Three children were born there, Herbert James (1896), Clarice Isobel (1897), and Lilian (1898).

He applied to the Methodist denomination to study for ordination but was considered too old so he approached the Congregationalists. This was probably because of the influence of his father-in-law, James William Filleul, who was a deacon of the Congregational Church in Forth, Tasmania. He was accepted as an extra-mural student and called to be pastor of three Congregational Churches north of Hobart - Kempton, Brighton and Bagdad. The Manse was in Kempton where two more children were born - Vernon Alfred (1900) and Doris Evelyn (1902).

From there in 1904 he was invited to the Devenport Church where he was ordained in 1905 and Hedley Percival was born in 1906.

The next move was to the Victorian gold-fields near Castlemaine and Bendigo where he had two churches, one at Chewton (see picture below) just south of Castlemaine and the other at Sutton Grange. The Manse was at Chewton and there was born Ronald Filleul (1907) (See picture of Ron on steps). It was there, in 1908, that the eldest son, Herbert James, died of meningitis. On his tombstone in the Chewton cemetery his father had inscribed the words: "FROM THE MANSE TO THE MANSION".

In 1908 he was called to the pastorate of the Northcote Congregational Church in one of Melbourne's northern suburbs. Here he stayed for 10 years and the last child, Jean, was born in 1910.

Melbourne's city church, Collins Street Independent, appointed him in 1918 to be in charge of one of its Missions, Boundary Road, North Melbourne. It was his last full time pastorate.

After retirement in 1928 he agreed to be part time minister of the Windsor Congregational Church, the other side of Melbourne from West Brunswick where he had retired to the first house he had ever owned. From there, he finally moved to Kew where, after several years of illness, he died on 26th August 1942, at the age of 76.

Isabella survived him by 23 years, dying a the age of 95 on 4th October 1965 just six days before her birthday.

The house (The Manse), now demolished, stood at the rear of the Independent Chapel (the Congregational Church) built in 1857.

The chapel is being renovated and used as a weekend house by a young couple from East Melbourne,

Photo taken in 1982 - Chewton Victoria