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27 January 1937
Mrs. Mariette Bolton, Somerset House, 9 Martin Place, Sydney. N.S.W. Australia.
Dear Mrs Bolton,
Our well-beloved and much esteemed Bahá'í brother Mr. Fred Schopflocher has just arrived in the Holy Land and has duly presented the message which you had asked him to deliver to the Guardian, as well as your kind gift of a pin tray, for both of which he wishes me to convey to you his loving appreciation and gratitude.
He very deeply values indeed the spirit that has prompted you to offer him such a nice present, and he wishes me to assure you that he will keep it as a dear souvenir from you.
With the renewed expression of his deep appreciation of your warm sentiments, and with his hearty greetings to you and family, Yours in the Guardian's Service, H. Rabbani
Assuring you of my deep appreciation of your gift which I shall place on your behalf in the Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí in the close vicinity of His Shrine and wishing you success from all my heart.
Your true brother, Shoghi
27 January 1937 [Clara & Hyde Dunn]
Beloved Bahá'í Pioneers,
Our much loved brother Mr. Fred Schopflocher has duly delivered to the Guardian your welcome messages of the 18th and 19th November, and I wish to hasten to thank you on his behalf for the many expressions of love, devotion & loyalty which you had been moved to convey to him. Your kind & assuring words have sunk deeply into his heart & brought wonderful refreshment of spirit to him. He is daily praying for you, & for the loved ones in Australia and New Zealand, that the confirmations of Bahá'u'lláh may continue to be showered upon you, & may thus enable you to attain your highest destiny in the path of service to His Cause.
Mr. Schopflocher's report of his visit to the centers in Australia has been truly gratifying, & the Guardian's heart has been immensely cheered by the good news of the wonderful progress of the Cause it conveyed. Knowing full well how unique & exemplary is the share which you both are contributing to such an advancement, he feels the urge to renew to you the expression of his abiding appreciation and loving gratitude, & to assure you of his fervent & continued supplications for the expansion & success of your activities. How happy indeed you must be to witness the rich harvest which your long & arduous labours have brought forth. The Beloved is assuredly well pleased with what you have so brilliantly accomplished, & are still busily engaged in accomplishing for His Faith. Be cheerful & confident, therefore, and whole-heartedly persevere in your highly-meritorious & historic task.
With warmest Bahá'í greetings, Yours in His Service, H. Rabbani
Dearest co-workers,
I am overjoyed to hear from you. Often you are in my thoughts & prayers, & my heart smiles with gladness & gratitude when I recall your services, your devotion, your perseverance, your great love for this most glorious Cause. I will continue to pray for your good health, happiness & success. May Bahá'u'lláh, Whose Cause you have served & are still serving with such exemplary faith & fidelity, fulfil your wishes, & enable you to enrich the noble record of your unforgettable achievements, Your true & grateful brother, Shoghi
4 February 1937 [National Spiritual Assembly]
Dear Miss Brooks,
I am instructed by the Guardian to inform you of the receipt of your letter of the 2nd January, and of the enclosed reports of the Adelaide and Auckland Spiritual Assemblies, and to renew to you, and through you to your fellow-members in the N.S.A., his grateful appreciation of the warm welcome you have so lovingly extended to that dear and distinguished servant of the Cause Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher during his visit to Australia and New Zealand. It is his fervent hope that the spirit his visit has released will long serve to sustain the friends in their heavy task of expanding the foundations of the Administrative Order throughout that continent.
Regarding Mr. Bolton's question as to whether the Guardian has given any instructions to the friends as to the best way to make their investments secure during the coming world crisis; I am instructed to inform you that no such directions have been given either to any individual believer or to any Assembly. The only advice which the Guardian wishes to give is that whatever investment the friends make they should do it with the utmost caution, as economic and financial conditions are at present most unstable and even precarious.
Shoghi Effendi has been very deeply grieved to learn of Mr. Inman's resignation from both the N.S.A. and the Sydney Local Assembly, and of his request to leave altogether the Cause. He wishes me, however, to assure your Assembly not to feel discouraged at this truly sad happening, but to confidently strive to bring him back into the community. Should he persistently refuse to return, the best thing would be to leave him to himself, and to pray for him that Bahá'u'lláh may, in His infinite mercy and love, open again his eyes, and lead him out of the state of spiritual lethargy into which he has so sadly fallen.
With the assurance of the Guardian's best wishes, and of his continual prayers for you, and for your distinguished fellow-members in the N.S.A.,
Yours Sincerely in His Service,
H. Rabbani.
Dear and prized co-worker:
I am delighted with the progress of your activities and with your splendid achievements in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá'í service. The National Spiritual Assembly is laying a firm and unassailable foundations for the administrative order of the Faith, and I wish to congratulate all its members and committees on the marvellous progress thus far achieved. I will continue to pray for them from all my heart. I will specially supplicate for the success of this coming convention. May your hopes be fulfilled in every respect. Gratefully and affectionately, Shoghi.
