DIAMOND WEDDING

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 99, 23 October 1935, Page 16

DIAMOND WEDDING

MR. AND MRS. R. C. TENNENT

In Woodville on October 20 the diamond wedding was celebrated of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Tennent, well known in many parts of New Zealand. The festivities were held at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. P. H. Mules, the latter being their eldest daughter.. Relatives were present from far and near, and cables and telegrams were received from all over the Dominion and overseas. ' .

Mr. and Mrs. Tennent were married at All Saints' Church, Nelson, in 1875, by Bishop Souter, assisted by the bride's uncle, the Rev. Amos Knell, Rural Dean of Wairarapa. Mrs. JVmos Knell, aged 99, is still living in Greytown. Mr. R. C. Tennent was educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey, and came out to New Zealand with his mother and three brothers in 1864 arriving by the British Empire, the largest sailing vessel that ever visited these shores. His family settled in Nelson, and Mr. Tennent soon made a name for himself as a champion amateur athlete. He has the distinction lof being the founder. of Rugby football in this country, as he organised the first team in Nelson and later captained the team in the first inter-pro-vincial game played in New Zealand against Wellington. Mr. Tennent joined the Bank of New South Wales in 1865. and he and Mrs. Tennent spent their lives in many towns of the Dominion, Mr. Tennent being manager at Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, Invercargill, Timaru, Wanganui, Blenheim, and Patea, where he and his wife lived when first married,, and where many of their family were born.

1 Mrs. R. C. Tennent was Emily, the eldest daughter of Dr. and Mrs..Boor, and.spent her early life in the Wairarapa and Lower Hutt, where Dr. Boor was one of the first doctors. They lived in the Hutt Valley from;ißs9 to 1864, when Dr. Boor went to live in the Terrace, Wellington, in the house occupied later by Dr. Kemp. In 1871 Dr. Boor moved to Nelson and took charge of the hospital there for twentyfive years.. Mr. and Mrs. Tennent had a family of eleven, eight of whom are still living—Mrs. Mules (Woodville) Mr. L. C. Tennent (Dar-es-Salaam, South Africa), Mrs. Wybrants Olphert (Lower Hutt). Mr. H. D. Tennent (Dunedin), Mr. Hugh C. Tennent (Honolulu), Mr. K. B. Tennent (Whangarei), Dr. Alan Tennent (Wellington), and Mrs. Norman Branson (Te Araroa East Cape).

Mr. Tennent retired from the bank in 1918, after, fifty-three years' service, and he and his wife lived for a short time in Nelson, later making their home in Napier, where Mr. Tennent, still energetic, worked with Mr. Kinross White. Mr. Tennent has always been known as a great walker, and also in golf, tennis, and bowling circles, many congratulatory telegrams being received from these clubs and one from the president 'of the New Zealand Rugby Union. In 1930 Mr. and Mrs. Tennent decided. to live in Woodville and have since resided there.

Among others present at the celebration was Mrs. Hugh Burnett and Miss Boor, who were bridesmaids at the wedding sixty years ago. Mrs. Tennent has still pressed and preserved the bouquet she used at the wedding. Others attending were Mrs. Douglas Tennent and her descendants, Dr. and Mrs. Hogg (Wellington), Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Tennent and their son (Auckland). .Mr. and Mrs. Hobart Tennent and Miss Sybil Tennent. Mrs. Cleghorn (Masterton), Mrs. Monteath (Christchurch), Mrs. Guy Nicol and her son (a great-grandson), Misses Joy and Sheila Tennent, Dr. and Mrs.' Alan Tennent, Captain and Mrs. W. Olphert and their family, Mrs. Selwyn Kempthorne and Miss K. Kempthorne, Misses Mary and Margaret Mules, Dr. Charles Mules, Mrs. Jack Mules, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Branson, Mr. and Mrs. Ken Tennent, and Mr. and Mrs. Harold Tennent.