Hedley Bunton - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Hedley Percival Bunton (1906–1997) was a missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

in China and a Minister in the Congregational Church

Congregational church

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

in Australia.

Birth & education

Hedley Percival Bunton was born at Devonport, Tasmania

Devonport, Tasmania

-Sport:The Devonport Football Club is an Australian Rules team competing in the Tasmanian Statewide League. The Devonport Rugby Club is a Rugby Union team competing in the Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide League...

on 18 January 1906. His parents were Alphonso Robert Bunton and Isobel Bunton née Filleul.

He graduated from Melbourne University (L.Th.) in 1932 and married Clara Margaret (Peggy) Paton, B.A. Dip.Ed., (a granddaughter of John Gibson Paton

John Gibson Paton

Rev. Dr. John Gibson Paton , born in Scotland, was a Protestant missionary to the New Hebrides Islands of the South Pacific. Paton undertook a tremendous work which would yield little fruit for decades, convinced of the absolute sovereignty of God to build his church...

) on 17 November 1932 at Deepdene Presbyterian Church, Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria (Australia)

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

Ordination and appointment to mission field

On 12 Dec 1932 he was ordained to the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

ministry in the Collins Street Independent Church, Melbourne

Melbourne

, for service with the London Missionary Society

London Missionary Society

The London Missionary Society was a non-denominational missionary society formed in England in 1795 by evangelical Anglicans and Nonconformists, largely Congregationalist in outlook, with missions in the islands of the South Pacific and Africa...

in Canton (now Guangzhou

Guangzhou

Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

), South China. He and his wife left for China the following morning.

From 1933 to 1942 he worked under Chinese leaders with the Kwangtung Synod

Synod

A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...

of the Church of Christ in China, a united church, in Canton and the East River District.

Under the Japanese occupation

From July 1937 to October 1938 he lived under Japanese bombing raids on Canton. His wife and family stayed on in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

after 1937 summer holidays there but left for Australia in July 1938.

From October 1938 to July 1939 he helped to run refugee camps for Chinese people during Japanese attack upon and occupation of Canton.

In July 1939 he rejoined family for leave in Australia until to November 1940.

In December 1940 he returned to Canton (now Guangzhou

Guangzhou

) under the Japanese, the family remaining in Melbourne

Melbourne

Australia.

From December 1941 to August 1942, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

and on Hong Kong

Hong Kong

(see Battle of Hong Kong

Battle of Hong Kong

The Battle of Hong Kong took place during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It began on 8 December 1941 and ended on 25 December 1941 with Hong Kong, then a Crown colony, surrendering to the Empire of Japan.-Background:...

) and Malaya

British Malaya

British Malaya loosely described a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Singapore that were brought under British control between the 18th and the 20th centuries...

(see Battle of Malaya

Battle of Malaya

The Malayan Campaign was a campaign fought by Allied and Japanese forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 31 January 1942 during the Second World War. The campaign was dominated by land battles between British Commonwealth army units, and the Imperial Japanese Army...

), he continued to live in the London Missionary Society

London Missionary Society

house in Canton, but under house arrest by the Japanese army

Imperial Japanese Army

-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...

Repatriation to Australia

In May 1942 he was taken with other British and American citizens to Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

for repatriation and exchange with Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

from the United States and the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

.

On 4 August he sailed from Shanghai

Shanghai

in the hell ship

Hell Ship

A hell ship is a ship with extremely unpleasant living conditions or with a reputation for cruelty among the crew. It now generally refers to the ships used by the Imperial Japanese Navy to transport Allied prisoners of war out of the Philippines, Hong Kong and Singapore during World War II. The...

Tatsuta Maru with 800 passengers. He arrived at Lourenço Marques

Maputo

Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...

in Portuguese East Africa

Portuguese East Africa

Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...

on 27 August where exchange took place. Then to Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

, South Africa for six weeks waiting a ship to Australia. He left on S.S. "Nestor" on 28 October and arrived in Melbourne

Melbourne

16 November 1942.

(* Recorded as Tatuta Maru in some texts.)

His wartime ministry in Australia

From 1942 to 1945 he was the minister of Congregational Church

Congregational church

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

in Glenferrie Road, Malvern, Victoria, Australia.

Postwar return to China

In 1946 he returned alone to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

to help in rehabilitation there after 3½ years of Japanese occupation. He was joined by family in August 1946.

In 1947 he returned with the family to Canton (now Guangzhou

Guangzhou

), again for two years with the Chinese Church during the Chinese Civil War

Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

. Sons John Bunton & Frank Bunton returned to school ( Scotch College

Scotch College, Melbourne

Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....

) in Melbourne

Melbourne

late 1948/early 1949 respectively. The rest of his family stayed on in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

after 1949 summer holiday there while Hedley went back to await the communist revolution. So he lived under the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

from October 1949 to May 1950, when left for Hong Kong

Hong Kong

and leave in Australia.

During 1950 and 1951 he reported to Australian and New Zealand Churches on the Chinese situation.

His ministry in Newcastle Australia

From 1951 to 1958 he was minister of the Congregational

Congregational church

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

Church, Brown St., Newcastle, New South Wales

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

Supervision of schools in Hong Kong

In 1958 he returned to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

with Peggy and David & Rosalie to take up appointment by The Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China

The Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China

The Hong Kong Council of the Church of Christ in China is a Protestant Christian church organization in Hong Kong. The Church of Christ in China is a uniting church consisting mainly of churches with Congregational and Presbyterian traditions, including the London Missionary Society, British...

and the Education Department of the Hong Kong Government as Supervisor of that church's schools. Eventually was General supervisor of 54 schools which included primary schools as well as academic and technical high schools. He was invited to stay on after reaching retirement age and so did not leave until November 1973.

Retirement in Sydney Australia

In 1973 he returned to Australia to live in church retirement village in Pymble, Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

.

From 1974 to 1976 he was secretary for Australia and New Zealand of the Council for World Mission

Council for World Mission

The Council for World Mission is a worldwide community of Christian churches. The 31 members share their resources of money, people, skills and insights to carry out their missionary work.CWM was established in 1977 in its present form...

(successor to the London Missionary Society

London Missionary Society

).

From 1976 to 1997 he continued to live in retirement until death in 1997.

External links

Hedley Percival Bunton (1906 - 1997)
Forty Years Of China by Hedley Bunton

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