Bahá'í Faith in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
While the first mention of the Bahá'í Faith in New Zealand was in 1853 continuous contact began around 1904 when one individual after another came in contact with Bahá'ís and some of them published articles in print media in New Zealand as early as 1908. The first Bahá'í in the Antipodes
was Dorothea Spinney who had just arrived from New York in Auckland in 1912. Shortly thereafter there were two converts about 1913 - Robert Felkin
who had met `Abdu'l-Bahá
in London in 1911 and moved to New Zealand in 1912 and is considered a Bahá'í by 1914 and Margaret Stevenson who first heard of the religion in 1911 and by her own testimony was a Bahá'í in 1913. After `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote the Tablets of the Divine Plan
which mentions New Zealand the community grew quickly so that the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly of the country was attempted in 1923 or 1924 and then succeeded in 1926. The Bahá'ís of New Zealand elected their first independent National Spiritual Assembly in 1957. By 1963 there were four Assemblies, and 18 localities with smaller groups of Bahá'ís. The 2006 census reports about 2800 Bahá'ís in some 45 local assemblies and about 20 smaller groups of Bahá'ís though the Association of Religion Data Archives
estimated there were some 7000 Bahá'ís in 2005.
) in 1904. Whoever her contact was, Bain authored a large detailed article in the Otago Witness published 30 December 1908 edition about the Baha’i Faith. Other articles followed in 1909, 1911, and 1913. It is also known that letters were exchanged in 1910 between a Mildred Burdon of Geraldine
and `Abdu’l-Bahá. Robert Felkin
had met `Abdu'l-Bahá in London in 1911 and in 1912 moved to New Zealand where he helped found the Whare Ra
. Felkin wrote an article for a New Zealand publication which was published around then too.
Meanwhile Auckland
resident Margaret Stevenson's sister living in the United Kingdom had sent her a copy of "The Christian Commonwealth" which had reported on 'Abdu'l-Bahá's speech in London on 27 March 1911. In 1912 Stevenson rented a room to English Bahá'í Dorothea Spinney - a traveling performer of Greek plays - who had just arrived from New York via Auckland. Spinney's stay was probably brief as she is known to have been in New York in November 1912 and again in January 1913. Following learning from a Bahá'í first hand Stevenson decided to subscribed to a Star of the West
and officially accepted the religion in 1913. Though Felkin is more known for being involved with other interests, another early Bahá'í, Maurice Chambers, counts Felkin as the Bahá'í through whom he learned of the religion and converted in 1914.
Whoever converted first, there was at least one Bahá'í in New Zealand in 1912 and more shortly thereafter.
in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book titled Tablets of the Divine Plan
. The seventh of the tablets was the first to mention spreading the Bahá'í Faith in New Zealand
and was written on 11 April 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919 because of disruptions from World War I
and the Spanish flu
which strongly affected New Zealand and beyond. These tablets were translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
on 4 April 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on 12 December 1919. Chambers is known to have exchanged letters with `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1919. Stevenson received a visit by Australian community founders John and Clara Hyde-Dunn in 1922 and again in 1923 and the New Zealand community quickly grew, including Stevenson's sisters Amy and Lilias. The community tried to form an Assembly without properly following procedure in 1923 or 1924. In 1924 Martha Root
shared news that Shoghi Effendi
, then head of the religion, had space to receive New Zealander Bahá'ís undertaking pilgrimage
. 1924 was also the year of the first pioneer
from New Zealand when Nora Lee moved to Fiji from 1924 to about 1930. In 1925 Stevenson left with two other New Zealand converts as well as a contingent from Australia for a year long trip on pilgrimage
where they stayed some 19 days and then visited with the community of the Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom
. The news journal Herald of the South was begun publishing for New Zealand and Australia during their voyage out of Auckland (transferred publishing to Adelaide Australia in 1931.)
