Chapter 8
Pilgrim Hostel Hostess
I wish to tell you a little about Haifa this
afternoon.1 These incidents have been
told me by Miss Baker who resided at the Western
Pilgrim House for eleven years. To those who have
embraced the Bahá'í Faith Haifa is the most
important town in the world, for it is the pivot
or centre of the activities for this great
teaching which we instill into our hearts which
will be the means of bringing the "Most
Great Peace" to the world which is at the
present moment in such turmoil and strife.
Haifa has become a very important commercial
town. Before the great war it had a population of
15,000. When Miss Baker, together with Mrs
Blundell, her daughter and son, and Miss Margaret
Stevenson from New Zealand made the pilgrimage in
1925 the population had increased to 26,000. When
Miss Baker left Haifa in 1936 there were over
75,000 inhabitants. Now the British Government
has built the break-water which you can see in
this photograph. It is the most important seaport
for the middle east. It also has the great
pipe-line which brings the crude oil for the Iraq
Petroleum Company from Mosul in Iraq - a distance
of 1,800 miles.
The head offices you can see in the picture
marked number 5. You already know why it is so
important to us because it is as I said before
the centre of Bahá'í activities and it is there
that our Beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi resides
and presides over all the places in connection
with this great revelation for this new age which
it has ushered in.
Its supreme importance is the fact that here
on the slopes of Mt Carmel lie the bodies of His
Holiness the Bab (who was the fore-runner or the
one who proclaimed that the promised one
Bahá'u'lláh would appear to give the great
teachings to esetablish peace and brotherhood in
the world), and His Holiness 'Abdu'l-Bahá. You
can see the roof of the Holy Tomb where their
sacred remains lie at the entrance left of the
picture.
The panoramic picture was taken by Miss Baker
from the slope of Mt Carmel so you cannot see the
terraces that lead up from Carmel Avenue, the
long straight street lined on both sides with
Olive trees. You will see the roof of a house
with a cross on top of it. This was erected by a
Christian Arab who was very bitter against the
Bahá'í Faith. His house was situated on the
right hand side of one of the terraces leading to
the Holy Tomb. He had electric lights on it and
lighted them in the evening when the Holy Tomb is
for one hour flood-lighted by two powerful
flood-lights and turned into a structure of
molten gold nestling amongst the beautiful trees
and flowers which surround it.
It was significant though that the cross
(symbol of the last dispensation) should be
nestling beneath the shadow of the "great
orb of light" which has ushered in this new
dispensation. I will give you some idea as far as
I can how you approach the Holy Tomb from the
Home of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (Shoghi Effendi and his
father and mother and other members of the family
live) and the Western Pilgrim House in the
Persian colony.
No. 1 is the Pilgrim House, No. 2 is the Old
Pilgrim House where Dr Esslemont passed away. No.
3 is the home of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the white
rooms on the top are Shoghi Effendi's study and
library where he does all his work, and his
sleeping apartment. It is almost opposite the
Pilgrim House. From here, we proceed along the
Persian Colony (this is the name of the Street,
not a real colony).
We turn to the left into a small street which
has the English Hospital on the right hand side
and the St. Lukes Church of England on the left,
also the Women's Pilgrim House. Again you turn to
the right into Mountain Road. Passing on from
there on the right you pass the Iraq Petroleum
Company office. On the left a little further on
the High School for Girls. Continuing along
Mountain Street we take a sharp bend and now
follow the road walking towards the west.
Winding our way along here we first come to
the Holy Tomb (surrounded by a beautiful garden)
of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the revered and
beloved daughter of Bahá'u'lláh and sister of
'Abdu'l-Bahá. A little further on we turn to the
right and following a short road come to the
Men's Persian Pilgrim House. Turing once more to
the left you follow the line of Cyprus trees and
then enter the garden which surrounds the Holy
Tomb on the first terrace. Following the little
path which brings you to the entrance of the Holy
Tomb...
The night they were lighted a captain bringing
his ship into the anchorage at Haifa for the
first time looked on his chart to find only one
light charted - that of the light house on the
extreme west end of Mt. Carmel. Not having
another light marked he was confused so anchored
his ship out at sea for the night. Proceeding to
anchorage in the early morning he at once
reported the matter to the port authorities. They
made enquiries and found that the light had been
installed on the Holy Tomb by the electrician
sent from America for that purpose and had been
turned on for the first time that night.
