Vicar dies after 45 years service

Press, 18 October 1976, Page 5

Vicar dies after 45 years service

The Rev. Bernard Outing Plumb, retired vicar of the Anglican Parish of New Brighton, died recently after

45 years service to the ministry.

Mr Plumb was born in Greenwich, England, in 1906.

His parents were missionaries in London, and he was brought up in the heart of the city during the Depression years.

He was educated in England and took a course at the School of Fine Arts in London, qualifying as a commercial artist. He took Holy Orders in 1925, but his interest in art remained with him throughout his life, and many of the parishes he served benefited from his talent. He carved a font from Oamaru stone for one Oamaru church he served. Mr Plumb and his wife, ister (Mr Hua Kuo-feng) Elizabeth, migrated to New Zealand in 1926. They went first to the Nelson diocese, where Mr Plumb served as a deacon, then to the parochial district of Murchison, and then back to Nelson, where Mr Plumb served as a curate at the cathedral. Mr Plumb went on to serve in the Oamaru and Lumsden parishes. His parish work was interrupted by World War 11, during which he served as a chaplain in the hospital ship Maunganui. After returning from the war Mr Plumb served in the Christchurch diocese until his retirement 13 years ago. He served for several years in the Opawa parish, where he organised the building of a new church. Mr Plumb is survived by his wife and a son.