After receiving a compilation on forming Assemblies they then returned to New Zealand in December 1925. They also returned with some dust from the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh which was placed in New Zealand soil at Stevenson's home in a ceremony held on 14 February 1926. Later in 1926 the Bahá'ís in Auckland were able to properly elect their first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly. In 1931 Keith Ransom-Kehler also visited. In 1934 Bahá'ís from Australia and New Zealand elected a regional National Assembly - there were three delegates from Auckland, three from Sydney and three from Adelaide. From 1934 to 1939 Stevenson served on the regional National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand and then died shortly thereafter in 1941. In 1940 the community held its first season school. In 1947 Alvin and Gertrude Blum left the United States for New Zealand where they lived until 1953 when they pioneered and became Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
for the Solomon Islands.
In 1948 the first person of Māori descent to accept the Bahá’í Faith was Albert White, who was one quarter Māori. In 1949 the first Persian Bahá'í pioneer, Manoochehr Ala’i, arrived as a student at Massey College
. In 1953 the first standing Hand of the Cause, `Alí-Akbar Furútan
visited New Zealand. In 1957 the New Zealand community held its first independent convention to elect its own National Spiritual Assembly with three delegates from Auckland and two each from Devonport, New Plymouth and Wellington. This convention elected the first National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand. In 1958 Hand of the Cause of God, Enoch Olinga
visited the Ngaruawahia
Marae
and talked with elders and four years later, when Hand of the Cause of God, Dr Muhajir visited, Ephraim Te Paa, a Kaumatua
(Māori elder) from Ahipara converted to the religion. In 1963 with the election of the Universal House of Justice
the Hands of the Cause updated and published a kind of census of the religion. At that time there were four assemblies -Auckland
, Devonport
, Hamilton
, Wellington
- and 18 localities with smaller groups of Bahá'ís - see maps. The story of one convert in 1964 includes her concern for her bi-racial children and despair at the bigotry of interracial marriage among the very minorities her children were members (she being Celt
and married a Māori) when she found this kind of marriage highly accepted among Bahá'ís. The members of the National Assembly, who participated in the convention for the first election of the Universal House of Justice
, were: Hugh Blundell, John Carr, Margaret Harnish, Linda Hight, Percy Leadley, Phyllis Milne, Jean Simmons, Douglas Weeks, and Terry Stirling. The New Zealand Bahá'í community came to the assistance of refugees in 1979 from the persecution of Bahá'ís
in Iran who were allowed to settle in New Zealand. Between 1987 and 1989, a further 142 Iranian Bahá'ís settled in New Zealand.
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. World-wide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. In the modern Bahá'í community of New Zealand the Bahá'ís have multiplied their interests internally and externally. Aside from major themes there have also been individual work done in variety of topics - for example post-traumatic stress syndrome.
), the Race Relations Office formally announced that Race Unity Day would be celebrated in New Zealand on 21 March each year. The first awards were in 2001. There are reviews of speeches in 2007, 2008, and 2009. National covereage of events with the police was affirmed in 2008. In addition to national-scale events various localities have had local competitions - an example was the observance in Whangarei and Lower Hutt in 2009.
, confronted the Bahá'ís during the tangihanga
, demanding to take his body back to Ruatoria
. Ultimately they failed. Then member of the Universal House of Justice
Peter Khan spoke at a conference in New Zealand in 2000, noting that the Universal House of Justice had received letters "written in distasteful language" from New Zealand - he encouraged systematic education of children, application of a moral life, a serious study of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh
, and study of the writings of Shoghi Effendi
.
Beyond controversies, the Bahá'ís in New Zealand have broadened their interests both through individual initiatives and collective action. In 1991 an assembly was elected in the Kapiti Coast District
. In 2000 two Bahá'í pioneers from New Zealand settled in Pitcairn Islands
, one of the few nations on earth that had no Bahá'í presence. In 2006 Bahá'ís helped dedicate the temporary Spiritual Centre at Middlemore Hospital
. In 2007 Dunedin Bahá'ís had been granted access to a community center. The Universal House of Justice called for a regional conference for the Baha'is from New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, Kiribati, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu to be held in Auckland’sManukau City, on the sacred grounds of their marae
, in 2008 and it came to pass in February 2009. The Bahá'í on Air television show is broadcast weekly on Auckland's Triangle TV
which also covers the Cook Islands, American Samoa, and Adelaide, Australia. There has also been an independent documentary by a non-Bahá'í New Zealander exploring the religion in 2007.
(relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated some 7000 Bahá'ís in 2005. There are more than 65 local Bahá’í communities around New Zealand, the large city communities have hundreds of members and assemblies, while some rural areas having groups of just two or three Bahá'ís. About 46 are full fledged assemblies.
Antipodes
In geography, the antipodes of any place on Earth is the point on the Earth's surface which is diametrically opposite to it. Two points that are antipodal to one another are connected by a straight line running through the centre of the Earth....
was Dorothea Spinney who had just arrived from New York in Auckland in 1912. Shortly thereafter there were two converts about 1913 - Robert Felkin
Robert Felkin
Robert William Felkin was a medical missionary and explorer, a ceremonial magician and member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a prolific author on Uganda and Central Africa, and early anthropologist, with an interest in ethno-medicine and tropical diseases.He was founder in 1903 of the...
who had met `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
in London in 1911 and moved to New Zealand in 1912 and is considered a Bahá'í by 1914 and Margaret Stevenson who first heard of the religion in 1911 and by her own testimony was a Bahá'í in 1913. After `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote the Tablets of the Divine Plan
Tablets of the Divine Plan
The Tablets of the Divine Plan collectively refers to 14 letters written between September 1916 and March 1917 by `Abdu'l-Bahá to Bahá'ís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were printed in America in Star of the West - Vol. VII, No. 10, September 8,...
which mentions New Zealand the community grew quickly so that the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly of the country was attempted in 1923 or 1924 and then succeeded in 1926. The Bahá'ís of New Zealand elected their first independent National Spiritual Assembly in 1957. By 1963 there were four Assemblies, and 18 localities with smaller groups of Bahá'ís. The 2006 census reports about 2800 Bahá'ís in some 45 local assemblies and about 20 smaller groups of Bahá'ís though the Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
estimated there were some 7000 Bahá'ís in 2005.
Beginnings
The first mention of the religion probably was a report in an Auckland newspaper in February 1853. Following this initial mention of incidents related to the religion there were several contacts between New Zealanders and Bahá'ís at the beginning of the 20th century. New Zealander Wilhelmina Sheriff Bain may have met Sarah Jane Farmer, a notable Bahá'í in the United States, (see Green AcreGreen Acre
Green Acre is a conference facility in Eliot, Maine, in the United States. It was founded by Sarah Farmer in 1894. The name Green Acre came from poet John Greenleaf Whittier, a personal friend of the Farmer family....
) in 1904. Whoever her contact was, Bain authored a large detailed article in the Otago Witness published 30 December 1908 edition about the Baha’i Faith. Other articles followed in 1909, 1911, and 1913. It is also known that letters were exchanged in 1910 between a Mildred Burdon of Geraldine
Geraldine
The feminine form of the first name Gerald. Famous women named Geraldine include:*Geraldine Ferraro, United States congresswoman and 1984 Vice Presidential candidate*Geraldine Chaplin, actress*Geraldine Fitzgerald, actress*Geraldine Page, actress...
and `Abdu’l-Bahá. Robert Felkin
Robert Felkin
Robert William Felkin was a medical missionary and explorer, a ceremonial magician and member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a prolific author on Uganda and Central Africa, and early anthropologist, with an interest in ethno-medicine and tropical diseases.He was founder in 1903 of the...
had met `Abdu'l-Bahá in London in 1911 and in 1912 moved to New Zealand where he helped found the Whare Ra
Whare Ra
Whare Ra, is the name of the building which housed the New Zealand branch of the Order of the Stella Matutina. It was designed and made by one of New Zealand’s most famous architects, and a senior member of the Order, James Walter Chapman-Taylor....
. Felkin wrote an article for a New Zealand publication which was published around then too.