The significant point is that the port
authorities instead of ordering the light to be
dismantled marked it on the navigation chart
little realizing that for all time they had
established the identity of the Great Light for
this age.
Effie intended to stay in Haifa for two few weeks
only, and she made arrangements to leave on the next
steamer leaving Port Said, which was at the end of
August. On her return to Haifa, however, she found
Fujita, Mirza Jenab-i-Fadl, his wife and two children all
suffering from influenza, and set about caring for them.
Because Shoghi Effendi was absent, the women of the
household urged her to stay at least until his return.
They also made clear to Effie their desire that she stay
as long as possible. Effie wrote in her diary on the
20th: "Dia Khanum wanted to know if I could stay.
They wish me to accompany girls to England to resume
their college studies". She later explained her
change in plans to the Dunns:
I have been a little help to them here in the
Pilgrim House and am doing most of the work since
Fujita was sick. He is what you might say resting
on his oars a bit. The Holy Family said I've been
such a help to them and Díyáíyyih Khánum
(Shoghi Effendi's mother) says that at last she
has found a Mother for the Pilgrim Home. They
asked me if I could really be happy and content
to stay here always and would it be possible for
me to stay. I told them I am content to serve the
cause wherever I am needed, that personally I
could stay but my desire is to serve the cause
and obey Shoghi Effendi and that he had told me
to return to Australia so they have asked me to
wait till he returns and they ask him if they can
keep me here.2
Effie knew that if she did stay in Haifa her life
would be one of hardship and that there would be little
rest or comfort. She wrote to the Dunns:
I can see that life here will not be easy and
perhaps I have come here to learn the lesson of
detachment. I am up at a little after five every
morning and it is generally ten o'clock before I
get to bed.3
There followed a period of some weeks, during which
Effie stayed in Haifa unsure of her immediate plans. Much
depended on Shoghi Effendi's advice. When he did return
to Haifa, he suggested that it was best for her to return
to Australia to assist the Dunns in spreading the Cause.
This, afterall, had been her plan prior to leaving for
Europe. Effie's letter to the Dunns indicated that the
women of the Holy family were eager to have her stay, and
suggested also that she was more than pleased to
contemplate living for an extended period in Haifa.
Shoghi Effendi's decision, therefore, that Effie should
return to Australia, must have caused her some
disappointment. Reconciling herself to the need to return
home, she booked her return passage on the Esperance
Bay, which was due to sail on 21 January 1926, and
prepared to make the most of her final weeks in Haifa.
The Australian Bahá'ís were waiting expectantly for
news of Effie's return. Clara Dunn knew from
correspondence from Margaret Stevenson that the decision
as to whether she would depart or continue on in Haifa
depended on Shoghi Effendi, and that she had been waiting
for his return to Haifa, and wrote in November to the
Perth Bahá'ís that there was "just a chance"
Effie had accompanied Margaret Stevenson on the Jervis
Bay, soon due in Fremantle.4 The Blundells
also were about to return to New Zealand. The Ulysses,
on which they were travelling, was due in Adelaide in the
middle of December. In late November, however, news came
confirming Clara's intuition. Effie's letter reported to
the Dunns that Shoghi Effendi had decided that it was no
longer imperative that she return swiftly to Australia:
A couple of days before the date of my
departure, Shoghi Effendi took me with him for
the last visit to Bahá'u'lláh's Holy Shrine. On
the drive back he said to me "You know
Effie, a general always sends his good soldiers
afar, he keeps the bad ones always under his
eye". Next afternoon I was walking up the
terrace (the only one at that time) to visit the
Holy Shrine for the last time. Shoghi Effendi was
starting to come down with some Persian pilgrims.
