Thomas ARNDELL

ARNDELL, THOMAS (b. England c.1753; d. Cattai, NSW, 2 May 1821). Surgeon, magistrate and landholder.

Thomas Arndell came on the First Fleet to NSW where he distinguished himself as a doctor, a magistrate, a farmer and a Christian. He founded a family that played a significant role in the early colony and helped to establish the first free church in Australia.

Thomas Arndell completed his apprenticeship as an apothecary in March 1775 and in September 1781 passed his examination as a surgeon's mate. He gained further medical experience while serving on an East Indiaman during the 1780s. In October 1786 Thomas Arndell was appointed Second Assistant Surgeon for new colony of NSW and in May 1787 he sailed from Portsmouth as surgeon on the Friendship with responsibility for the health of the officers and crew and their cargo of convicts. His fellow officer Lt Ralph Clark commended him for his skill and devotion. Of the 22 convicts who died on the voyage, only one was from theFriendship.

When the new colony was established in NSW, Thomas Arndell was appointed as surgeon at Parramatta. He was superintendent of the hospital and responsible for the medical needs of the whole district. He was given a lease of a house in Parramatta and there he set up his home with Elizabeth Burleigh, a convict from the Lady Penrhyn, who bore him seven children.

In 1791 Thomas Arndell commenced farming at Rydalmere and was granted 600 acres there. In 1794 he was granted 70 acres at North Parramatta and in 1799 he was granted 100 acres at Pennant Hills. He requested permission to retire from his medical duties so that he could devote himself to his family and farming. This request was granted in 1795 and he was appointed as a magistrate. In 1799 Arndell selected a choice piece of land at Cattai and built his home there, although the grant of 600 acres was not made until 1804. Meanwhile he added two more sons to his family, developed his new farm, treated the sick and served as a magistrate for the Hawkesbury district.

In 1802 the Coromandel settlers, a group of devout nonconformists seeking religious freedom and better opportunities in the new colony, arrived in NSW and were given grants on the Hawkesbury. Thomas Arndell welcomed them warmly and invited them to hold prayer meetings in his home. It was there, on 26 Sept 1806, that they formed themselves into the Portland Head Society For the Propagation of Christian Knowledge and the Instruction of Youth, and resolved to build a chapel and a school. The building was opened in 1809 and named 'Ebenezer'. It was the first church built by voluntary effort and is now the oldest surviving church building in Australia.

Thomas Arndell continued as an active member of the Ebenezer Church and as a magistrate, farmer and surgeon until his death in 1821. His descendants have continued to he involved in the Hawkesbury district and the Ebenezer Church.

ADB 1; R M Arndell, Pioneers of Portland Head (Sydney, 1984); M Raven, Thomas Arndell: The Man He Was (Sydney, 1989)

R SETON ARNDELL