An Australian man says he has solved the mystery of a set of initials that appear in the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga hymn book.
Nigel Statham, who worked as a translator for the church from 1970-82, said he had long been intrigued by the initials CPWB that appeared what he called “eight of the most lovely and popular hymns in the book.”
The hymns are numbers 624, 628, 629, 630, 631, 635, 642 and 651 .
Statham said the mystery was solved when he found the name C.P. Walkden-Brown in the Tupou College 150th Anniversary book and realised he was the author of those hymns.
Walkden-Brown was appointed a missionary to Tonga in 1903 to replace Dr Moulton as Principal of Tupou College. He was chairman of the Tonga District from 1906-1908, returning to Australia in 1908 due to ill health.
He was married to Ethel Marie, a daughter of a Methodist minister, Reverend Matthew Maddern. After Walkden-Brown returned to Australia he ministered to Methodist churches in several towns in New South Wales.
He was chairman of the Goulburn District in 1922 and chairman of the Third Sydney District from 1925-1926. He retired from the ministry in 1934 and died the following year.
His memorial service as attended by Prince Taufa`ahau, the future king of Tonga as well as 43 Methodist ministers and members of other churches.
Statham said Walkden-Brown was a fine preacher and musician and was the pianist of the Methodist Conference Ministerial Choir for many years.
“That he was a person of refined spirituality is clear from the hymns he wrote, which are no less extraordinary in their poetic and spiritual merit than the best of Dr Moulton’s hymns,” staham said.
“It is astonishing that he was able to write such hymns after being in Tonga for such a short time. No wonder he has been called a genius.”
Walden-Brown’s family had a long involvement with the Pacific, particularly in Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
His nephew Douglas Walkden-Brown was a lay Methodist missionary principal of the Navuso Agricultural College in Fiji from 1949 till 1960.
He eventually becoming a Fiji citizen and served first as Minister of Natural Resources and then as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests.
The main points
- An Australian man says he has solved the mystery of a set of initials that appear in the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga hymn book.
- Nigel Statham, who worked as a translator for the church from 1970-82, said he had long been intrigued by the initials CPWB that appeared what he called “eight of the most lovely and popular hymns in the book.”
- Statham identified the initials as belonging to C.P. Walkden-Brown, a former principal of Tupou College.