He told them to continue and stopped to speak to
me. He said "Effie I've reconsidered my
decision. I'm going to keep you here". I
said "Oh! Shoghi Effendi I am evidently one
of the bad soldiers you told me about
yesterday", and we had a hearty laugh
together".5
Ernest Brewer's report appeared in both Herald of
the South and Star of the West:
Many beautiful messages have been received by
the Bahá'ís of Australia since Effie arrived at
Haifa, each one more and more indicative of her
spiritual advancement. Now comes the wonderful
news that the Holy Family has asked her to stay
with them indefinitely, and to become one of the
family. Effie writes of this great dispensation
enthusiastically, yet with humility. Her one
desire is for "service". Whatever the
Guardian desires her to do she is willing to
perform. The honour of an Australian being chosen
as one of the Holy Family is received by all
local Bahá'ís with gratitude. Though they may
have temporarily lost physical sight of the
sweet-faced little toymaker her spirit will be
with them all the time.6
Shoghi Effendi had no doubt been impressed by Effie's
many endearing and praiseworthy qualities, and had
judged, furthermore, that he had need in Haifa of her
practical talents. He described her in a letter to the
Dunns as a "beloved and devoted sister", an
evidence of their "diligent and heroic pioneer work
in that vast continent" whom he had been "so
glad to welcome in Haifa".7 Effie
haExtracts from Effie's diary provide insight into the
events of October 1925 when the crucial decision whether
to leave or stay was taken:
Thursday 15: Shoghi Effendi arrived today [the
diary does not say where he had been, or for how
long]. It was beautiful to see some of the
friends greeting him at the gate. He is looking
very well. Sohail Effendi and Ruhanguis came also
but by boat direct to Haifa. Shoghi Effendi came
by Train. He was very fresh after his long
journey. He went to the Holy Tomb in afternoon
and interviewed Julia [Culver] in the evening
besides seeing numbers of the friends. It is nice
to have him with us once more.
Friday 16: Shoghi Effendi came and had lunch
with us. He was so pleased with the way Fujita
and I had arranged the Pilgrim House and said he
was happy to see me once again. He told me to let
him know whenever I wished to talk with him and
said on leaving he will send for me to come and
talk with him later on.
On 23 December Effie wrote herself to explain the
course of events:
You will have received word from Father and
Mother Dunn that our Beloved Guardian has granted
me the great privilege of remaining longer here.
Speaking to him in reference to this decision he
said that he had decided it was not imperative
for me to return to Australia just yet, that I
could serve in two capacities - render service
here, and be of service to Australia by keeping
in touch with you through correspondence. It will
be ever my earnest desire to serve humbly and
faithfully in these capacities.
There were three residences in Haifa for Bahá'í
pilgrims at the time Effie arrived. The "old pilgrim
house" and the Persian women's pilgrim house were
located close to the House of `Abdu'l-Bahá, where Shoghi
Effendi resided with his family members, while Persian
men were accommodated higher up Mt Carmel, in close
proximity to the Shrine of the Báb, in a building which
was later to serve as a meeting place for pilgrims.
The new pilgrim house was ready for use in the first
half of 1926, and Effie shared responsibility for making
it habitable. Electric lights were installed near the end
of September (had not the Haifa Local Spiritual Assembly
named the new pilgrim house ‘Nurani’
(‘full of light’)?), greating easing Effie's
workload and adding to everyone's comfort. Now light was
always available, and she no longer had to constantly
clean kerosene lamps. The Australian Bahá'ís provided
£17 with which to purchase a sewing machine, for yet
another of Effie’s tasks was to continually patch
and mend the pilgrim house linen, which was in short
supply. The Auckland Bahá'ís also presented a gift to
the new building - a recent photo of their community. An
additional eight bedroom suites were added in the second
half of 1927, which required of Effie and Fujita much
carrying of bricks and general tidying up in preparation
for the building work. In later years this pilgrim house,
which Effie so lovingly assisted in establishing, was
occupied by the Universal House of Justice, and since
1982 it has housed the offices of the members of the
International Teaching Centre.