Meanwhile Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
resident Margaret Stevenson's sister living in the United Kingdom had sent her a copy of "The Christian Commonwealth" which had reported on 'Abdu'l-Bahá's speech in London on 27 March 1911. In 1912 Stevenson rented a room to English Bahá'í Dorothea Spinney - a traveling performer of Greek plays - who had just arrived from New York via Auckland. Spinney's stay was probably brief as she is known to have been in New York in November 1912 and again in January 1913. Following learning from a Bahá'í first hand Stevenson decided to subscribed to a Star of the West
Star of the West (Bahá'í magazine)
The Star of the West was a Bahá'í periodical which began publication on March 21, 1910 and ended publication under this title in March of 1935....
and officially accepted the religion in 1913. Though Felkin is more known for being involved with other interests, another early Bahá'í, Maurice Chambers, counts Felkin as the Bahá'í through whom he learned of the religion and converted in 1914.
Whoever converted first, there was at least one Bahá'í in New Zealand in 1912 and more shortly thereafter.
Growth of the community
`Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book titled Tablets of the Divine Plan
Tablets of the Divine Plan
The Tablets of the Divine Plan collectively refers to 14 letters written between September 1916 and March 1917 by `Abdu'l-Bahá to Bahá'ís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were printed in America in Star of the West - Vol. VII, No. 10, September 8,...
. The seventh of the tablets was the first to mention spreading the Bahá'í Faith in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and was written on 11 April 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919 because of disruptions from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
which strongly affected New Zealand and beyond. These tablets were translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb was a Persian-American author and Bahá'í who co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York, and was excommunicated from the Bahá'í Faith in 1939 by Shoghi Effendi.-Early life:...
on 4 April 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on 12 December 1919. Chambers is known to have exchanged letters with `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1919. Stevenson received a visit by Australian community founders John and Clara Hyde-Dunn in 1922 and again in 1923 and the New Zealand community quickly grew, including Stevenson's sisters Amy and Lilias. The community tried to form an Assembly without properly following procedure in 1923 or 1924. In 1924 Martha Root
Martha Root
Martha Louise Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá'í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá'í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously...
shared news that Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
, then head of the religion, had space to receive New Zealander Bahá'ís undertaking pilgrimage
Bahá'í pilgrimage
A Bahá'í pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, Akká, and Bahjí at the Bahá'í World Centre in Northwest Israel. Bahá'ís do not have access to other places designated as sites for pilgrimage....
. 1924 was also the year of the first pioneer
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
from New Zealand when Nora Lee moved to Fiji from 1924 to about 1930. In 1925 Stevenson left with two other New Zealand converts as well as a contingent from Australia for a year long trip on pilgrimage
Bahá'í pilgrimage
A Bahá'í pilgrimage currently consists of visiting the holy places in Haifa, Akká, and Bahjí at the Bahá'í World Centre in Northwest Israel. Bahá'ís do not have access to other places designated as sites for pilgrimage....
where they stayed some 19 days and then visited with the community of the Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom
Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom
The Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom started in 1898 when Mrs. Mary Thornburgh-Cropper , an American by birth, become the first Bahá'í in England. Through the 1930s, the number of Bahá'ís in the United Kingdom grew, leading to a pioneer movement beginning after the Second World War with sixty...
. The news journal Herald of the South was begun publishing for New Zealand and Australia during their voyage out of Auckland (transferred publishing to Adelaide Australia in 1931.)
After receiving a compilation on forming Assemblies they then returned to New Zealand in December 1925. They also returned with some dust from the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh which was placed in New Zealand soil at Stevenson's home in a ceremony held on 14 February 1926. Later in 1926 the Bahá'ís in Auckland were able to properly elect their first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly. In 1931 Keith Ransom-Kehler also visited. In 1934 Bahá'ís from Australia and New Zealand elected a regional National Assembly - there were three delegates from Auckland, three from Sydney and three from Adelaide. From 1934 to 1939 Stevenson served on the regional National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand and then died shortly thereafter in 1941. In 1940 the community held its first season school. In 1947 Alvin and Gertrude Blum left the United States for New Zealand where they lived until 1953 when they pioneered and became Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
The title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh was given by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to Bahá'ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade....
for the Solomon Islands.
