FL14369341

Thomas, apologised for her mother and sent to Thomas some of her mother's pickles and preserves
and took the opportunity to ask if there were any particular young children in his Sunday school that
he wished she might pay special attention to.126 Thomas Hassall's departure thus stimulated a
lengthy and voluminous correspondence between his family and friends in Australia, most of which
is not preserved in the Hassall Correspondence in the Mitchell Library.

Samuel Marsden recommended Hassall to Reverend Charles Simeon of Cambridge, who
arranged with the Bishop of St David's to place him under the tutelage of the Reverend John
Williams, vicar of Lampeter in Wales. He studied under Reverend Williams until the latter's death
in 1820 when Thomas Hassall had to find other lodgings. With four others he found himself more
comfortable
sitting room and he was very happy with a close friendship of one of the young men, Charles.
During his time in Lampeter Thomas Hassall visited his Coventry relatives as often as possible.
They made him welcome and he was able to picture what his parents' lives had been like before
they left England. He attended with Mr and Mrs Thomas Hancox the opening of a chapel at
Wolston, the place where his father was once stoned for the gospel's sake. At that time Mr Burder
preached. He met many of his parents' friends and many asked to be remembered to the family in
New South Wales. He commented that he thought that Coventry was a ''dirty close and unpleasant'
city but he found the suburbs pleasant.127 He visited his parents' former church and regretted that
he could not attend a sermon delivered by Mr Burder on the rebuilding of the old West Orchard
Church in 1820.

Hassall studied at Lampeter College for two years but lacked a ''title to orders''. A letter
from Mrs Macquarie referring to his future ministry in New South Wales was accepted as ''title''
and he was ordained deacon on 15 April 1821 and priest in June.128 His orders were signed by King
George IV. While he was at Lampeter he established a Sunday School and gave an address to
Sunday School Teachers in England describing how he had started Sunday Schools in Parramatta
and Lampeter. Just before he left England he was introduced to William Wilberforce and met
Commissioner Bigge who had just returned from the colony.129 He brought back with him a gift
from the British and Foreign Bible Society of 20 Bibles and 259 Testaments.

After hearing the death of his father, Thomas Hassall made haste to return to Australia
and visited as many friends and relatives as possible before he left. He returned to Sydney in the
Mary and on 3 February 1822 preached his first Australian sermon at St John's, Parramatta where
he remained as Marsden's curate until 1824 and during that time rented an ''eligible and convenient''
house from Captain King in Church Street, Paramatta.130 He became an examiner for various

126 Yarwood, A.T., Samuel Marsden - The Great Survivor, p.302.
127 Hassall Correspondence, CY860 Vol. II, p.197.
128 Gunson, Niel, ''Hassall, Thomas (1794-1868)'', Australian Dictionary of Biography 1788-1850, Vol. I,
p.523
129 Hassall Correspondence, A1677-4, pp.1514-19 and p.1522 and Bonwick Transcripts, Box 27, Bigge
Report Appendix, p.6474.
130 Sydney Gazette, 31 July 1823.

46