There were, of course, others assisting Shoghi Effendi
maintain the buildings and grounds of the Bahá'í holy
places in Haifa and Akka during Effie’s years there,
although she seems to have been the only resident
Westerner (apart from Dr Esslemont, whose story is told
below). Yahdullah, who was from the Persian village of
Seysan but whose parents were Turkish, was caretaker of
the Garden of Ridvan and Bahjí. He was assisted at the
Ridvan garden by his sons Isfandiar and Faroud. Following
the death of Abul Qasim Khurusani, who had been caretaker
on Mt Carmel during the lifetime of `Abdu'l-Bahá, these
sons were appointed caretakers of the gardens and the
archive on Mt Carmel, which service they continued for at
least as long as Effie remained in Haifa. Also resident
in Haifa were Mirza Jenabi Fazel and his wife.8
In Effie's first year in Haifa Shoghi Effendi was hard
at work extending the terraces surrounding the Holy Tomb.
She perceived that the Guardian's life was "crowded
with many difficult problems and vicissitudes" which
had both saddened him and impaired his health.9
By October 1925 news of success in regaining the house
of Bahá'u'lláh in Bagdad, and receipt of a letter from
Queen Marie of Rumania had helped cheer Shoghi Effendi.
But then the passing of one of his closest companions
delivered an untimely and saddening blow.
The Passing of John Esslemont
John Ebenezer Esslemont was born in May, 1874 in
Aberdeen, Scotland. After studying medicine and surgery
at the University of Aberdeen he worked in Euroope and
South Africa and even for two years in Australia. He
learnt of the Bahá'í Faith in December 1914 and after
becoming a member, a Bahá'í community gathered around
him in Bournemouth. He became chairman of
Bournemouth’s first Local Spiritual Asssembly, and
became vice-president of the National Spiritual Assembly
of England. Dr Esslemont decided to write an introductory
text book about the Bahá'í Teachings, and penned the
first nine chapters of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
during the first world war. 'Abdu'l-Bahá invited him to
Haifa in November 1919, and personally read the first
three and a half chapters.
After becoming Guardian Shoghi Effendi invited Dr
Esslemont to once again move to Haifa. He arrived in
November 1924 to act as Shoghi Effendi's secretary and
his close companion. During 1925 he was engaged in
translating What is the Bahá'í Message? into
Esperanto for the Universal Esperanto Congress in Geneva
in August 1925, but when his health deteriorated, he
retired to the black forest of Germany for the summer.
Effie wrote:
We expect Dr. Esslemont next Wednesday 30th
September and he is bringing two ladies, German
Bahá'ís. He has been the guest of one of them.
He is better but still very short of breath he
says. We hope the weather will be cooler. It has
been very hot. It is like the Sydney climate,
very humid and makes one very tired.10
Esslemont’s health had not recoved, however, and
despite the assistance of Bahá'í physicians Yunis Khan
and Mirza Arastu as well as two European doctors, died on
November 22. The extent of Shoghi Effendi’s loss is
discernable in his letter about Dr Esslement to the
Bahá'ís of the world:
His close association with my work in Haifa, in which
I had placed fondest hopes, was suddenly cut short. His
book, however, an abiding monument to his pure intention,
will, alone, inspire generations yet unborn to tread the
path of truth and service as steadfastly and as
unostentatiously as was trodden by its beloved author.
The Cause he loved so well he served even unto his last
day with exemplary faith and unstinted devotion. His
tenacity of faith, his high integrity, his
self-effacement, his industry and painstaking labours
were traits of a character the noble qualities of which
will live and live forever after him. To me personally he
was the warmest of friends, a trusted counsellor, an
indefatigable collaborator, a lovable companion.11
Living in Haifa
When Effie first arrived she was greatly affected by
heat, and so was not well. Effie often wrote letters on
behalf of the women of the household. Late in 1925 Effie
was ill and spend time away from Haifa, although a letter
from the Guardian to an Australian Bahá'ís written in
December 1925 reported her as being in good health, and
still resident in Haifa.112 On 31 May 1926 she
registered as an immigrant to Palestine. In July 1926 she
explained to the Bahá'ís in Australia:
Dear friends I am on behalf of you all trying to
render with love and humbleness to our beloved Guardian
and the Holy Family cheerful service and I write many
letters for the members of the Holy Family and at the
request of Shoghi Effendi I am endeavouring to correspond
with different Western Assemblies. I will give you my
news next Sunday 1st August being the 19 day Feast...13
‘Khanum’
The hardships that Effie endured living in Haifa were
more than compensated for by the privilege of being in
the presence of Bahíyyih Khánum, the daughter of
Bahá'u'lláh. To Effie she was "Khánum",
a title meaning "lady" or "mistress".
