Thomas Brentnall
Encyclopedia
Thomas Brentnall was a chartered English
born Australia
n accountant
and musician
.
, County Durham
, England, son of Joseph Edmund Brentnall, a chemist, and his wife Mary Ann, née Strutt. The family lived at Eston, Yorkshire
, and Brentnall was educated at private schools at Great Ayton
and Darlington
. He was the nephew of Thomas Brentnall, the 9th Mayor of Middlesbrough (1862). He matriculated at the University of Durham but on departing education he joined the Middlesbrough
branch of the National Provincial Bank of England. In 1874 at Bedford he married Caroline Crossley, and for the several years they lived at Prestonpans, Scotland, where Brentnall worked for a colliery company.
In 1878 Brentnall decided to migrate to Australia and with his wife and young son arrived in Melbourne
in November in the Loch Tay
. After working briefly with the London Bank of Australia
Brentnall established himself as a public accountant, and acquired two existing practices which brought him an immediate clientele of top Australian businessmen and pastoralists. Despite an early financial setback, owing to a defaulting partner whose liabilities Brentnall fully repaid, he developed a successful business which evolved with several names, Brentnall & Riley, Brentnall, Norton & Co., and Brentnall, Mewton & Butler. From 1880 he lived at Newnham, Caroline Street, in South Yarra.
In 1886 he helped to found the Incorporated Institute of Accountants, Victoria, and became president of the institute in 1898. In 1907 he was first president of the Australasian Corporation of Public Accountants and in 1928, when a royal charter was granted, he became first president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Later in life he served many years at the Victorian Companies Auditors' Board as examiner, director and chairman.
ist and often performed in Melbourne
. He also sang with the Metropolitan Liedertafel and in the Centennial Exhibition choir of 1888, and acted as organist for several local churches. He was president of the Melbourne Music Club and the Victorian division of the British Music Society, and was an important financial guarantor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
in the late 1920s.
Brentnall was also an active trustee and vice-president of the Melbourne Newsboys' Society; he was also a director of the Royal Humane Society for forty years, and president for eleven.
Brentnall was a keen golfer; as early as 1874 he had been a member of the Royal Musselburgh Club in Scotland. His companionship with J. M. Bruce led to the founding of the (Royal) Melbourne Golf Club. Brentnall was the third captain of the club.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
born Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Early life and background
Brentnall was born on 30 December 1846 at EscombEscomb
Escomb is a village on the River Wear about west of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. Escomb was a civil parish until 1960, when it and a number of other civil parishes in the area were dissolved.-Parish church:...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, England, son of Joseph Edmund Brentnall, a chemist, and his wife Mary Ann, née Strutt. The family lived at Eston, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, and Brentnall was educated at private schools at Great Ayton
Great Ayton
Great Ayton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire on the edge of the North York Moors in England. The name Great Ayton is thought to derive from Ea-tun, tun meaning farm and 'ea' meaning river. It has a population of 4,570....
and Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
. He was the nephew of Thomas Brentnall, the 9th Mayor of Middlesbrough (1862). He matriculated at the University of Durham but on departing education he joined the Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
branch of the National Provincial Bank of England. In 1874 at Bedford he married Caroline Crossley, and for the several years they lived at Prestonpans, Scotland, where Brentnall worked for a colliery company.
Emigration to Australia
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in November in the Loch Tay
Loch Tay
Loch Tay is a freshwater loch in the central highlands of Scotland, in the district of Perthshire.It is a long narrow loch of around 14 miles long, and typically around 1 to 1½ miles wide, following the line of the valley from the south west to north east...
. After working briefly with the London Bank of Australia
Bank of Australia
The Bank of Australia was a failed financial institution of early colonial New South Wales formed in 1826 by a producers' and merchants' group as a rival to the Bank of New South Wales. It was dubbed the "pure merino" bank because its share register included the plutocracy of the colony but...
Brentnall established himself as a public accountant, and acquired two existing practices which brought him an immediate clientele of top Australian businessmen and pastoralists. Despite an early financial setback, owing to a defaulting partner whose liabilities Brentnall fully repaid, he developed a successful business which evolved with several names, Brentnall & Riley, Brentnall, Norton & Co., and Brentnall, Mewton & Butler. From 1880 he lived at Newnham, Caroline Street, in South Yarra.
In 1886 he helped to found the Incorporated Institute of Accountants, Victoria, and became president of the institute in 1898. In 1907 he was first president of the Australasian Corporation of Public Accountants and in 1928, when a royal charter was granted, he became first president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. Later in life he served many years at the Victorian Companies Auditors' Board as examiner, director and chairman.
Musical work
Brentnall was a keen musician and most notably a violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist and often performed in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He also sang with the Metropolitan Liedertafel and in the Centennial Exhibition choir of 1888, and acted as organist for several local churches. He was president of the Melbourne Music Club and the Victorian division of the British Music Society, and was an important financial guarantor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
in the late 1920s.
Brentnall was also an active trustee and vice-president of the Melbourne Newsboys' Society; he was also a director of the Royal Humane Society for forty years, and president for eleven.
Brentnall was a keen golfer; as early as 1874 he had been a member of the Royal Musselburgh Club in Scotland. His companionship with J. M. Bruce led to the founding of the (Royal) Melbourne Golf Club. Brentnall was the third captain of the club.