- 1869-05-12 — Birth of Clara Davis Dunn, Hand of the Cause, in London.
- 1919-04-26 —
The 14 Tablets of the Divine Plan were unveiled in a dramatic ceremony at the Hotel McAlpin in New York, during the `Convention of the Covenant'. The Tablets had been brought to America by Ahmad Sohrab at the request of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [ABNYP172Note24, BBD219; PP437; SBBH1:134; SBBH2:135; SBR86; AB434; TDPXI]
- For details of the convention programme, Tablets and talks given see SW10, 4:54-72; SW10, 5:83-94; SW10, 6:99-103, 111-12 SW10, 7:122-7, 138; SW10, 10:197-203; and SW10, 12:2279.
- Mary Maxwell (Rúhíyyih Khánum) was among the young people who unveil the Tablets. [PP437]
- Hyde and Clara Dunn and Martha Root responded immediately to the appeal, the Dunns went to Australia where they open 700 towns to the Faith, and Martha Root embarked on the first of her journeys which are to extend over 20 years. [GPB308; MR88]
- See also CT138-9.
- Agnes Parsons arrived from her pilgrimage just before the close of the convention and was able to convey the instructions from `Abdu'l-Bahá to arrange a Convention for `the unity of the coloured and white races'. [BW5:413; SBR87]
- The book Unveiling of the Divine Plan includes nine talks given by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab to the National Convention.
- Shoghi Effendi calls the Tablets of the Divine Plan a charter for the propagation and the establishment of the Administrative Order. It has also been called a charter for the teaching of the Faith. [MBW84; LOG1628]
- For the significance of the Tablets of the Divine Plan see 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Champion of Universal Peace by Hoda Mahmoudi and Janet Khan.
- 1920-00-00 —
Hyde and Clara Dunn arrived in Samoa enroute to Australia, the first Bahá'ís to visit the islands.
- For a history of the development of the Faith in Australia and in New Zealand, from 1920 when the Hydes arrived until 1947 when the National Spiritual Assembly initiated a systematic teaching campaign, see Outpost of a World Religion: The Bahá'í Faith in Australia, 1920-1947 by Graham Hassall in Bahá'ís in the West SBBH Vol 14 pp201-226.
- It is also available on Bahai-Library.com.
- 1920-04-10 —
Clara and Hyde Dunn arrived in Sydney, Australia. [AB445] SBR158 says this was 18 Apr 1919.
- They are thought to be the first Bahá'í pioneers to have arrived at their post after the release of the Tablets of the Divine Plan. [G. Hassel]
- Within three years they had visited 225 towns. [Keynote address by Dr. Vahid Saberi at the Heroes Teaching Conference 6-7 April, 2019]
- By the time Hyde passed away in Sydney in 1941 the Bahá'í Teachings had been taken to every State; Local Spiritual Assemblies had been established in Auckland, Sydney and Adelaide; the National Spiritual Assembly had been established in 1934 and the Yerrinbool
Bahá'í School had been inaugurated in 1938. [Spiritual conquerors of this wide, brown land by Graham Hassall]
- In 2020 the Australian community commemorated the centenary this event.
- A 26-page booklet called A Vision of Unity was published.
- See Outpost of a World Religion: The Bahá'í Faith in Australia 1920-1947 by Graham Hassall in SBBH14 p201 and in Journal of Religious History, 16:3, pages 315-338 1991-06.
- 1924-00-00 —
Miss Nora Lee, who became a Bahá'í in New Zealand, was the first Bahá'í to travel to Fiji, working as a nanny in Labasa from 1924 to about 1930.
- Gretta Lamprill became the first Bahá'í in Tasmania in the latter part of the year. [SBR162]
- In 1924 Clara and Hyde Dunn spent three months in Hobart together with two Melbourne Baha'is. Their visit attracted a small number of individuals to the Bahá'í Faith, the first of whom was a nurse, Gretta Lamprill. She was gradually joined by others in Hobart, Launceston and Devonport. The first Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Hobart was established in 1949, providing the basis for the effective functioning of the Baha'i community since that time. [Australian Baha'i Community site]
- 1952-02-29 —
Shoghi Effendi appointed the second contingent of Hands of the Cause of God. [BW12:375–6; CT202–3 MBW20–1; PP254; ZK47]
- They were Fred Schopflocher, Corinne True, Dhikru'lláh Khádem, Shu'á'u'lláh 'Alá'í, Adelbert Mühlschlegel, Músá Banání and Clara Dunn. [BW12:375–6; MWB19–20]
- Shoghi Effendi described their two-fold function: propagation of the Faith and preservation of its unity. [BW12:376; MBW21]
- 1958-03-22 — The foundation stone of the first Mashriqul-Adhkár of the Antipodes in Sydney was laid by Hands of the Cause Charles Mason Remey and Clara Dunn. [BW13:321]
- 1960-11-18 —
Clara Dunn, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Sydney. (b.12 May 1869) [BW13:859; MoC245]
- For her obituary see BW13:859–62.
- For cable from the Hands see MoC245.
- See also SBR153–75.
- Shoghi Effendi had appointed her among the second contingent on the 29th of February, 1952. She was one of only eight women appointed. [MoCxxiii]
- For a biography see The Bahá'í Encyclopedia Project.
- Remembering Clara Dunn by Melanie Lotfali.
- 1961-09-17 —
The House of Worship in Sydney, the Mother Temple of the Antipodes, was officially opened by Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum in two public services, each attended by 900 people. [BW13:732]
- For message of the Custodians to the dedication service see MoC309–12.
- For cable of the Custodians to the Bahá'ís of the world see MoC313.
Specifics
Location:Sydney, Australia (Ingleside on the MonaVale Road).
Foundation Stone: 26 Jan 1958 (Clara Dunn and Hand of the Cause Charles Mason Remey, who had been designated by the Guardian as his representative, while attending the 2nd International Conference 21-24 March, 1958. A small bag of earth from the inner Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh and a piece of plaster from the room of the Báb in Máh-Kú was deposited under the floor.)
Construction Period: 1957-1961
Site Dedication:16 September 1961 (Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum brought a gift from the Guardian- a green silk carpet from the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh.)
Architect C.M. Remey
Seating: 500
Dimensions: 124ft at the base and 130ft high
Cost: Original budget was 120,000 Pounds Sterling
Dependencies:
References: BW13:319-322, BW13p720-732 CEBF241
- 2002-04-24 —
The passing of Barbara Helen Rutledge Sims (b. 17 April, 1918 in San Francisco) in Tokyo. She was a "third generation Bahá'í whose grandmother had been guided to the Faith by John Henry Hyde Dunn and Clara Dunn when they lived in California. [BW02-03p274-275]
- When the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, issued his call for believers to serve in the first Global Crusade (1953-1963) she and her husband Charles A. "Sandy" Sims (who was not a Bahá'í but had been born and raised in Japan), and her daughter Sandra. (A son, Sheridan, was born a few years later.)
- She was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tokyo in 1954 and served for many years on that body. In 1957 she was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of North East Asia, and in 1974 she was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of Japan, serving until 1993. She was secretary for many years on those Assemblies. She also served on a number of national committees, developed the National Archives, volunteered in the national office and on the staff of the Publishing Trust, went on teaching trips around Japan and to other Asian countries, and wrote Bahá'í histories of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Macau and Tokyo, and her memoirs.
[Barbara Sims' Contribution to Bahá'í Scholarship in Asia Pacific
by Sandra S. Fotos; In memoriam Barbara Sims
by Universal House of Justice, Sheridan Sims, and Sandra S. Fotos]
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