{"id":2112,"date":"2011-09-24T07:39:59","date_gmt":"2011-09-23T21:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stumblingpast.wordpress.com\/?p=2112"},"modified":"2022-08-04T00:23:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T00:23:44","slug":"50th-anniversary-of-the-sydney-bahai-temple-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stumblingpast.com\/2011\/09\/24\/50th-anniversary-of-the-sydney-bahai-temple-2\/","title":{"rendered":"50th Anniversary of the Sydney Baha’i Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
Baha’i House of Worship in Sydney, Australia. Photographer: Phillip Hinton. Reprinted with permission of the Bah\u00e1’\u00ed International Community.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This week marks the 50th anniversary since the opening of the Baha’i Temple in Sydney.\u00a0 As I live close to the Baha’i Temple (also known as the Baha’i House of Worship) and in the past have worked at the Australian Baha’i National Office which is adjacent to the Temple (see disclosure below), I thought I would step outside the period in which I normally research and share some of its history.<\/p>\n

One thing that is striking about the Baha’i Faith is that Baha’is are scattered throughout the world.\u00a0 While the Faith arose from nineteenth century Iran, from its early days news of the new religion was carried over vast distances and people outside Iran started to turn to the Baha’i Faith for spiritual sustenance.\u00a0 In 1920 a Baha’i couple arrived in Sydney from the United States.\u00a0 Clara and Hyde Dunn<\/a> lived in Australia for the rest of their lives.\u00a0 By the mid 1950s, when the decision to build a Baha’i Temple in Sydney was made, there was a small community of believers scattered around Australia.\u00a0 In 1961 there were thirteen communities with nine or more adult believers and 34 groups with fewer than nine believers (Baha’i Directory Australia:\u00a0 1961 – 1962<\/em>).\u00a0 Baha’is resided in every state of Australia plus the Northern Territory.<\/p>\n

The expenses associated with the internal development of the Baha’i Faith are financed solely by Baha’is<\/a>.\u00a0 In response to a question from a journalist for Sydney’s The Sun <\/em>newspaper about how the Australian Baha’is could afford to build such a building, Baha’i spokesperson, Peter Khan<\/a>, explained, “the funds came from voluntary contributions by Baha’is all over the world” (Oliver Hogue, 1961).<\/p>\n

\"Group<\/a>
In the foreground (to the left) is an arrangement of pieces of wood indicating where the Baha’i Temple was to be built. This group of Baha’is gathered at the site in 1957. Some of the believers are identified below. Reproduced with permission of the Australian Baha’i National Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Believers identified in the above photo:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Frank Khan<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Margaret Bird<\/li>\n
  3. Greta Lake<\/li>\n
  4. Daphne Reid<\/li>\n
  5. Bessie Walker<\/li>\n
  6. Frank Wyss<\/li>\n
  7. James Heggie<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The leader of the Baha’is of the world at the time, Shoghi Effendi, initiated the building of the Sydney Baha’i Temple.\u00a0 The Baha’is in Iran had suffered a wave of persecution<\/a> in that country during 1955 which included, among other things, the destruction of their national centre.\u00a0 Noting that this was likely to prevent plans to build a Baha’i Temple in Tehran, Shoghi Effendi remarked that building the Temple in Sydney as well as one in Kampala, Uganda<\/a> , “would be a great comfort to the Persian believers” (Shoghi Effendi, 30\/10\/1955,<\/em> pp. 396-7).<\/p>\n

    The Baha’i Writings specify that Baha’i Houses of Worship must have nine sides and a dome.\u00a0 Shoghi Effendi reiterated this in his instructions to the Australian National Spiritual Assembly.\u00a0 (Shoghi Effendi 30\/10\/1955, <\/em>pp. 396-7).\u00a0 The Sydney architect, John Brogan, designed the Temple to these specifications (N.S.A., 1960, pp. 16-7).\u00a0 The Temple was built in four years.<\/p>\n

    The Opening of the Baha’i Temple<\/h2>\n

    The Temple was officially opened by a woman, Ruhiyyih Khanum<\/a>, thus underlining the Baha’i teachings about the equality between women and men<\/a>.\u00a0 Shoghi Effendi, her husband, had passed away but before he died he had appointed her and others to provide guidance to the Baha’is of the world.\u00a0 She was thus highly respected in the Baha’i community.<\/p>\n

