A. Nutter Thomas Explained

Arthur Nutter Thomas (11 December 1869 – 10 April 1954), commonly referred to as Dr Nutter Thomas or A. Nutter Thomas, was the Anglican Bishop of Adelaide, South Australia, from 1906 to 1940.^[1]

Early life

Nutter Thomas was born in Hackney, London, to Charles James Thomas and his wife Mary Matilda Thomas, née Nutter.^[2] He was educated at Pembroke College of the University of Cambridge and was awarded a bachelor's degree in 1893, a master's degree in 1895 and a Doctor of Divinity degree in 1906. He was made deacon on 20 May 1894, by Walsham How, Bishop of Wakefield, at Wakefield Cathedral; ordained priest the following year;^[3] and consecrated a bishop on Candlemas 1906 (2 February) at Westminster Abbey, by Randall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury. He arrived in South Australia two months later with his wife. On retirement he had spent over 34 years as a bishop, the longest for an Anglican bishop in Australia at that time.^[2]

Thomas's episcopacy as Bishop of Adelaide was contemporaneous with the 40-year incumbency at St George's Church, Goodwood of Canon Percy Wise, with whom he had a long and frosty relationship, Thomas being a traditional Anglican, a follower of the Book of Common Prayer, and Wise being radically Anglo-Catholic.

Family

Nutter Thomas married Mary Theodora Lewis before leaving England. They had two daughters and a son, all born at Bishop's Court, North Adelaide.

• Ursula Nutter Thomas (10 January 1908 –) married the Rev. William C. S. Johnson^[4] on 20 April 1937
• M(ary) Katherine Nutter Thomas (16 August 1910 –) married the Rt Rev. Hubert Baddeley on 13 November 1935. He was Bishop of Melanesia from 1932 to 1947.^[5]
• Christopher Nutter Thomas^[6] (11 July 1912 –) was appointed curate to the Rev. F. E. Thornton, at Holy Trinity Church, Kew, Victoria, in 1946.^[7]

Further reading

• Book: Renfrey . L. E. W. . Lionel Renfrey . Arthur Nutter Thomas, Bishop of Adelaide, 1906-1940 . 1988 . The Author . Adelaide . 0731650077.

Notes and References

1. Book: Reed, Thomas T. A history of the cathedral church of St. Peter Adelaide. 1969. Lutheran Press. Adelaide. 55.
2. Book: Lionel E. W. Renfrey . Australian Dictionary of Biography: Thomas, Arthur Nutter (1869–1954) . National Centre of Biography, Australian National University . 1990 . 1 March 2021.
3. Book: [[Richard Malden|Malden Richard (ed)]] . Crockford's Clerical Directory for 1920 (51st edn) . London . The Field Press. 1 . 1920 .
4. News: Rev. W. C. S. Johnson Retires . . 60 . 2,648 . South Australia . 12 January 1973 . 1 March 2021 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
5. News: New Church Appointment . . 89 . 27523 . South Australia . 21 December 1946 . 1 March 2021 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
6. News: Sons of Prominent Adelaide Men . . XIV . 2,036 . South Australia . 24 January 1930 . 1 March 2021 . 8 . National Library of Australia.
7. News: About People . . 28524 . Victoria, Australia . 25 September 1946 . 1 March 2021 . 2 . National Library of Australia.