Effie shared with the Dunns an incident reflecting the
affection that existed between herself and "Khánum":
The other morning I went over to the Holy
Household and the greatest Holy Leaf called me to
sit beside her. It was almost 9.30 am and she was
just going to have her breakfast. She poured a
little rose water in her hand, and drank it and
then offered it to me to put the dregs of it on
my dress. She had just warm bread and cheese and
broke off a piece and put it in my mouth.14
At other times Khánum sent Effie little sweet
cakes, or shortbread; she, in turn, presented Bahíyyih Khánum
with boxes of embroidered handkerchiefs on her birthdays
- which she knew would quickly be given away to visitors.
Later Effie wrote of being with Bahíyyih Khánum
in Haifa:
During my long sojourn there I never saw once
any difference in her life. She always radiated
to rich and poor alike that wonderful radiating
love. She exemplified all the attributes that
make a perfect life. I just love to read and read
that beautiful pen-picture of Khánum
written by Marjorie Morten. Marjorie just effaces
herself and brings Khánum a living person
before one's eyes. How Khánum loved dear
Marjorie and Marjorie loved her.15
By her life and manner Khanum taught Effie much about
service. She once wrote:
We ought to show something greater than
forgiveness in meeting the cruelties and
strictures in our lives. To be hurt and forgive
is saintly but far beyond this is the power to
comprehend and not be hurt. This power we may
have...acceptance without complaint and it should
be associated with our name. We ought never to be
known to complain or lament. It is not that we
would "make the best of things," but
that we may find in everything, even in calamity,
the gems of enduring wisdom. We ought never be
impatient. We ought to be as incapable of
impatience as one would be of revolt. This not
being so much long-suffering as quiet awareness
of the forces that operate in the hours of dark
or years of waiting and inactivity. Always we
ought to move with the larger rhythm, the wider
sweep, towards our ultimate goal, in that
complete acquiescence, that perfect chord which
underlies the spirit of the faith itself. --
Bahiyyih Khanum Bahá'í World, Vol. V, p. 185
Fujita
Fujita, the Japanese servant of `Abdu'l-Bahá whom
Effie affectionately called "fudge", became a
treasured friend. He would spend several days at a time
making pomegranate juice at the Garden of Ridvan, where
the household also obtained watermelons, sweet lemons,
and ripe dates; and on trips to the Post Office in Haifa,
he would take the time to catch up on gossip in the shops
of friends in the town. Effie and Fujita shared in many
escapades. Once, in January 1930, Effie, Fujita and Miss
Lentz got bogged when attempting to cross the river
Keshon during a week of heavy rain: many cars passed
before a motor lorry stopped and pulled the trio onto
"terra firma".16 Such adventures in
the company of Fujita brought happiness to Effie's
sometimes arduous weeks and months of labour-filled
duties.
Glimpses of Shoghi Effendi
During some periods Shoghi Effendi was so busy that
Effie did not see him, or only observed him from a
distance. When there were no pilgrims in Haifa he kept
busy in his study, walking only in the evenings to visit
the Shrines and see the gardens. When he had considerable
correspondence, he even curtailed these outings. When he
did see Effie, Shoghi Effendi would ask if she had
received any news from Australia: was Herald of the
South still being published? (The first issue of this
magazine had appeared through the efforts of the New
Zealand Bahá'ís in 1925). Shoghi Effendi had not
received word from the Australians for some time. Despite
the immensity of his labours and concerns, he maintained
interest in her welfare, and in her news from home. Once,
when Effie decided to find out how late the Guardian
worked into the evening, she stayed up for a few nights
in a row, but each time, she later reported to Gertrude
Blum, she fell asleep before Shoghi Effendi's light went
out.17 After periods of intense work in Haifa,
Shoghi Effendi would depart for much needed rest. In 1926
he departed for Switzerland shortly after celebration of
the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh on 28 May, and was jointed
there by his mother and sister in August, the three
returning to Haifa together on October 15. Again, in June
1927, Shoghi Effendi rested in Switzerland in the company
of his sister.
