Mesac Thomas

The Right Reverend Mesac Thomas (10 May 1816 – 15 March 1892) was an Anglican bishop in Australia.[1][2][3][4]

Thomas was born in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion (Cardiganshire), Wales, to Welsh parents:[5] his father was a John Thomas of Shrewsbury;[6] and his mother was Elizabeth, née Williams[4] (daughter of Edward Williams, of Llwynyrhedydd). [7] He was educated at Oswestry School,[7] Shrewsbury[8] and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1840 and M.A. in 1843.[6] Ordained in 1840,[9] he was a Curate at Bishop Ryder Church, Birmingham[10] before holding incumbencies at Tuddenham[11] and Attleborough.[12]

In 1851 he became Secretary of the Colonial Church and School Society,[13] a post he held for twelve years until his consecration as the inaugural Bishop of Goulburn in 1863.[14] Thomas was consecrated on 25 March 1863 and installed on 8 April 1864. During his long incumbency[15] he travelled widely within his diocese[16][17] and oversaw the completion of the diocese's cathedral[18] and a home for its future bishops.[19] Bishop Thomas married on 7 November 1843 Mary Campbell Hasluck,[4] the second daughter of Thomas Hinton Hasluck, of Handsworth, near Birmingham.[7] Thomas died in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 15 March 1892.[7] In March 1892 his death (in office) was announced in British newspapers.[20][21]