreneurship. These clergymen faced considerable competition from private venture schools as well as government-supported schools in the colonial capital. This article will also highlight gender issues associated with their promotional activities, as each minister used different definitions of gender in order to build supportive social networks for their schools and attract attention to their teaching activities.