Cato College had agreed to merge with Wesley College in 1989, and Renton, who was in 1987 the chaplain at Wesley College Glen Waverley, had accepted the appointment to be Principal of Cato College in 1988, its last year of separate existence, and then Head of the Cato or Elsternwick Campus from 1989. Cato College in 1987 had Miss Dulcie Brookshaw as acting Principal. John Norman, who had been Principal of Cato, left in 1986. Robert Renton had been ordained in 1974 as Presbyterian minister in North Essendon, then was chaplain at Penleigh & Essendon Grammar School from 1975 to 1985. He continued at Wesley College as Head of Campus firstly at Elsternwick and then Prahran until 2007. For 12 months he was acting Principal of Wesley. After retirement at the end of 2007 he took up the placement of Presbytery Minister Administration at the Presbytery of Port Phillip West, and retired permanently on February 28, 2017, aged 71. Rev. Robert Renton, head and shoulders portrait, wearing coat and tie, glasses.Rev. Robert Renton, Headmaster elect Cato College (Wesley College Elsternwick)rev. robert renton; cato college; wesley college; presbytery of port phillip west

Cato College had agreed to merge with Wesley College in 1989, and Renton, who was in 1987 the chaplain at Wesley College Glen Waverley, had accepted the appointment to be Principal of Cato College in 1988, its last year of separate existence, and then Head of the Cato or Elsternwick Campus from 1989. Cato College in 1987 had Miss Dulcie Brookshaw as acting Principal. John Norman, who had been Principal of Cato, left in 1986. Robert Renton had been ordained in 1974 as Presbyterian minister in North Essendon, then was chaplain at Penleigh & Essendon Grammar School from 1975 to 1985. He continued at Wesley College as Head of Campus firstly at Elsternwick and then Prahran until 2007. For 12 months he was acting Principal of Wesley. After retirement at the end of 2007 he took up the placement of Presbytery Minister Administration at the Presbytery of Port Phillip West, and retired permanently on February 28, 2017, aged 71. Rev. Robert W Renton is shown talking to a group of students at Cato College, now Wesley College Elsternwick. Ms Di Vallance (later Findlay) who was deputy principal at the time is shown with the group. The students are standing next to a memorial drinking fountain which had been erected in memory of a girl student who had drowned rescuing a boy.Robert Renton; Cato College. Church and Nation 9 September 1987 p13 rev. robert renton; cato college; wesley college; presbytery of port phillip west

Born: 1812 at Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland Baptised: Arrived: 26 January 1842 per "Robert Benn" from Greenock, Scotland Church Registers: Presbyterian Baptisms Campbellfield 1842 Church Registers: Presbyterian Burials Melbourne 1840-1842 Church Registers: Presbyterian Burials Melbourne 1843 Married: 17 August 1841 at West Colinton, Edinburgh, Scotland to Williamina Anderson Died: 24 December 1867 at Kangaroo Point, Moreton Bay, Queensland Buried: 25 December 1867 at Paddington Cemetery, Brisbane, Queensland "As the European population grew, settlement outside Melbourne developed, and the Colonial Committee of the Church of Scotland sent out more ministers. The second to arrive was the Rev. Thomas Mowbray, on January 28th 1842. He almost immediately settled in Campbellfield, called by a small congregation brought into being largely by the work of people such as Neil Campbell, Dr Wilson and George Somerville. Mr Campbell donated five acres of land to the Presbyterian Church for the purposes of building a church, a school-house and a manse. No pictures or clear description of the church that Mowbray built on the site. One source described it as being “built of logs and roofed with imported shingles”, another said it was “shingle-roofed wattle and daub”, and still others mention “rough adzed beams” and a “bark roof”. No trace remains on the site now. Yet while it may have been “so low that people had to stoop to enter”, it is certain that the building was erected with great pride and it was with much excitement that regular, well-attended worship services began on the present Campbellfield site with its dedication on May 8th 1842. An early colonist recollected that over the next two and half years Campbellfield developed into “an important charge, with many influential and wealthy adherents”. The first meeting of the Presbytery of Melbourne was held on June 7th 1842, with the Revs James Forbes, Thomas Mowbray and Peter Gunn, with Dr David Patrick (Elder) . Their first priority for action was public education. At their second meeting on September 6th it was reported that “schools which had been established by Mr Forbes in Melbourne were well attended and efficiently taught; also that schools were connected with the congregations at Campbellfield, Geelong and Portland.” The official history of Presbyterianism in Victoria , written in 1888, says of Mowbray: He was a man of high scholarly attainments, took special interest in the cause of education, and was a preacher of superior ability. His useful and acceptable labours were very much confined to the district in which he was settled. By reason of infirm health he was unable to undergo the fatigue of long excursions into the interior. But his labours were highly appreciated at the school which he originated and superintended sustained a good reputation. No official public records can be traced pertaining to Mowbray’s school. There may be a simple reason for this, and it is suggested that it has to do with the rifts in Presbyterianism which culminated in the Great Disruption in the Church of Scotland in May of 1843. The same divisions were by then already reflected in Victoria. Clergy from both ‘sides’ came to Australia and the main criterion for categorising them as Presbyterians of the Established Church of Scotland or Free Presbyterians was their acceptance or non-acceptance of state aid. Mowbray remained neutral in the 1846 Assembly-level wrangling and, although there is no evidence to support this contention, he may well have struggled to maintain his school with local resources rather than accept Government money; hence the lack of Government records. Unfortunately Mr Mowbray’s health declined rapidly and in answer to a call from Sydney on the 3rd of December 1844, he left Campbellfield on Boxing Day in 1844. Later he established the Presbyterian Church in Queensland, with the Ann Street Presbyterian Church being established in 1849." Quoted from "Scots Church Campbellfield—A Brief History" (ed. Robert Renton), 2nd Ed. 2017, pp. 2–4.Head and shoulders portrait (drawing) of Thomas Mowbray by E PowellChurch & Nation 10/8/1988 p32; Rev. Thomas Mowbrayrev. thomas mowbray; ordained 1841 church of scotland. served at campbellfield (scots) 1842, sydney 1844, moreton bay 1847 qld. pioneer of the presbyterian church of queensland