A book by Tim Kitchen – published in January, 2026

Paperback, Kindle & hardcover available here via Amazon.

My new book An Australian Manufacturing & Mission Success Story has nothing to do with my usual field of education technologies. This book dips into Melbourne’s past through the rise of a remarkably successful manufacturing business, while also tracing the growth of evangelical Christianity in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs and how that local story reached right around the world through missionary work. But at its heart, the book is about people. It’s about faith that lasts, love that’s handed down, a commitment to serving others, and the quiet strength of family across generations.

In Rev. Tim Costello’s forward, he writes …

This book … tells of generations of a respected Melbourne family, a Christian family that has impacted many organisations and missional enterprises whilst at the same time being steeped in business and entrepreneurial sense and skills … Enjoy the stories herein. Each central person bears the flavour of their times, the challenges of their lives and the rich thread of faith and determination to live productively and with dedication.

My father, Paul Kitchen, had already started pulling these stories together before he passed away in 2011. After he died, I came across a box that had been sitting quietly in his study, filled with old family memoirs, handwritten notes, and carefully sketched family trees. At the time, I rescued it more out of sentiment than intention, not really knowing where it might lead.

Then, in November 2024, I was invited to speak at Upwey Baptist Church as part of their 120th anniversary celebrations. I was asked to share some of the links between my family’s story and the development of the Belgrave Heights Convention which originated as the Upwey Convention on the site of their church. As I started preparing for that talk, I pulled out Dad’s box of research and it didn’t take long to realise this was bigger than a single presentation. What he had begun needed time, care, and attention. It deserved to be properly gathered up, preserved, and finally shared.

My Aunt Merridie Costello (née Kitchen) has already done some important work in this space, having published the memories of two of the key figures in this book, Clara Balfour Kitchen (née Carter) and Lilian Kitchen (née Binnington). She was instrumental in helping me bring this book together and generously took on the role of co-editor. My Uncle Graham Kitchen (the other co-editor) also patiently read through multiple drafts, helping with editing and fact-checking along the way. I’m deeply grateful to them both.

I’d also like to thank my father’s other brothers Philip, Harley and David Kitchen for their contributions, insights, and ongoing support. And finally, a very special thank you to my mother Merrill Kitchen, whose encouragement and steady support meant more than she probably knows.

I hope you enjoy it!

Tim Kitchen

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Some of the stories covered in this book include …

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