Person

Thomas, William (1793 - 1867)

Born: 1793
Westminster, England
Died: 1 December 1867
Brunswick, Victoria, Australia
Occupation: Teacher and Protector of aboriginals

Summary

William Thomas was assistant protector of aboriginals in the Port Phillip, Westernport and Gippsland districts of Victoria from 1839 to 1849. He was then appointed guardian of the Counties of Bourke, Mornington and Evelyn from 1850-1860. Thomas was known to the aborigines as Marminata (Good Father). His recommendation to the select committee of the Legislative Council on Aborigines to establish reserves and supply depots throughout Victoria was accepted in a modified form and in 1860 became policy for the new Central Board for the Protection of Aborigines.

Details

Chronology

1838 - 1849: Career position - Assistant Protector of Aboriginals in the Port Phillip, Westernport and Gippsland districts of Victoria
1850 - 1860: Career position - Guardian of Aborigines for the Counties of Bourke, Mornington and Evelyn in Victoria
1860: Career position - Official visitor to supervise the work of all stations and depots of the Central Board for the Protection of Aborigines

Related Corporate Bodies

Colony of New South Wales (1788 - 1901)
William Thomas worked as a "protector" (1838 - 1849) and later "guardian" (1850 - c.1860) of Indigenous Australians in parts of Victoria. Although officially employed by the British Government he worked closely with the Colonial Government of New South Wales.

Date: 1838 - c. 1860

Published resources

Book Sections

Mulvaney, D. J., 'Thomas, William (1793-1867)' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 2: 1788 - 1850 I-Z, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1967), pp. 518-519. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020474b.htm. Details

Resources

Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1758903. Details
VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/43726071. Details
'Thomas, William (1791-1867)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1467164. Details

Rosanne Walker

Created: 30 June 1997, Last modified: 2 March 2018

EOAS ID: biogs/P002665b.htm

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