In 1948 the first person of Māori descent to accept the Bahá’í Faith was Albert White, who was one quarter Māori. In 1949 the first Persian Bahá'í pioneer, Manoochehr Ala’i, arrived as a student at Massey College
Massey College
Massey College is a postgraduate residential college at the University of Toronto, established in 1963 with an endowment by the Massey Foundation. Similar to All Souls College, Oxford, members of Massey College are nominated from the university community, and are elected by and as fellows of the...
. In 1953 the first standing Hand of the Cause, `Alí-Akbar Furútan
`Alí-Akbar Furútan
`Alí-Akbar Furútan was a prominent Iranian Bahá'í educator and author who was given the rank of Hand of the Cause in 1951....
visited New Zealand. In 1957 the New Zealand community held its first independent convention to elect its own National Spiritual Assembly with three delegates from Auckland and two each from Devonport, New Plymouth and Wellington. This convention elected the first National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand. In 1958 Hand of the Cause of God, Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga was born to an Anglican family of the Iteso ethnic group in Uganda. He became a Bahá'í, earned the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh and was appointed as the youngest Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the religion. He served the interests of the religion widely and...
visited the Ngaruawahia
Ngaruawahia
Ngāruawāhia is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 km north-west of Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipa Rivers...
Marae
Marae
A marae malae , malae , is a communal or sacred place which serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies...
and talked with elders and four years later, when Hand of the Cause of God, Dr Muhajir visited, Ephraim Te Paa, a Kaumatua
Kaumatua
Kaumātua are respected tribal elders of either gender in a Māori community who have been involved with their whānau for a number of years. They are appointed by their people who believe the chosen elders have the capacity to teach and guide both current and future generations...
(Māori elder) from Ahipara converted to the religion. In 1963 with the election of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
the Hands of the Cause updated and published a kind of census of the religion. At that time there were four assemblies -Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Devonport
Devonport, New Zealand
Devonport is a harbourside suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the North Shore, at the southern end of a peninsula that runs southeast from near Lake Pupuke in Takapuna, forming the northern side of the Waitemata Harbour...
, Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
- and 18 localities with smaller groups of Bahá'ís - see maps. The story of one convert in 1964 includes her concern for her bi-racial children and despair at the bigotry of interracial marriage among the very minorities her children were members (she being Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
and married a Māori) when she found this kind of marriage highly accepted among Bahá'ís. The members of the National Assembly, who participated in the convention for the first election of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
, were: Hugh Blundell, John Carr, Margaret Harnish, Linda Hight, Percy Leadley, Phyllis Milne, Jean Simmons, Douglas Weeks, and Terry Stirling. The New Zealand Bahá'í community came to the assistance of refugees in 1979 from the persecution of Bahá'ís
Persecution of Bahá'ís
The persecution of Bahá'ís is the religious persecution of Bahá'ís in various countries, especially in Iran, where the Bahá'í Faith originated and the location of one of the largest Bahá'í populations in the world...
in Iran who were allowed to settle in New Zealand. Between 1987 and 1989, a further 142 Iranian Bahá'ís settled in New Zealand.
Modern community
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of JusticeUniversal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í teachings
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. World-wide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. In the modern Bahá'í community of New Zealand the Bahá'ís have multiplied their interests internally and externally. Aside from major themes there have also been individual work done in variety of topics - for example post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Racism
In 1997 the Bahá’í community approached the Race Relations Conciliator with a project to honor the memory of Hedi Moani, an Iranian-born Bahá'í who worked to promote positive race relations. Discussions took place over many months and on 10 December 1998 (Human Rights DayHuman Rights Day
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December.The date was chosen to honor the United NationsGeneral Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the first global enunciation of human rights...
), the Race Relations Office formally announced that Race Unity Day would be celebrated in New Zealand on 21 March each year. The first awards were in 2001. There are reviews of speeches in 2007, 2008, and 2009. National covereage of events with the police was affirmed in 2008. In addition to national-scale events various localities have had local competitions - an example was the observance in Whangarei and Lower Hutt in 2009.
