Thomas Hobbes Scott
Encyclopedia
Thomas Hobbes Scott was an English-born
clergyman, active in Australia
.
Scott was born in Kelmscott
, Oxford
, England, one of the youngest of eight children of James Scott, sometime vicar of Itchen Stoke
, Hampshire
, and chaplain ordinary to George III
, and his wife Jane Elizabeth, née Harmood.
Scott went to France
after his father's death and was a vice-consul at Bordeaux
and later went bankrupt as a wine merchant.
Scott was a clerk to a British consulate in Italy
. Scott matriculated at Oxford University
at the late age of 30, on 11 October 1813, and graduated M.A. on 12 November 1818. He was at St Alban Hall, subsequently merged in Merton College
. Early in 1819 he was appointed secretary of the commission of John Bigge
and Governor Lachlan Macquarie
was instructed that in the event of the death or illness of Bigge, Scott would take his place. After his return to England Scott took holy orders and became rector of Whitfield
, Northumberland
, in 1822.
Early in 1824, at the request of Earl Bathurst
, Scott drew up an elaborate plan for providing for churches and schools in Australia. The main idea was that one-tenth of the lands in the colony should be vested in trustees for the support of churches and schools. Primary schools were to be followed by schools for agriculture and trades, and also schools to fit students for a university which was ultimately visualized. He also suggested that pending the establishment of the university a few of the ablest students should be awarded exhibitions to take them to Oxford
or Cambridge
. His plans were adopted in a modified form.
Scott was appointed archdeacon
of New South Wales
on 2 October 1824, and he arrived at Sydney on 7 May 1825. He was also made a member of council and a trustee of the clergy and school lands; this corporation, however, had neither land nor funds. Governor Brisbane opposed his suggestion that "government reserves" should be considered church and school lands, and with regard to land generally, comparatively little of it had even been surveyed. Scott too was working on the assumption that the control of education would be in the hands of the Church of England, which brought vigorous opposition from the Presbyterians, Wesleyans and Roman Catholics. Scott's connexion with Bigge and a friendship he had formed with John Macarthur tended to make him unpopular, and though Governor Darling spoke of him as amiable and well-disposed, he quarrelled with several men of the period. Kelmscott, Western Australia
was named after his birthplace. On 1 January 1828 he sent his resignation to England and was succeeded in 1829 by Archdeacon, afterwards Bishop, William Grant Broughton
. Scott's final report on the church and school establishment of New South Wales was dated 1 September 1829. He then returned to England, took charge of his parish at Whitfield, and was later made an honorary canon of Durham. He died at Whitfield on 1 January 1860.
Scott was a capable man who was arbitrary and autocratic. He could not get on with his own clergy, and when he visited Tasmania
in 1826 a report he made on the state of religion and education raised similar antagonism to that he had experienced in Sydney. He was a hard worker, he had a fine conception of the place education should take in the colony, and during his five years in New South Wales the number of schools and the number of pupils attending regularly were both more than doubled. His proposed scheme of education in Australia could not be accepted at the time, largely because it assumed the ascendancy of the Church of England, but considered broadly it was a statesmanlike piece of work which must have had much influence on the plans that were later developed.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
clergyman, active in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Scott was born in Kelmscott
Kelmscott
Kelmscott is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in West Oxfordshire, about east of Lechlade in neighbouring Gloucestershire.-Parish church:...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England, one of the youngest of eight children of James Scott, sometime vicar of Itchen Stoke
Itchen Stoke
Itchen Stoke is a village in Hampshire, England. The village lies in the valley of the River Itchen, north east of Winchester, and south east of Itchen Abbas....
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, and chaplain ordinary to George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
, and his wife Jane Elizabeth, née Harmood.
Scott went to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
after his father's death and was a vice-consul at Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
and later went bankrupt as a wine merchant.
Scott was a clerk to a British consulate in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Scott matriculated at Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
at the late age of 30, on 11 October 1813, and graduated M.A. on 12 November 1818. He was at St Alban Hall, subsequently merged in Merton College
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
. Early in 1819 he was appointed secretary of the commission of John Bigge
John Bigge
John Thomas Bigge was an English judge and royal commissioner.Bigge was born at Benton House, Northumberland, England, the second son of Thomas Charles Bigge, High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1771...
and Governor Lachlan Macquarie
Lachlan Macquarie
Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB , was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He served as the last autocratic Governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1810 to 1821 and had a leading role in the social, economic and architectural development of the colony...
was instructed that in the event of the death or illness of Bigge, Scott would take his place. After his return to England Scott took holy orders and became rector of Whitfield
Whitfield
-Places:Australia*Whitfield, VictoriaEngland*Whitfield, Derbyshire*Whitfield, Gloucestershire*Whitfield, Herefordshire*Whitfield, Kent*Whitfield, Northamptonshire*Whitfield, NorthumberlandHong Kong*Whitfield BarracksScotland*Whitfield, Dundee...
, Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, in 1822.
Early in 1824, at the request of Earl Bathurst
Earl Bathurst
Earl Bathurst, of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1772 for Allen Bathurst, 1st Baron Bathurst. He was a politician and an opponent of Sir Robert Walpole...
, Scott drew up an elaborate plan for providing for churches and schools in Australia. The main idea was that one-tenth of the lands in the colony should be vested in trustees for the support of churches and schools. Primary schools were to be followed by schools for agriculture and trades, and also schools to fit students for a university which was ultimately visualized. He also suggested that pending the establishment of the university a few of the ablest students should be awarded exhibitions to take them to Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
or Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. His plans were adopted in a modified form.
Scott was appointed archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
on 2 October 1824, and he arrived at Sydney on 7 May 1825. He was also made a member of council and a trustee of the clergy and school lands; this corporation, however, had neither land nor funds. Governor Brisbane opposed his suggestion that "government reserves" should be considered church and school lands, and with regard to land generally, comparatively little of it had even been surveyed. Scott too was working on the assumption that the control of education would be in the hands of the Church of England, which brought vigorous opposition from the Presbyterians, Wesleyans and Roman Catholics. Scott's connexion with Bigge and a friendship he had formed with John Macarthur tended to make him unpopular, and though Governor Darling spoke of him as amiable and well-disposed, he quarrelled with several men of the period. Kelmscott, Western Australia
Kelmscott, Western Australia
Kelmscott is a southeastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Armadale, and it is located southeast of Perth along Albany Highway....
was named after his birthplace. On 1 January 1828 he sent his resignation to England and was succeeded in 1829 by Archdeacon, afterwards Bishop, William Grant Broughton
William Grant Broughton
William Grant Broughton was the first Bishop of Australia of the Church of England....
. Scott's final report on the church and school establishment of New South Wales was dated 1 September 1829. He then returned to England, took charge of his parish at Whitfield, and was later made an honorary canon of Durham. He died at Whitfield on 1 January 1860.
Scott was a capable man who was arbitrary and autocratic. He could not get on with his own clergy, and when he visited Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
in 1826 a report he made on the state of religion and education raised similar antagonism to that he had experienced in Sydney. He was a hard worker, he had a fine conception of the place education should take in the colony, and during his five years in New South Wales the number of schools and the number of pupils attending regularly were both more than doubled. His proposed scheme of education in Australia could not be accepted at the time, largely because it assumed the ascendancy of the Church of England, but considered broadly it was a statesmanlike piece of work which must have had much influence on the plans that were later developed.