    \"Ruhiyyih<\/a>
    Ruhiyyih Khanum speaking at the opening of the Baha’i Temple in Sydney. Source of photo – Baha’i World News Service<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Baha’is came from many countries for the opening of the Sydney Temple, the fourth Baha’i Temple to have been built in the world.\u00a0 There were believers from the United States, Britain and Italy.\u00a0 The Pacific was well represented with believers from New Zealand, Fiji, New Guinea, Tahiti, New Hebrides, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia attending.\u00a0 People from Singapore, Japan, Timor, Indonesia were also represented.\u00a0 There were even Baha’is from Pakistan, Iran and Arabia at the event (Joy Stevenson, 1961).<\/p>\n

    Baha’i Temples are open to all the peoples of the world irrespective of their ethnicity, gender or beliefs.\u00a0 There were so many people in Sydney wishing to attend the opening that three services were required to accommodate them all.\u00a0 Buses were organised from the Australian Baha’i National Centre in Paddington to travel the twenty-two miles to the Temple in Ingleside.\u00a0 Sydney’s Daily Telegraph<\/em> newspaper reported that 1800 people attended the two services held on Sunday 18th September.<\/p>\n

    \"A<\/a>
    A view of the many people who attended the opening of the Sydney Baha’i Temple. Some people had to stand at the back of the Temple and if you look carefully you can see some people looking through the windows from outside. Source of photo – Baha’i World News Service<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    In her speech to open the Sydney Baha’i Temple Ruhiyyih Khanum explained that the Temple was a place of worship open to all:<\/p>\n

    This building is dedicated to the three fundamental verities animating and underlying the Baha’i Faith, – the Unity of God, the Unity of His Prophets and the Unity of Mankind.\u00a0 Its doors are open to the peoples of all creeds, all races, all nations and all classes.\u00a0 Within its walls will be heard the prayers and sacred Scriptures of not only our own Faith, but of the great revealed religions of the world…<\/p>\n

    It is the hope of the Baha’is that everyone will feel free to come and pray in this Temple and share with us in its services of praise to the God we all love…<\/p>\n

    Ruhiyyih Khanum, speech at the opening of the Sydney Baha’i Temple, 18\/9\/1961 (Joy Stevenson, 1961).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    <\/h4>\n

    The Baha’i Temple in the Community<\/h2>\n

    The Sydney Baha’i Temple has affected the lives of many people over the years.\u00a0 On a functional level, it is used as an aid to navigation by sailors (‘At last, Broken Bay yields up its fishing secrets…’, 1981) and pilots (Civil Aviation Safety Authority, pp. 24, 60).<\/p>\n

    Many people have visited the Temple since it opened.\u00a0 I am particularly interested in the responses of those visitors who are not Baha’is.\u00a0 The Baha’i National Archives do not have much record of the responses of visitors to the Temple which is understandable.\u00a0 The media is not a good source for this either.\u00a0 Often I have heard responses such as Peter’s.\u00a0 In an e-mail to me he said, “I always found it to have a peaceful calming effect on me”.<\/p>\n

    \"Children<\/a>
    Children who read at a service in the Baha’i Temple c. 1975. Reproduced with permission of the Australian Baha’i National Archives.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    People come as individuals for prayer and meditation like Peter.\u00a0 Others come as tourists, interested in exploring the unique features of Sydney – a quick search of the internet reveals a plethora of tourism websites drawing attention to it.\u00a0 Children have had a significant involvement with the Baha’i Temple, reading at services and participating in children’s events conducted on the grounds.\u00a0 A service in 2005<\/a> which I was involved in is just one example.<\/p>\n

    There are many reasons people visit the House of Worship.\u00a0 In 1992 local historian, Nan Bosler<\/a>, visited the Baha’i Temple to do some research about it for a university assignment.\u00a0 In the booklet about the Baha’i Temple which she wrote, she recalled the activities conducted on the grounds of the Baha’i House of Worship for the International Year of Peace in 1986.\u00a0 “A conference on Peace and a banner project were two activities which I took part in”, she said.\u00a0 “The ribbon of banners was an exciting project which linked many parts of the world and culminated in the banners being tied together and strung from the House of Worship in Ingleside to the sea at Mona Vale”, (Nan Bosler, last page).\u00a0 During 1985 the Temple grounds were a hub of activity for the International Year of Peace (Hassall, p. 19).<\/p>\n

    Your Turn…<\/h2>\n

    I have two questions that I hope you can discuss in your comments:<\/p>\n