Reverend Henry Valentine Peter Bronkhurst (1826-1895)

The Late Reverend Henry Valentine Peter Bronkhurst (1826-1895)
On Wednesday, July 17th, one of our most faithful and earnest workers passed away, The Rev. Henry V. P. Bronkhurst. Though he had been ailing for a number of years, the end was rather sudden and unexpected. He was still up and about on the Friday before his death but the following Sunday it was evident that there was but little hope of his recovery. He was in great pain and agony for two days before the end came, and unconscious at the time of his death. The news of his death spread quickly and was received with deep sorrow by all who knew him.
Mr. Bronkhurst was a very familiar figure in Georgetown, and known by almost everyone. For the last thirty - five years he had been engaged in work among the East Indians whom he loved greatly and who found in him one who was always ready to stand by them and help in word and deed. One of the most touching scenes in the death chamber was the service conducted by one of his Hindoo converts in the presence of a large number of East Indians. The sorrow that was written in their faces bore testimony to the great esteem in which their shepherd was held by them, and to the love they felt for him. It will be well-nigh impossible to find a successor to Mr. Bronkhurst; for, to work among the East Indians, more is wanted than a mere knowledge of the language. Such work needs a man who is able to appreciate and sympathize with the needs and difficulties of a people who are unjustly looked down upon and treated as if they were strangers to the feelings and affections that are common to other mortals.
Mr. Bronkhurst was born on the 21st March, 1826, in the Tanjore District, where his grandfather, a Dutchman, was a Judge. When only a lad of fourteen he understood several different Indian languages, and made himself acquainted with the leading religious teachings of India, especially was he a student of the Rig-Veda. At the age of sixteen he left southern India for Australia. After a short stay there he went to the holy land where he spent three years, and many of our readers, doubtless, have had ample opportunity of listening to Mr. Bronkhurst’s lectures on his travels there. He was a keen observer of men and customs, with an eye for everything that could prove in the least interesting, and was always ready to give to others the benefit of his extensive knowledge and learning in an unamusing and unostentatious way. From Palestine he went to England, and for some time was engaged as teacher for eastern languages, especially Syriac, Sanskrit, and Hebrew, and was also for a time employed at Holloway’s Establishment as translater.
On the death of the Rev. John E. S. Williams, who was the first Wesleyan Missionary to the East Indians in this colony, Mr. Bronkhurst was approached by the Missionary Committee to take over the work. He landed in Demerara late in December 1860, and has since then been a most indefatigable worker. In 1876 he was compelled to go to England where he remained a few months for the benefit of his health. His heart was in the work; and even in his declining years, though in feeble health, he would hardly ever fail to discharge his duties as a minister. In addition to his ordinary work he found time for writing. His many and various contributions, especially those relating to Eastern subjects, have been widely read and appreciated. Mr. Bronkhurst was a man with deep and Christ-like sympathies. Broad in his views and liberal in his concessions, he never allowed any difference of opinion, creed or nationality to stand in the way of rendering assistance whenever it was needed. It was enough for him to hear that anyone was in trouble and he was ready to help. He was also a fearless Christian, and one that would never sacrifice his principles for the sake of public opinion; in short, as far as his whole character was concerned, he was a man worthy of imitation. His entire life was an exposition of the power of faith in the Christ whom he loved and served. Wesleyan Methodist Monthly Greeting.
Source:The Late Rev. H. V. P. Bronkhurst - the Daily Chronicle, Thursday, July 25, 1895: Page 3 Column 5.