The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Parker, Gilbert
Parker, Gilbert, was born in Canada in 1859. He was educated at the Normal School, Ottawa, and at Trinity College, Toronto. He held for some time a position as professor in the Deaf and Dumb Institute at Belleville, Canada. He took a course in theology, was ordained a deacon in the Church of England, and became a lecturer in English literature in Trinity College, Toronto. In 1886 he went to Australia for his health, withdrew from connection with the ministry, and became one of the editors of the Sydney Morning Herald. Mr. Parker produced at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, in April 1888, an adaptation of Goethe's Faust, which had a long and successful run, and has been recently reproduced. This was followed by another drama in 1889, called The Vendetta, which was also successful. Mr. Parker, who is the author of books of short stories and poems, and a contributor to some of the best magazines, resides in London, and acts as one of the literary correspondents of the Sydney Morning Herald. In 1892 he published "Round the Compass in Australia" (Hutchinson, London).