Bishop Kempthorne
pp. 29-30 · Read in the full issue
To Retire Soon
From a Suva Correspondent Fiji and Polynesia will lose one of its most endearing clerics when the Rt. Rev. L. S. Kemp thorne, Bishop in Polynesia, re tires shortly.
A FTER 38 years, Bishop Kemp thorne’s kindly face is a familiar sight m his vast diocese, which stretches from Ocean Island, Nauru and Tarawa to Tahiti and the Cooks to Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. In his 38 years of service, the Bishop has watched his diocese grow, his Church gradually strengthen, his priests take over some of the duties which for merly fell to his lot.
When the Bishop first went to Fiji, even in what was the most settled part of his territory, travel was one of his main hardships. The coastal road was incomplete in many parts and some of his journeys over diffi cult tracks, by horse, ox wagon, and on foot must rank with some of the early travels by the pioneers. On the coastal trips and to the other islands of the diocese, the Bishop travelled in ships whose names bring nostalgic memories to old hands today. Adi (Over)
Rt. Rev. L. S. Kempthorne.
Rewa, Adi Kewa, Sir John Forrest, Malake, Makatea Pioneer, are some of those ships that are now gone.
He will long be remembered by his many friends in distant parts of his territory, and Fiji will welcome him on his retirement as one of the per manent residents. For the Bishop and Mrs. Kempthorne will live in Suvaj As he says, “We feel this is where we belong.”