[Index]
John Colin Craig CLUNN (1902 - 1983)
minister, Church of England
Children Self + Spouses Parents Grandparents Greatgrandparents
Living
Living
Living
John Colin Craig CLUNN (1902 - 1983)

+

Alice Marion Harley NOON (1917 - 2006)
Colin CLUNN (1880 - 1942) John CLUNN (1836 - 1914) John CLUNN (1809 - 1847)
Jane CLARKE (1816 - 1844)
Margaret CUMMING (1840 - 1914) Alexander CUMMING (1809 - 1881)
Margaret HARDIE (1801 - 1884)
Emily Adeline CRAIG (1880 - 1948) John Adam CRAIG (1846 - 1886) Thomas CRAIG (1821 - 1861)
Jessie (Janet) GRONMEYER (1826 - 1869)
Emily EVENNETT (1861 - 1928) Charles Clements EVENNETT (1829 - 1873)
Mary Eliza MERRIMAN (1836 - 1918)

b. 06 May 1902 at Cooktown, Queensland, Australia
m. 07 Jun 1939 Alice Marion Harley NOON (1917 - 2006) at Queensland, Australia
d. 13 Jan 1983 at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia aged 80
Parents:
Colin CLUNN (1880 - 1942)
Emily Adeline CRAIG (1880 - 1948)
Parents by Adoption:
Thomas James Andrew THOMSON (1859 - 1917)
Emily EVENNETT (1861 - 1928)
Siblings (11):
Cecil Fordyce THOMSON (1889 - 1923)
Wilfred Evennett THOMSON (1891 - )
Florence CRAIG (1907 - )
Jessie Isobel HART (1908 - )
Adele Elaine HART (1910 - )
Jean Evelyn HART (1915 - )
Joan HART (1915 - 1990)
Jessie Evelyn CRAIG (1879 - 1958)
Emily Adeline CRAIG (1880 - 1948)
Thomas Ernest CRAIG (1883 - 1960)
Florence Henrietta CRAIG (1885 - 1888)
Children (3):
Grandchildren (4):
Events in John Colin Craig CLUNN (1902 - 1983)'s life
Date Age Event Place Notes Src
06 May 1902 John Colin Craig CLUNN was born Cooktown, Queensland, Australia Note 1
1913 11 Adoption Queensland, Australia 12
1917 15 Death of adopted father Thomas James Andrew THOMSON (aged 58) Queensland, Australia 1917/C1402 12
03 Sep 1928 26 Death of adopted mother Emily EVENNETT (aged 67) Queensland, Australia 1928/C2028 12
07 Jun 1939 37 Married Alice Marion Harley NOON (aged 22) Queensland, Australia 14
01 Jul 1942 40 Death of father Colin CLUNN (aged 61) New Guinea 14
Dec 1948 46 Death of mother Emily Adeline CRAIG (aged 68) Port Moresby, New Guinea 12
13 Jan 1983 80 John Colin Craig CLUNN died Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 12
Note 1: 1902/C1921 - father Thomas James Thomson, mother Emily Adeline Craig
Personal Notes:
John born 1902 and was named JOHN COLIN CLUNN but was formely adopted by his grandmother Emily Thomson ( formely Craig, nee Evennett ) and her second husband Thomas Thomson in 1913. His name was changed to JOHN COLIN CLUNN THOMSON.

