BILL WELBOURNE
MELBOURNE – The Reverend Victor Haste who sadly passed away this week aged 85 after a short illness, spent the early part of his ministry in Papua New Guinea.
Victor trained for the Anglican priesthood in England and came to PNG as a young man with his wife Barbara, a nurse.
He was the parish priest at Boroko where our families first met in 1971 and amongst his exploits was a trek along the Kokoda Track.
He baptised our sick daughter Angelique in a small private ceremony at our house in Gerehu with godmother, Margaret Poyser, in attendance.
Upon moving to Australia, Victor and his family settled in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia before moving to Melbourne.
Always a great organiser, he became head of the Australian Board of Missions.
We connected again in Melbourne and our family shared many wonderful memories with Victor and Barbara over the years.
In the photograph at right, he proudly holds a teddy bear mascot at the Gallipoli Centenary service held at Mordialloc to honour those Anzac men and women who served our country in the Great War.
HMAS Cerberus gifted the flagpole and yardarm to be erected as a memorial at the front of the Anglican Church in Mordialloc.
Farewell dear friend. Our family extends our deepest sympathies to Barbara and your family. In God’s care.