anglicantaonga

Telling the stories of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, NZ and Polynesia

Priest with an abiding love for Melanesia

Canon Desmond Probets, a long-serving priest in Melanesia and England, has died at the age of 87.

John Pinder  |  14 Apr 2014

Canon Desmond Probets, who died on  April 9, aged 87, served as a priest in England and Melanesia in a ministry spanning 63 years. 

He trained at Kings College London under the guidance of Eric Abbott. He was priested at St Paul’s Cathedral in December 1952 and served curacies at St.Clement’s Finchley and St.Mary’s Kenton.

In 1962 Desmond was accepted for missionary service in Melanesia and appointed sub-warden of St.Peter’s Theological College, Siota, on the Island of Gela in Solomon Islands. 

It was the start of a love affair with Melanesia which was to last for the rest of his life. It was during this time that he married Jennifer in St.Hilda’s Chapel, Bunana.

In 1964 Bishop Alfred Hill asked Desmond to be the headmaster of All Hallows’ School, Pawa, known as the ‘Eton of the Pacific’. 

His task was to transform this boys’ boarding school into an institution which would train future leaders and clergy of Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides, which were moving towards independence. 

He had a wide range of skills including animal husbandry and a good knowledge of tropical medicine, a much-needed skill on a remote island far away from a proper hospital. 

Desmond was a fine teacher and a wonderful pastor to the students. In all he undertook, he was ably supported by Jennifer, who acted as honorary school matron.

Pawa School was increasingly seen as too remote from Honiara, the capital of the Solomons. Nearly all the students came from isolated rural areas and they needed to experience urban life. 

Accordingly, the new bishop, John Chisholm, asked Desmond to prepare the school for a move to the main island of Guadalcanal and the new church co-educational boarding establishment of Selwyn College was launched in 1970. 

Bishop Chisholm next asked Desmond to be dean of the new cathedral of St Barnabas in Honiara. 

Under his leadership the cathedral flourished and was the scene for many exciting events including a production of ‘Murder in the Cathedral’ by students of Selwyn College, to mark the centenary of the martyrdom of Bishop Patteson.

The first three children were born in the Solomons, and with a young and growing family Desmond and Jennifer felt the time had come to return to England. 

It was not an easy decision, but Desmond felt it was right that Solomon Islanders should take over leadership roles in a country that was approaching independence. 

He continued to serve Melanesia in England, giving hospitality to visiting Melanesians, acting as vice chair of the Melanesian Mission and commissary to the Archbishop of Melanesia. 

For the next 20 years Desmond was vicar of Timperley, a large and lively parish, and from 1978, Rural Dean of Bowden. 

He was also instrumental in establishing a flourishing link between the Diocese of Chester and Melanesia. In 1982 He was made an honorary canon of Chester.

Desmond was a warm and generous person and touched the lives of many. He will be greatly missed by his friends and family. 

He is survived by his wife Jennifer and their five children.

The Rev Canon John Pinder is Commissary to the Archbishop of Melanesia.

   

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