17 March 1937 [Annie Miller, Perth]
Dear Bahá'í Sister,
I am directed by the Guardian to express his appreciation of your letter of the third instant written in the name of the friends in Perth, and to ask you to kindly transmit to each & all of them the expression of his deepest thanks for the sentiments they had been moved to convey to him on the occasion of the forthcoming Feast of Naw-RÏz. He is deeply touched indeed by the assurances of love & devotion you had given him, and fully reciprocates your good wishes and greetings. His hope is that this new Bahá'í Year we are about to enter will be marked all through by a united & determined effort of the believers in your centre, & in other Bahá'í localities in Australia as well, for the extension of the teaching work. He is fervently entreating Bahá'u'lláh for the guidance & success of your endeavours to this end. Be confidant, therefore, & persevere.
I wish, in closing, to ensure you in particular of the Guardian's supplications for the removal of the obstacles facing the believers in Perth in connection with their representation at the Annual Convention of the Australian friends in Sydney. He hopes that the financial position of the members will gradually improve, & will permit them to actively participate in the deliberations and discussions that will be conducted during that important national gathering.
Again let me assure you, & your dear fellow-believers in Perth of his keen appreciation and abiding gratitude for your self-sacrificing labours for the Cause in Australia, & with renewed and warmest Naw-RÏz greetings to you all,
Yours ever in His Service, H. Rabbani
May the almighty spirit & power of Bahá'u'lláh ever sustain you & surround you, & enable you & your dear co-workers to promote, proclaim & establish the principles & teachings of this most glorious Faith,
Your true brother, Shoghi
18 March 1937 [National Spiritual Assembly]
Dear Miss Brooks,
On behalf of the Guardian I acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your letter of the 17th February with the enclosed report of the Sydney Local Assembly, and wish to express his gratification at the news of the progress which that community is making in the teaching work. He has noted with deep satisfaction that two new names have been added to their membership roll, and hopes that this step will mark the beginning of a new era of teaching expansion throughout that center. He wishes you to kindly congratulate the Sydney Assembly for this splendid success which their teaching efforts have won, and to urge them to continue in their endeavours for the attraction and confirmation of New Souls. May the Beloved aid, sustain and ever bless them in His service.
The Guardian is delighted to learn that the necessary arrangements for the holding of your next Annual Convention have been completed, and while he deplores the fact that owing to the long distances that separate the centers full attendance at this national gathering would not be feasible, he nevertheless hopes that it will be a most successful meeting, and will be marked all through by a perfect spirit of unity and fellowship. He wishes you to assure the delegates of his prayers for the success of their deliberations, and to convey to them his warmest greetings and best wishes for a happy Ridván.
Your ever in His Service, H. Rabbani.
P.S. Shoghi Effendi wishes me to express his thanks for the four reproductions of the Adelaide Assembly registration form and trust which you had enclosed in your letter, one of which he has ordered to be placed in Bahá'u'lláh's Mansion at Bahji, and another one he wishes to incorporate in the manuscript of the next "Bahá'í World" (vol VII). H.R.
Dear and valued co-worker:
I am truly gratified and delighted to receive so many evidences of the zeal, the loyalty and the devotion with which the believers in Australia and New Zealand are extending the range of their historic activities. I feel deeply grateful to them. I will most assuredly pray for them that the Beloved may bless their high endeavours and aid them to establish His Cause and proclaim far and wide its verities and teachings. Shoghi.
1937 [National Spiritual Assembly]
ANNOUNCE BELIEVERS CELEBRATION MARRIAGE BELOVED GUARDIAN. STOP. EVERLASTING HONOUR CONFERRED UPON HANDMAID OF BAHAULLAH. RUHIYYIH KHANUM MISS MARY MAXWELL. ZIAIYYIH MOTHER OF THE GUARDIAN
6 April 1937 [National Spiritual Assembly]
ASSURE LOVED ONES AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND PROFOUND ABIDING APPRECIATION
26 April 1937 [Perth Assembly]
Dear Bahá'í Sister,
I am charged by our beloved Guardian to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 8th April, written on behalf of the Bahá'ís of Perth, conveying to him their greetings and congratulations on the occasion of his marriage.
He wishes me to ask you to kindly transmit his thanks and appreciation to them for their beautiful & most assuring message. He indeed highly values their sentiments, & their spontaneous & warm response to this union which has conferred such a great honour on the believers throughout the West.
It is the Guardian's hope that in return for all these honours & bounties the friends will unanimously arise to serve the Cause, & will awaken to the full sense of their responsibilities and obligations. He is praying for you, & for all our dear friends in Australia & New Zealand that you may receive an ever-increasing measure of guidance and success in your endeavours in His Path.
