William George TorrMA, BCL, LLD, often referred to as "Old Oxford", was a religious educator in South Australia.
History
William G. Torr was a son of John Torr of Tavistock, Devon, who with his wife Ann Montrose Torr, née Green, and family emigrated to Burra, South Australia, arriving on the Hooghly in 1855. William was educated there and at Stanley Grammar School, Watervale, before taking up work on a sheep station in Tasmania. He started his working life as a teacher at Ulooloo in 1872, and gained experience as an assistant at the City Model School, Grote Street, from 1875. The following year he was in charge of a new class intended to give a few student teachers experience in running a small country school. During his stay in Adelaide he also took Bible classes at the Bible Christian church in Young Street, Adelaide. In 1878 he was appointed head master of the Moonta Mines Model School. He visited England around late 1884 or early 1885, possibly to enroll as a student with Oxford University, as around the end of 1885 he resigned his position with the Education Department to undertake studies preparatory to his taking charge of Way College, which was then being planned. He then studied at Oxford, where he gained his MA and BCL, then Cambridge, where he gained his LLD. Way College, in a building which was previously Dr. Joyce's Eye Infirmary, was opened in 1892 for the Bible Christian and Primitive Methodist denominations as a religious school for boys on Park Terrace, North Unley, and Torr was appointed first head master. Torr was succeeded by Frank Lade, but stayed on as an assistant. With Methodist union in 1900, the work of Way College was taken over by Prince Alfred College, and the school closed, and in 1903 became Methodist Ladies' College. Torr founded Brighton Training College, opened in 1909, devoted to training young men for the ministry, with residential accommodation built at his own expense. This function was taken over around 1925 by Wesley College, North Unley, and the home, renamed "Old Oxford House", became a Methodist retreat and memorial to Torr and his assistant Rev. John Thorne. He was an authority on chitons; and made numerous collecting expeditions with Sir Joseph Verco. He was a keen bowler, and was first captain of the Brighton Bowling Club. He contributed over 1800 weekly articles in the series "Talks with Young Men" to Australian Christian Commonwealth, official organ of the Methodist Church.
Recognition
Torr Avenue Brighton, a new thoroughfare which was created when a property belonging to the S.A. Blind, Deaf and Dumb Institution, was subdivided, was named for him.
A stained-glass window at the Brighton Methodist Church was dedicated to his memory.
Family
John Torr's family included: James Brown Torr of Mintaro; Mrs. R. Dale of Bath, England; Mrs. Maughan of Wallaroo Bay; James C. Torr of "Roseneath", Upper Mitcham; John S. Torr of Redhill; Thomas Torr of Redhill; and William George Torr. His youngest daughter Eliza Ann Torr married Milton Moss Maughan, son of James Maughan, on 6 August 1880. William George Torr married Charlotte Chewings on 30 March 1877. Their children included:
Leonie May Torr married William R. Christie on 16 July 1904
Claude Montrose Torr
He married again, to Albertina Santo on 20 December 1893. He married a third time, to Mary Frances Buchan, née Walter, on 6 February 1912. The Torrs lived at Way Cottage, Great Downing Street, Brighton.
