Author: Clarke, William Branwhite
Biography:
CLARKE, WILLIAM Branwhite (1798-1878: ODNB)
The eldest child of William Clarke (1767-1829), headmaster of East Bergholt Free School, and his wife Sarah Branwhite (1775-1855), he was born on 2 June 1798 at East Bergholt where he was baptised at St. Mary’s church on 1 July. He was educated at his father’s school and at Dedham grammar school before going up to Jesus College, Cambridge (matric 1817, BA 1821, MA 1824), where he first became interested in geology. He was ordained deacon in 1821 and priest in 1823. In 1824 he became a curate at St. Mary’s in East Bergholt and, on his father’s death, he was appointed headmaster of the Free School. On 3 Jan. 1832 he married Maria Morton (or Moreton) Stather at St. Botolph without Aldersgate, London; she was born in 1811 in the West Indies. They had three surviving children. In 1838 he was appointed to a chaplaincy in New South Wales by the Society for Propagation of the Gospel, and the family arrived in Australia on 25 May 1839. Clarke served initially as the headmaster of King’s School, Parramatta, and in 1846 he became rector of the new parish of St. Thomas’s in North Sydney. He held that post until his retirement in 1871. Clarke’s primary interest was, however, in the geology and meteorology of the colony. He surveyed NSW to discover first gold and later coal. His analysis of the nature and age of the coal deposits and geological strata put him in conflict with other scientists but eventually Clarke was proven right. He took seriously the need to educate the public about science and published frequently in the Sydney Morning Herald. He became a fellow of the Royal Society in London in 1876 and was awarded the Murchison medal by the Royal Geological Society in 1877; he was also a founder of the Royal Society of NSW which established the Clarke medal in his honour. He died at home on 16 June 1878 and was buried in the North Sydney cemetery. His wife died on 21 Oct. 1888. ADB lists two books of verse for which no copies have been located: Carmen Exequiale (1821) and Recollections of a Visit to Mont Blanc (1828 or possibly 1839). The State Library of NSW holds an extensive collection of Clarke’s books, lectures, papers, artefacts, and letters. (ODNB 18 Dec. 2023; ADB 18 Dec. 2023; ancestry.co.uk 18 Dec. 2023; LBS)
Other Names:
- W. B. Clarke