May I in closing express the Guardian's thanks for the beautiful gift which your Assembly has kindly presented to him. He will certainly keep it as a token of your great love & devotion to the Cause.
Yours ever in His Service, H. Rabbani.
With the assurance of my loving prayers for your spiritual advancement & success,
Your true brother, Shoghi
27 April 1937
Bolton, 9 Martin Place, Sydney.
DELIGHTED HEARTFELT CONGRATULATIONS ASSURE ATTENDANTS SUMMER SCHOOL ARDENT LOVING PRAYERS
30 April 1937 [National Convention Australia and New Zealand]
IMMENSELY APPRECIATE MAGNIFICENT SPIRIT ANIMATING CONVENTION. SUPPLICATE RICHEST BLESSINGS DELIBERATIONS. LOVE SHOGHI
18 May 1937
Dear Mr. Dunn,
The Guardian has received your message of last April, & his heart has been most profoundly touched by the sentiments of love, loyalty and devotion you had been moved to convey to him on the occasion of his marriage. He highly prizes indeed your words, & deeply appreciates the assurances you have given him. His fervent hope is that through this union of East and West the consciousness of all the believers will be so quickened as to spur them on to redouble their efforts for the promulgation of our beloved Cause.
The Guardian is most satisfied with the conditions of the Faith in Australia & New Zealand, and cherishes the highest hopes for the future of that Community. Though your numbers are yet small and your material resources restricted, you should nevertheless rejoice at the realization that the Cause in these far-off lands has at last been firmly and permanently established, that with the passing of every year, nay of every month, some definite progress is achieved, and that despite the forces of opposition, both from within & outside it, your community is forging ahead, slowly but steadily, confident in the divine confirmations & guidance of Bahá'u'lláh.
The Guardian is particularly rejoiced at the news of the formation of the first Australian Bahá'í Summer School at Yerrinbool - which step is a clear evidence that your community is alive & is progressing quite satisfactorily. He would urge the friends, each & all, to help by every means in their power, to further the interests of that institution which, if maintained & developed, can be of invaluable teaching help to the Cause.
With the assurance of the Guardian's prayers on your behalf and on behalf of Mother Dunn, and for the confirmation of Mr Hearne.
Yours in His Service, H. Rabbani
May the Beloved bless your efforts, guide your steps, enable you to still further ennoble the record of your unique & superb services, & aid you to realise your highest wishes in the service of His glorious Faith. Gratefully & affectionately, Shoghi
28 July 1937
Mr. S.W. Bolton, Somerset House, 9 Martin Place, Sydney, N.S.W. Australia.
Dear Mr. Bolton,
Your welcome letter of June 11th with the enclosed report of the Yerrinbool Bahá'í Summer School, as well as the photographs of the same sent under separate cover, have all duly reached the Guardian and have imparted a tremendous joy to his heart.
He is rejoiced beyond words to know of the great success that has attended this first session of your Summer School, and he wishes me to convey to you, to the attendants, and particularly to the members of the Yerrinbool Summer School Committee his hearty congratulations for the valuable share you have each contributed towards the formation and effective functioning of this national institution of the Cause in those far-off lands. It is his fervent hope, and his heart's ardent prayer that you may continue extending every support to this first Bahá'í Summer School in Australia and New Zealand, so that it may develop and flourish and become a center of intense and nation-wide teaching activity throughout that land. The friends should realize that it is their responsibility to maintain, may assist in continually developing the scope of this vital national enterprize. The beginning that has been made is truly splendid and augurs well for the future of your labours for the prosecution of this task.
With most loving greetings to Mrs. Bolton, children and your dear self,
Sincerely and gratefully in His Service, H. Rabbani.
Dear and valued co-worker:
I am so cheered and heartened by your most welcome message. I feel deeply grateful to, and proud of, you and your valiant co-workers for this notable and historic step you have taken. Future generations will befittingly extol the work you have so nobly and splendidly initiated. I wish to congratulate you from the very depths of my heart. Affectionately and gratefully, Shoghi
29 August 1937 [National Spiritual Assembly]
Beloved Bahá'í Sister,
Your welcome communication of June 30th written on behalf of the N.S.A., as well as the accompanying papers and reports have all been received, and their contents read with keenest interest and appreciation by our beloved Guardian.
How rejoiced he feels to witness the increasing evidences of the growing progress of the community of the Australian and New Zealand believers. The considerable work that they have accomplished during the last few years, in both the teaching and the administrative fields, could not indeed have been carried out without the wise and effective leadership of your N.S.A. who, ever since its inception, has been functioning with a loyalty and efficiency that are truly remarkable.
