title: Thomas Brentnall
text: # Thomas Brentnall
  
  Thomas Brentnall (30 December 1846 – 10 July 1937) was an English-born chartered accountant who was the first president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.
  
  ## Early life and background
  
  He was the nephew of Thomas Brentnall, the 9th Mayor of Middlesbrough (1862). He matriculated at the University of Durham.
  
  ## Accountancy in Australia
  
  His successful business evolved with several names, Brentnall & Riley, Brentnall, Norton & Co., and Brentnall, Mewton & Butler. From 1880, he lived at Newnham, Caroline Street, in South Yarra.
  
  ## Other interests
  
  Brentnall was a keen musician and most notably a violinist and often performed in Melbourne.
  
  ## Death
  
  His wife, Caroline Brentnall (née Crossley) died in 1909.
  
  