From Karen Thomson:
..A brief outline of John's life, as written in THE ECHO ( a local Sandgate newspaper) at the time of his death, 13 Jan 1983.......
.. Quote.....
The Rev John Colin Clunn Thomson, who passed away recently, ministered to Anglicans in the Sandgate parish from 1942 until his retirement in 1974.
But he was known to thousand of local people outside the Anglican communion, because during his time in the Sandgate parish, he and his wife Alice became part of the social fabric of the commumity.
Father Thomson, known to everyone as 'The Rector' was born on May 6, 1902 in Cooktown. He became a lay missionary at the **** Forrest River Mission, ( c 1925 - 1929) where he served for over 3 years, and then trained at St. Francis College, at that time situated at Nundah.
He was made a deacon in 1929, and was priested at St.Paul's Cathedral, Rockhampton, in 1930. He served as curate at Rockhampton from 1929 to 1932, as vicar in the Dawson Valley from 1932 to 1934. Vicar of Keppel and Chaplain to Faith's School, Yeppoon from 1934 to 1937. He was Curate at All Saints', Brisbane in 1938, vicar of Noosa parish from 1938 to 1941, and came to his last appointment, Rector of Sandgate Parish in 1942 till 1974.
In 1939, he married Alice Noon in St.John's Cathedral, Brisbane and thus began their life long dual devotion to parish work - for they were always regarded as a partnership.
Mrs Thomson, a music teacher, served as organist at St Margaret's, Sandgate, during the period of her husband's service. The Rector was well known to the many students who visited the Rectory for their music lessons.
The Thomson had 3 sons, Linden now living in Brisbane, Russell (Melbourne) and Lloyd (Cairns).
His ministry in the Sandgate Parish took in the war years, and he was a part-time chaplain with the RAAF, serving particularly the base where Eventide now stands, from 1943 to 1945.
One of his regular duties in Sandgate was the annual Blessing of the Fleet at the start of each sailing season. Other social activities with which the Rector and Mrs Thomson were associated included the Anglican flower shows , art shows, deb balls, children's concerts, garden parties and the Miss Anglican quests.
During his ministry at Sandgate, Father Thomson officiated at 1870 Baptisms, 1952 funerals, and 1357 weddings.
He was never afraid to be out spoken, and one of his more controversial views concerned marriage. He contended that civil ceremonies should be compulsory, with only those committed to a
Christian married life seeking the blessing of the church - and this in the days before civil celebrants were a widely accepted as they are today.
Father Thomson was a charter member of the Rotary Club of Sandgate, established in 1950. He attended meetings regulary until ill-health prevented him last year. Each year he delivered the Christmas message to the club.
When he retired from the Sandgate Parish in 1974, one of his fellow priests described him as 'the youngest old priests I know'.
After his retirement he assisted in the Zillmere Parish, and the golden jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood was celebrated in St. Matthias' Church, Zillmere, on December 21, 1980.
It was in this same church that the closing of his long life of ministry and service was marked at his funeral last week.
............end of quote.......
JOHN WAS 37 WHEN HE MARRIED ALICE MARION NOON 22 on the 6th June 1939, at the St John's Cathedral, Bne by Bishop George Halford, a great friend of John and Alice.
JOHN WAS 80 WHEN HE DIED IN 1983, AND HE WAS CREMATED AT ALBANY CREEK CREM, AND HIS ASHES WERE SPREAD OVER THE GARDENS AT THE CREM.
....August 2003...
...thoughts of Alice Thomson on John's step-sister Jessie Craig, who lived with the family for a number of years c 1945 to 1950..
.....Jessie was a school teacher in Rockhampton Qld for many years and then moved to Samari New Guinea and taught there for a few years before moving in with the family at the Rectory in Sandgate. She then went to live with her brother Thomas Craig and his wife Anna in Gosford NSW, the Thomson's would visit this family for some holidays.
Jessie then came back to Brisbane and stayed with friends at Bowen Hills till she died.
*****..extract from an article, by Dr Neville Green,c 1995, Australian historian, on the Forrest River Massacre, 1926, of which John Thomson witnessed, as a missionary , he very rarely spoke of the incident to any of his family...
The massacre was the result of 4 decades of bitter race relations in the Kimberley. Very few people felt impelled to seek justice for Aborigines who had suffered violence, particularly if the interests of respected local identies were threatened.
Aborigines were murdered by a police expedition led by Constable St Jack and Constable Dennis Regan. The party of 14, comprising Aboriginal assistants as well as whites, were trying to capture an Aboriginal named Lumbia for the killing of a station owner who had raped his wife.
Although Lumbia himself was eventually found and bought in for trial, many innocent Aboriginal men, women and children were killed along the way, and their bodies were incinerated in an attempt to hide the evidence.
No-one knows the precise number. The Royal Commission concluded that at least 11 Aborigines were killed at 3 separate locations. Police Inspector William Douglas , who had been sent to investigate the Rev Ernest Gribble's (head of the Forrest River Mission) allegations before the Royal Commission was established, reported that 16 Aborigines were killed.
Rev Gribble thought that the number was at least 30. And in 1968 Charles Overheu, the brother of one of the participants in the massacre, said that as many as 300 Aborigines lost their lives, although some believe this figure to be too high.
Commissioner Wood recommended that charges of murder be laid against Constable St Jack and Constable Regan. In May 1927, the 2 were arrested for the murder of just a single Aborigine, a man named Boondung. Fearing that the public sympathy for the 2 constables in the Kimberley would
preclude a fair trial, the committal hearing was held in Perth.
But, as the Royal Commissioner himself had been forced to admit, all the evidence for the massacre was circumstantial. It had not been possible to identify a single body of those who had been killed; neither was it possible to state that any particular individual had been responsible for the deaths.
Worse, at the committal hearing Rev Gribble could not state for certain that Boondung was dead. And the Government bacteriologist, who had examined the burnt and fractured skeletal remains collected at the massacre sites, testified that he did not think they were from human remains. Maybe the material had been tampered with, although others who had examined it beforehand were convinced that it contained human remains.
The presiding magistrate dismissed the case against the 2 constables , who were quickly reinstated into the police force. Gribble, whose determination had been almost solely responsible for bringing the case to public attention, was largely discredited. Gribble was clearly an extremely self-righteous, autocratic and intolerant man, which made it so easy for many people to dismiss everything he said...
...End of Article

Also from Karen Thomson
"This entry you have for John Colin Clunn is incorrect - entry shd read John Colin Clunn Thomson. He was born John Colin Clunn in 1902 to Colin Clunn and Emily Craig (who never married each other ). At the age of 13 he was adopted by Emily's mother , Emily Thomson,formerly Craig and nee Evennett. Johns birth cert now reads JOHN COLIN CLUNN THOMSON , and was always known by this name. Many people have copied this incorrect info, which is unfortunate. Cheers Karen Thomson,nee Davies "
Source References:
12. Type: Web Page, Abbr: Genes reunited, Title: Genes
- Reference = Karen Davies tree (Death, Date)
- Reference = Karen Davies tree (Adoption)
14. Type: E-mail Message, Abbr: Karen Thomson e-mail 13 feb 09, Auth: Karen Thomsom, Date: 13/2/09
- Reference = (Marriage)

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