Kempthorne

Death Of Bishop Kempthorne At 77

The Right Rev. Leonard

Stanley Kempthorne, who retired

last year as Bishop in Polynesia, died in Suva on July 25 in his 77th year. He was Bishop in Polynesia for 39 years, during which he saw the Anglican

Church soundly and effectively

established in the diocese. He was a kindly, sincere and much beloved man.

DISHOP KEMPTHORNE was born TT lr l Nelson, New Zealand, in 1886. de originally intended to be a doctor, )ut decided to devote himself to mis nonary work during his studies in -ondon when he became closely asso rted with the Students Christian Jmon.

He was ordained by the Bishop of Villesden in 1914 as deacon of St. aul s, London. In the same year c went to West Equatorial Africa, ’ nd m 1920 to the Diocese of Sinea ore. 6 While in England in 1923, he was hosen as Bishop of Polynesia, a locese which takes in Fiji, Tonga, am(^’„ the Cook Islan <ls, Tahiti and ie Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Its eadquarters are in Fiji.

On his arrival in Fiji, Bishop empthorne found there were only vo priests to help him, few 5f c ? es ’ ver y hole money, dded to these problems was the fliculty of getting about in his far ing diocese.

I Bishop Kempthorne got about.

He used trading schooners, cutters [ and visiting warships to call at other islands, and in Fiji he walked.

He used to relate that once, when he had to cross a flooded creek in the Tailevu district, he had to hold his head as high as he could to keep his nose out of the water.

“You afterwards got dry,” he said, “by just keeping on walking, /here was no drip-dry then, but just drip.”

Until 1931, when the services of a priest were obtained, the Bishop visited Samoa once a year, and at first he had to hold his services in a cinema.

The Bishop was particularly proud of the new multi-racial school at Denison Road, Suva, Another source of pride was that he saw the begin ning of Holy Trinity Cathedral to replace the old Pro-Cathedral.

To solve the problem of obtain ing sufficient priests for the diocese, the Bishop established St. John’s House in 1958 to train students for the ministry.

Bishop Kempthorne was also greatly interested in the settlement of Solomon Islanders at Wailoku, Na, Matata (Lami), Wailailai (Levuka) and the Campbell Settlement at Savu savu.

Bishop Kempthorne was the second Bishop in Polynesia—after Bishop Twitchell. In many of his travels, he was accompanied by his wife who was of great assistance to him in all his work.