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The Auckland branch of the Busfield Family was established in 1915 by Leonard Bailey Busfield, the son of Hainsworth Busfield and Emma Louisa Bailey of Bramley,and later Farsley, England. Leonard had married Hilda Hargreaves, a daughter of George Hargreaves and Ann Ellen Jones, also of Bramley, and they settled in Sydenham, Christchurch where their first two children (Lilian and Rawdon Hargreaves) were born. In 1918 they moved to Ponsonby, Auckland where Leonard had been appointed minister of the Ponsonby Baptist Church and it was there that Hilda gave birth to their second son, Colin Bailey. Leonard served the Ponsonby Church until 1923, when he was called to the secretariat of the Auckland Sunday School Union. Leonard and Hilda later moved to Mt Albert where a third son, Alan Hainsworth, completed the family.
Leonard Busfield became well-known in the Wider Auckland area as a preacher, and with the establishment of radio his voice was frequently heard on air. In 1937 he was elected President of the New Zealand Baptist Union, but passed away suddenly before taking office.
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