Development
As the Bahá'í community has grown in size and complexity it has also run into controversies and survived. In the 1980s there was a controversy about the status of women not being electable to the Universal House of Justice. In 1989 there was a controversy over the burial of a Māori Bahá'í, Pakaka Tawhai. Though the National Assembly had consulted with Tawhai's wife about burial, Pakaka's tribal family, the Ngati PorouNgati Porou
Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zealand, with 71,910 registered members in 2006...
, confronted the Bahá'ís during the tangihanga
Tangihanga
Tangihanga, or more commonly, Tangi, is a Māori funeral rite.Each iwi differs on how they honour those who pass. Tangihanga generally take three days with burial on the third day. From the moment of death, the tūpāpaku is rarely alone. The tūpāpaku is transported to the marae...
, demanding to take his body back to Ruatoria
Ruatoria
The town of Ruatoria is located in the East Coast region of New Zealand's North Island. It is the second largest centre of population in the sparsely populated region, yet has a population of only 900 .- Geography :...
. Ultimately they failed. Then member of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
Peter Khan spoke at a conference in New Zealand in 2000, noting that the Universal House of Justice had received letters "written in distasteful language" from New Zealand - he encouraged systematic education of children, application of a moral life, a serious study of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh
Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh
Covenant in the Bahá'í Faith refers to two separate binding agreements between God and man. A Covenant in the religious sense is a binding agreement made between God and man wherein a certain behaviour is required of man and in return God guarantees certain blessings...
, and study of the writings of Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
.
Beyond controversies, the Bahá'ís in New Zealand have broadened their interests both through individual initiatives and collective action. In 1991 an assembly was elected in the Kapiti Coast District
Kapiti Coast District
The Kapiti Coast District is a local government district in the lower North Island of New Zealand 50 km north of Wellington.The district is named after Kapiti Island a prominent landmark 5 km offshore. The population of the district is concentrated in the chain of coastal settlements...
. In 2000 two Bahá'í pioneers from New Zealand settled in Pitcairn Islands
Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands , officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, form a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Pacific...
, one of the few nations on earth that had no Bahá'í presence. In 2006 Bahá'ís helped dedicate the temporary Spiritual Centre at Middlemore Hospital
Middlemore Hospital
Middlemore Hospital is a major hospital in the suburb of Middlemore, Manukau City, New Zealand. The largest hospital operated by the Counties Manukau District Health Board, it offers tertiary-level care as well as a range of other health and social services for the Counties Manukau...
. In 2007 Dunedin Bahá'ís had been granted access to a community center. The Universal House of Justice called for a regional conference for the Baha'is from New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, Kiribati, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu to be held in Auckland’sManukau City, on the sacred grounds of their marae
Marae
A marae malae , malae , is a communal or sacred place which serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies...
, in 2008 and it came to pass in February 2009. The Bahá'í on Air television show is broadcast weekly on Auckland's Triangle TV
Triangle TV
Triangle Television and Stratos Television are public service television stations based in Auckland, New Zealand. Triangle broadcasts across Auckland on analogue UHF, while Stratos broadcasts around New Zealand on the Freeview, Sky TV and TelstraClear cable digital platforms...
which also covers the Cook Islands, American Samoa, and Adelaide, Australia. There has also been an independent documentary by a non-Bahá'í New Zealander exploring the religion in 2007.
Demographics
A 1999 report from the census bureau noted that of the citizens of New Zealand of Middle Eastern ethnicity, 4% were Bahá'í and 20% of the Bahá'ís in New Zealand are members of some ethnic minority. The 1991 and 2006 New Zealand census reports about 2800 Bahá'ís though the 1996 census listed just over 3100 Bahá'ís. The Association of Religion Data ArchivesAssociation of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated some 7000 Bahá'ís in 2005. There are more than 65 local Bahá’í communities around New Zealand, the large city communities have hundreds of members and assemblies, while some rural areas having groups of just two or three Bahá'ís. About 46 are full fledged assemblies.