Food was always cooked at the Master's house, and was
carried to the pilgrim house by Fujita and an Arab youth
who kept it hot on a blue-flame stove. Effie would then
inform Shoghi Effendi that all was ready, and notify the
pilgrims that the Guardian would partake lunch with them.
As they entered the room, Shoghi Effendi greeted each
pilgrim and assigned them their seats, choosing a
different one each day to sit at the head of the table
with him. He was always "humble, self-effacing, so
grateful and gracious". He asked Effie that she not
set him a place at the head of the table so that we would
not be considered superior by the visiting pilgrims. When
all were seated conversation started and many questions
were asked and answered. Some pilgrims came with
note-books and pencils:
Just before leaving, Shoghi Effendi would say
with a twinkle in his eye, "Friends, I
noticed some of you busy with note-book and
pencil. If you are forwarding the information to
the friends in America, just add a foot-note and
say: these are my impressions of what Shoghi
Effendi said during our table
conversations."18
Living in Haifa, Effie discovered Shoghi Effendi's
great sense of humour. Once when some Persian women came
for pilgrimage, complete with chadors (veils)
wrapped tightly across their faces, and bowed in response
to Shoghi Effendi's remarks without speaking, he
commented that, if they hadn't bowed at intervals, he
would not have known if he was speaking to their faces or
to their backs. Once when Shoghi Effendi came upon Effie
as she was changing the linen of a room in which a
pilgrim had stayed just one night, the Guardian made
inquiry as to what she was doing, and when told, remarked
"He slept in the bed for one night, and do you think
the Bahá'ís are dirty people?".19
Communicating with the Australian Bahá'ís
Effie’s correspondence with the Australian and
New Zealand Bahá'ís brought them into much closer
contact with the world centre of their Faith. Through her
they learnt more about the work of Shoghi Effendi and the
holy family, about events in other parts of the Bahá'í
world. At the end of her long letter of 23 December 1925,
for instance, she added:
I thought you might like to know how to
address envelopes to Greatest Holy Leaf, Holy
Mother and Holy Leaves: Bahíyyih Khánum,
Munírih Khánum,
To Holy Leaves:
Díyáíyyih Khánum - eldest daughter,
mother of Shoghi Effendi
Rúhá Khánum - 2nd daughter
Túbá Khánum - 3rd daughter
Munavvar Khánum - 4th daughter
Shoghi Effendi just likes Shoghi
Tragically, the daughters of `Abdu'l-Bahá and
Munírih Khánum, together with their children, later
betrayed their heritage by siding with `Abdu'l-Bahá's
avowed and sworn detractors and opponents, and Shoghi
Effendi had no choice but to name them as breakers of the
Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh.
Perhaps most importantly, Effie communicated with the
Australian Bahá'ís on such important matters as the
formation of a national administrative body. Before the
end of 1925 she conveyed to the Australian Bahá'ís the
Guardian's thoughts concerning the National Spiritual
Assembly they were seeking to establish. He had requested
her, she informed them, to write on his behalf to impress
on them the need for full consultation on the matter, and
for them all to then "cheerfully abide" by the
majority decision. He was not able at that time to give a
definite view regarding the formation of the National
body because he had not yet established regular
correspondence with the various Australasian Assemblies
and groups.
Effie's view, which she put gladly as a member of the
Melbourne Assembly (to which she had been elected in her
absence, in April), was that there was need, before
establishment of any National Body, for the Local
Assemblies to establish communication with Shoghi Effendi
and with each other. She did not consider the antipodean
community sufficiently strong to form a National body,
which would have been, if created, something of a
"weak edifice" among the other National
Assemblies established by that time. She called on the
Australian and New Zealand Bahá'ís to first foster
among themselves greater unity, and suggested that they
establish closer contact with the North American Bahá'í
community so as to become more familiar with Bahá'í
administration. Effie also instructed the Australians at
this time, on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, that each
individual believer was permitted to have a copy of
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament - but that it
was not to be published or given into the hands of those
"merely interested in the cause".20
In her long letter of 23 December 1925 Effie
wrote:
These last few weeks have brought me word from
various members of our Local Spiritual
Assemblies, each referring to the proposed
convention for the forming of a National
Spiritual Assembly for Australia. I have been
thinking and praying about it ever since I
received news that it was the intention of our
assemblies to give this election consideration.