The success of this year's convention, as evidenced by the report of the proceedings you had sent, marks a further step in the process of steady consolidation through which the N.S.A. is passing, and indicates how strong are the loyalty and attachment which it has awakened among the body of the believers throughout Australia and New Zealand.
It is the Guardian's fervent hope that this confidence which your Assembly has inspired will be further strengthened during the course of this year, and that this in turn will deepen in the members the sense of the heavy responsibility they have to shoulder for the extension and consolidation of Bahá'í work throughout that continent.
Now as regards your Assembly's question concerning a tie vote; as the point raised is a secondary matter it is left to the discretion of your N.S.A.
In the case of voting for less than nine individuals; it is not compulsory that a ballot paper should contain necessarily nine votes. The individual voter may record less than nine names, if he chooses to do so.
With renewed greetings and thanks from the Guardian to you and your fellow-members in the N.S.A., Yours ever in His Service, H. Rabbani
Dear and valued co-worker:
I am delighted with the manifold evidences of the progress achieved through the concerted efforts of the Australian and New Zealand believers under the able direction of their elected national representatives. I feel proud of their accomplishments, highly approve of their plans and projected enterprises, feel grateful for the spirit that animates them, and cherish bright hopes for the extension of their activities. May the Beloved guide their steps, cheer their hearts and enable them to diffuse far and wide the teachings and spirit of His Cause. Gratefully and affectionately, Shoghi
30 August 1937 [National Spiritual Assembly]
Dear Miss Brooks,
Your letter of the 17th July enclosing Miss Ethel Dawe's communication requesting permission to visit the Holy Land has been duly received by our beloved Guardian, and he has directed me to inform you that, at your suggestion, he has cabled Miss Dawe directly to London, extending to her a hearty welcome to visit the Holy Shrines in the next fall.
He hopes that in the meantime nothing will happen to alter or upset her plans, and that she will be given the privilege and joy of undertaking this much-desired pilgrimage to Haifa.
Hoping this will find you and all the Adelaide friends in the best of health, and with loving greetings to you and to them, Yours ever in the Cause, H. Rabbani
Wishing you success from all my heart, and assuring you of my continued prayers for the realisation of your highest hopes,
Your true brother, Shoghi.
8 November 1937 [National Spiritual Assembly]
Dear Mrs Axford,
Many thanks for your letter of September 16th addressed to our beloved Guardian. He is most pleased indeed to hear of Miss Hollaway's interest in the Cause & appreciates keenly your efforts for bringing about her full confirmation in the Faith. He is, at your suggestion, writing her directly & giving her the addresses of some individuals & centres in South Africa. He hopes that through contact with the friends her interest in the Teachings will be considerably increased & she will be stimulated to help in spreading their knowledge throughout South Africa.
The Guardian wishes you to keep in closest touch with her through correspondence, & to send her suitable literature on the Cause, & to endeavour to make her join actively the Faith.
Again with many thanks for introducing this lady who indeed seems to be a most promising worker, & with loving greetings to all the friends in Auckland,
Yours ever in His Service, H. Rabbani
May the Beloved bless you & aid you to surmount all obstacles that may stand in your path, & aid you to lend a fresh impetus to the work that has been so splendidly initiated.
Your true brother, Shoghi
17 November 1937
Mrs Stuart W. French
Dear Mrs. French,
The Guardian is most sorry to have been so late in thanking you for your letters of August 30th & September 10th sent from Australia. The delay has been unavoidable owing to his absence from the Holy Land during the summer months.
He hopes this letter will find you well, & refreshed from your wonderful visit to the friends in Australia & New Zealand. What a privilege indeed to be able to visit these far-off centres of the Cause, to encourage & stimulate those believers who are so remote from the chief Bahá'í countries, whether in the East or the West, & to spread the Message in virgin & distant lands.
The Guardian has every hope that through this visit the bonds of fellowship & cooperation between the Australian & American believers will be considerably cemented, & the way paved for a deeper understanding & a more effective application of the Administrative Order in that far-off continent.
It was a matter of profound grief to the Guardian to know of the withdrawal from the Cause of Mr. Bertram Dewing. He will pray for him, that his eyes may be opened & illumined, & that he may realize the full gravity of his action & may sincerely repent for it.
Under the circumstances, however, his name should be removed from the list of editors in the "Bahá'í World", & substituted by that of the secretary of the Australian N.S.A., Miss Hilda H. Brooks of Adelaide, who is an outstanding Bahá'í teacher & administrator.
With loving greetings, Yours in the Cause, H. Rabbani
Dear & prized co-worker:
I am so pleased to learn of the success that has attended your trip to Australia. Your successive journeys to this & other far-off lands are of immense value, & have served to forge new links & to reinforce the ties that already bind the Bahá'í communities to one another. I am deeply grateful to you, & will continue to pray most fervently on your behalf.
Your true brother, Shoghi
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