Thomas was born in
Tetsworth,
Oxfordshire in 1827, the son of Elizabeth (died at
Upper Mitcham, South Australia 17 July 1875) and Isaac Caterer (died 17 March 1868), a schoolteacher who later became a
Congregational minister. He was educated at
Lewisham College and was for a time on the staff of
Taunton's School,
Somersetshire before teaching under Professor Newth in
Reading,
Berkshire. He emigrated to South Australia, arriving in
Adelaide 17 December 1854 in the ship
Standard He had married Marina Mudie (c. 1830 – 16 March 1899), sister of
W. H. Mudie and daughter of the Rev. G. D. Mudie, then of England, but later Congregational minister of
Salisbury, South Australia. She followed Thomas to Adelaide in the barque "David Malcolm", arriving 30 April 1855. She was an educated and accomplished woman who had been secretary to
Elihu Burritt for some years.
Glenelg 1858–1859,
Auburn School 1860–1861 and
Glen Osmond. which moved to Beulah Road,
Norwood in April 1866, and renamed the Norwood Grammar School. In 1883 he was assisting Harry P. Macklin (1856 – 2 August 1902) at the S. A. Commercial College on Osmond Terrace, Norwood then together in 1886 they founded the Semaphore Collegiate School in a building on Ward St,
Semaphore where the Rev. James Coglin previously conducted a Church school. On Macklin's death in 1902, he sold the school to John F. Hills and retired in 1904. His wife Marina worked closely with Thomas in teaching and school management.
T. Ainslie Caterer His eldest son,
T. Ainslie Caterer (1858–1923), was a noted cricketer and educator, the first student of the
University of Adelaide to be awarded a B.A. He taught at
St Peter's College from around 1890 and from 1916 was acting headmaster, and successfully so, until the appointment of the Rev. Bickersteth in 1919. He retired in 1921 and died two years later. He is remembered there by the Caterer Memorial Scholarship. He married Elizabeth Amy Edmunds (1866– ), daughter of
Arthur Joseph Edmunds, in 1890 ==F. I. Caterer==