William Pascoe CROOK

CROOK, WILLIAM PASCOE (b. Dartmouth, England, 27 Apr 1775; d. Melbourne, Vic, 14 June 1846). Missionary, Congregational preacher and educator.

Crook received a basic education at Plymouth and shortly afterwards entered domestic service. He was accepted by the London Missionary Society as an artisan missionary to the South Sea Islands and was designated as a missionary on 28 July 1796. With John Harris, who was to partner him in his missionary work, he sailed for the Marquesas Islands in the Duff. When they landed on Santa Christina in the Marquesas, Harris would not stay so Crook began the mission by himself Under trying conditions, including famine, he set about learning the language and providing for his own sustenance. He taught the islanders and was well received by them. In May 1799 he returned to England in the Butterworth.

While in England he spent several periods at Newport Pagnell working with Samuel Greatheed on an account of missionary work in the Marquesas and on a dictionary of the 'Polynesian' language. He married Hannah Dare on 12 March 1803 by whom he had one son and eight daughters.

Returning to Sydney in November 1803 to continue work in the Pacific, Samuel Marsden (q v.) encouraged Crook to begin a school in the church at Parramatta. He accepted and with his wife and two male prisoners taught orphans and prisoners' children. With no official income and very little from his teaching position he opened an academy for young gentlemen in his home. This appears to have been the first boarding school and possibly the first secondary school in Australia. He was appointed as Marsden's parish clerk and was regarded as the official pastor at Castle Hill. He also assisted Rowland Hassall's (q.v.) ministry at Kissing Point and Toongabbie.

When Governor Bligh was deposed, Fulton the chaplain was suspended and Crook was appointed as acting chaplain to the colony by the rebels from 1808 until Jan 1810 when Fulton was reinstated by Gov Macquarie. He then resumed itinerant preaching and in August 1810, having gathered a small group of church members from the islands, held the first Congregational (Independent) service. Marsden, Macquarie and others were highly critical because Crook, though not ordained, had celebrated communion. He also began the first Sunday school. By 1816 six Sunday schools were operating, mainly supported by non-conformists.

Having found a teacher to conduct his school, Crook continued his itinerant preaching with great vigour. In January 1816 he left this work for Tahiti where he was made the pastor of a local church. He returned to Sydney in 1831 and commenced a school for young ladies in Phillip Street.

When the Congregational Church was formed in May 1833 Crook was made a deacon. His wife Hannah died in 1837. He gathered a congregation at Watsons Bay and built a chapel there which was opened in 1840. Due to tailing health he resigned in 1841 and went to live with his son in Melbourne. He died on 14 June 1846 having made a considerable contribution to the South Seas mission and to the foundations of Christianity and education in NSW.

ADB 1; John Ham, A Biographical Sketch of the Life and Labours of the late Rev. William Pascoe Crook (Melbourne, 1846); Vernon Goodwin, 'Public Education in NSW before 1848' JRAHS (36, 1950)

PAUL WATKINS