Well known individuals
The Bahá´í Association For the Arts and its publication Arts Dialogue has produced a lists of New Zealand Bahá'í artists, reviews of the shows and articles published dealing with New Zealand.- Barry CrumpBarry CrumpBarry John Crump MBE was a New Zealand author of semi-autobiographical comic novels based on his image as a rugged outdoors man...
was a writer of semi-autobiographical comic novels who travelled widely and became a Bahá'í about 1982. - Sheryl Davis works for a charitable trust focused on promoting economic development and tourism in the northern part of the country.
- Russell GarciaRussell Garcia (composer)Russell Garcia, QSM was a composer and arranger who wrote a wide variety of music for screen, stage and broadcast....
- Garcia is from Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, CaliforniaOakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and is a composer who has worked with major Hollywood artists and producers. Garcia and his wife Gina have been members of the Bahá'í FaithBahá'í FaithThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
since 1955. In 1966 they set sail and ended up in the south Pacific when some musicians from Auckland, New Zealand invited Russell to do some live concerts, radio and television shows and to lecture at the various universities around the country on behalf of the New Zealand Broadcasting Commission and Music Trades Association. Russell, finished with his lectures and concerts and on advice of friends, drove up to the Bay of IslandsBay of IslandsThe Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located 60 km north-west of Whangarei, it is close to the northern tip of the country....
in the north of North IslandNorth IslandThe North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
where they live. - Dr Sholeh Maani is an economist and an Associate Professor at the University of AucklandUniversity of AucklandThe University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
and was President of the New Zealand Association of Economists from 1995 to 1997. - Heather Simpson is a District Court judge, enrolled in the Bahá'í community in 1983.
- Murray Smith was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1972 to 1975. He later enrolled in the Bahá’í community and served on the national governing body for two years before he and his wife, Miette, began a period of service at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel, which lasted from 1994 to 2007. At the Bahá’í World Centre, Murray served as Deputy Secretary General of the Bahá'í International CommunityBahá'í International CommunityThe Bahá'í International Community, or the BIC, is an international non-governmental organization representing the members of the Bahá'í Faith; it was first chartered in March 1948 with the United Nations, and currently has affiliates in over 180 countries and territories.The BIC seeks to "promote...
, a role centred on developing the Bahá’í community's contributions to wider society. Note government service is not proscribed, just partisan politics. - Ken Zemke - Zemke was a freelance film editor working in Hollywood in 1972 when he became a Bahá'í after working on comedy TV series such as Hogan's HeroesHogan's HeroesHogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
and eventually won an Emmy in 1974, for an episode in the series Medical Story TV Series. However he and his wife soon moved to New Zealand in 1981 where he continued work in movie production - winning New Zealand Guild of Film and Television award for best editing for Came a Hot FridayCame a Hot FridayCame a Hot Friday is a 1985 New Zealand made comedy film starring some of New Zealand's best-known actors and comedians, based on the 1964 novel by Ronald Hugh Morrieson.-Plot:...
while continuing to be involved with documentaries and projects associated with the Bahá'í Faith through individual initiative or commissioned as well as his own ongoing project - Bahá'í on Air.
Publications
- Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand Author: Shoghi Effendi, Source: Australia, 1971 reprint.
- New Zealander Jess Firth has produced an independent serious documentary exploring the religion: The Wayfarer. Firth is interviewed at A Baha'i Perspective: Jess Firth.
External links
- Official website of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New Zealand
- http://d-b.tripod.com/The Baha'i youth community of DunedinDunedinDunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
] - Manawatu/ The Baha'i youth community of Feilding
- Kapiti Coast District Bahá'í Community
- http://www.huttbahai.org.nz/The Bahá'í Faith in Lower HuttLower HuttLower Hutt is a city in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Its council has adopted the name Hutt City Council, but neither the New Zealand Geographic Board nor the Local Government Act recognise the name Hutt City. This alternative name can lead to confusion, as there are two cities in the...
] - Bahá'ís of Wellington City
- http://d-b.tripod.com/club.htmBaha'i Society at the University of OtagoUniversity of OtagoThe University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
] - Waikato University Baha'i Peace Club
- http://d-b.tripod.com/club.htmBaha'i Society at the University of Otago
- http://d-b.tripod.com/The Baha'i youth community of Dunedin