Two greatgrandchildren of Fendalton Vicar Thomas Hamilton have given us a Bible awarded by him to his daughter Nina for our archives.

Andrew and I together with Frieda Looser enjoyed meeting this week with Tim Hamilton and his sister Mary who are both great-grandchildren of former Fendalton Vicar Thomas Hamilton (Vicar 1899-1919). His twenty years at St Barnabas, extended by WW1, saw the expansion of parish and children’s ministry in the growing area, including into Fendalton School, and the Wroxton Mission Room (later St Thomas’ Strowan Rd) and plans for the ‘new’ church finally opened in 1926. Thomas and his wife Charlotte had 12 children, who lived in the Vicarage on Clyde Rd (near Medbury and the beginning of what is now called Hamilton Ave), and they all got around the parish on their bicycles! Tim and Mary wanted to pass back to us a Bible awarded by their great-grandfather Thomas to his 11th child and daughter Nina for our archives. They also appreciated seeing the beautiful stained glass windows in our sanctuary of the Lost Coin/Lost Sheep/Lost Son parables, dedicated to Thomas Hamilton, and his name on the Vicar board in the church entry. His memoirs The Years that are Past are available in Turanga/the Public Library. Andrew then had to take a walk up around Hamilton Ave to see where the early Vicarage was!

By Jenny Wilkens