'My greatest wish': 93yo takes legal action against great-niece to get Bible back

Author: Tracy Neal,
Publish Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2026, 9:17am

The case of the non-returned Bible has been settled by the Disputes Tribunal after its 93-year-old owner wanted it back from a great-niece who argued it had been gifted to her. Photo / 123rf

An unholy row over an unreturned Bible pitted a 93-year-old against her great-niece who claimed the heirloom piece had been gifted to her.

But the elderly aunt claimed she had merely loaned it and wanted the King James Bible back, because it was one of only a few things left from her parents.

The rest-home resident took her grievance to the Disputes Tribunal which instructed the book’s return.

“From the evidence provided, I cannot be satisfied that it is more likely that the Bible was gifted to Diane*, and therefore an order is made [she] deliver the family King James Bible that was loaned to her back to Olive*,” tribunal referee Krysia Cowie said in the February decision, which was recently released publicly.

The King James Bible was described online as the English translation of the Christian Bible, commissioned by King James I of England.

It was first published in 1611 and was said to have “profoundly shaped the English language” and remained a standard text for many Christian denominations.

Bible inherited from her father

Olive was represented at the hearing by her son who provided a statement of her position.

In the statement she wrote that she owned the family Bible she inherited from her father. It had been loaned to various family members over the years and had always been returned.

“On one occasion, some years ago, I loaned the Bible to my great-niece. The Bible has not been returned to me,” Olive wrote.

She said it was equally precious to her as her mother’s photo album. They were the only mementoes she had of her parents.

“The family Bible was specifically left to me by my father, whose wishes were that it was to remain with me and passed down to my children or my brothers’ children.

“I feel that I have let my father down by not being in possession of this Bible.”

Olive explained she would dearly love to have it back before she died.

“I am now 93 years of age and this is my greatest wish.”

Her son told the tribunal how important the family heirloom was, and that he was aware his nephew, who had an interest in genealogy and family history, had it in his possession for a while but had returned it.

Gift was ‘irrevocable’

The Bible was then loaned to Diane in 2024, but it had not been returned, Olive’s son said.

However, Diane’s response was that she was handed the Bible by Olive who “insisted” that she keep it as a gift, as there was no one else in the family who had shown an interest in keeping it.

“She cherished the family Bible and as the gift was irrevocable, she wished to keep it,” Cowie said in her decision.

Diane said her mother was also present when Olive gifted the Bible to her, but conceded there was no other way of proving it was a gift.

Cowie said there was no dispute that Diane had the Bible, but in order to find it was gifted, which would allow her to keep it, there needed to be “reasonably reliable corroborating evidence” on which that conclusion could be reached.

Cowie was not satisfied from the evidence provided that the heirloom was more likely gifted rather than loaned.

“I accept that [Olive] received the Bible as a specific gift bequeathed to her and that several family members had shown an interest in keeping the Bible.

“I accept that the Bible had been loaned previously, but always returned to [Olive],” Cowie said.

She said based on the claim having been filed a relatively short time after Olive became concerned that the Bible had not been returned to her last year, the conduct was inconsistent with her having gifted it to Diane.

Cowie made an order for Diane to deliver the Bible that was loaned to her back to her great aunt.

*Pseudonyms have been used in keeping with tribunal rules around name suppression.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.