John THORNE

THORNE, JOHN (b. Langtree, Devon, England, 17 April 1839; d. Malvern, SA, 22 Aug 1914). Bible Christian minister.

John Thorne was the youngest child of James and Catherine Thorne in whose home at Shebbear in Devon the first Bible Christian society was formed by William O'Bryan, the denomination's founder, in I 815. After O'Bryan's withdrawal in 1829, James Thorne was one of the church's leaders for 40 years. John Thorne was educated at the school in Shebbear, worked for a time in the connexional printing office and then became a journalist in Plymouth. He was a member of the Liberal party and considered standing for parliament. This was set aside by a strong sense of call to the ministry.

At the age of 33 Thorne offered for service in SA and emigrated there in 1873. His first appointment was to Riverton. The 1870s saw the beginning of farming settlement in the northern areas of the colony. Thorne made several visits to the new towns, forming congregations among the settlers. Later he spent eleven years in northern appointments and during his period as superintendent of Bible Christian work in the area preaching places were opened, circuit boundaries extended and churches built. The needs of isolated homesteads in the north-east of the colony weighed on Thorne's soul and in the 1890s he was the principal instigator of the church's Bush Missions. A vast area out from Broken Hill was allotted to three missioners, young men who rode their bicycles from station to station. It was a signal service to those who had no other opportunity to hear the Gospel.

Thorne was president of the SA Bible Christian Conference in 1887 and again in 1899 when he signed the Deed of Union on behalf of his church. On a visit to England in 1895 he was president of the denomination in England. There are memorial tablets in Maughan church, Adelaide and Lake chapel, Shebbear.

A D Hunt, This Side of Heaven: A History of Methodism in South Australia (Adelaide 1985); W G Torr (ed) John Thorne (Adelaide, 1925)

ARNOLD D HUNT