Yesterday I was able to have a talk with our
Beloved Guardian and he wishes me to impress upon
you that it is very necessary that each assembly
and their group should consult with one another
upon this matter thoroughly and after
consultation if the majority decide as to its
formation the minority should cheerfully abide by
the majority's decision and be willing to give
its whole-hearted and cheerful support. If this
were not so then inharmony and discord would
arise and progress of the Cause arrested. You see
Shoghi Effendi is not able to give us very
definite advice on the matter for as yet he has
had no regular correspondence with the
representatives of our respective assemblies and
groups, and therefore is not advised as to their
functioning and activities. He wishes me to tell
you that daily he prays at the Holy Shrines on
your behalf. Being a member of one of your groups
in fact through your confidence in me one of the
chosen nine to form our Melbourne Local Assembly
I know you wish me to give my opinion, so I say
let us endeavour first to get our Local
Assemblies in true working order, connecting up
with our Beloved Guardian and giving him regular
information as to the work accomplished by our
individual groups. But if it is agreed to
undertake this vital issue, I recognise that
first consensus of opinion must be obtained from
the Local Spiritual Assemblies collectively and
whatever the majority decides, it is my desire to
abide by its decision and give my wholehearted
support. If we do not do that then we are not
obeying our Beloved Master or giving allegiance
to our Beloved Guardian. Disobedience to them is
disobedience to God. My dear brothers and sisters
the matter cannot be decided by a few it must be
agreed upon by the whole Bahá'í community of
Australia and New Zealand.
We are about to take a very large step in the
history of the Bahá'í Cause in Australia, and
each one of us must pray and give it our earnest
consideration. Let our steps be in the Light of
Guidance and not in the 'darkness of error' for
this is a matter of great importance, and not
only the present but the future to be considered.
We all know that the desire of our hearts is to
give our loving help and co-operation to our
Beloved Guardian. That being so we first as Local
Spiritual Assemblies must get in touch with him
and inform him of our activities regularly, so
that he may be able to have a clear idea of the
situation of the Bahá'í Movement in Australia
and New Zealand. Until this is done how can we
expect him to advise us on matters pertaining to
the Cause? We must, dear friends, deliberate
wisely and well upon this issue and view it from
every possible angle. Remember that a false step
taken by a toddling child injures and cripples it
for years, perhaps for life. We are now very
young cornstalks in the Bahá'í field. Have our
groups with their respective Assemblies grown
sufficiently yet to produce ears of corn? Are
those ears full and ripe to be ground in the mill
and produce good flour? To build a factory is not
enough. We must place in it machinery. Even that
is not enough. To progress we must apply the
power to the machinery, and then still go
further, feed that machinery with the necessary
material for the production of the article
required. Therefore our forming of the National
Spiritual Assembly is a great issue. It must not
be a mere figurehead, but must be a live body,
active and vigorous and so firmly built as to be
able to stand the stress of the years to come. It
must be raised on a firm basis to be a help to
our Beloved Guardian, otherwise it will be a
burden and a hindrance. Let us not be over-eager
or too impatient in this matter, and as we think
and talk about it remember these words of
`Abdu'l-Bahá: "Have beautiful patience in
the path of thy Glorious Lord" Also the
motto "Be prepared". Be assured that
our Beloved Guardian and all the Holy Family are
offering their prayers on our behalf, that we may
be guided rightly in our deliberations. Humbly
and sincerely (though I feel so unworthy) I offer
up my Supplications at the Holy Shrines on your
behalf and mine for our guidance. If we are to
help our Beloved Guardian we must be united in
all that we do. In the "Hidden Words"
Bahá'u'lláh says "My Unity is My strength,
I have designed it for thee. Attire thyself
therewith that thou mayest be to all eternity the
revelation of My Eternal Being".
Australia means "The Land of the
Dawning". May the Spiritual Dawning which is
now enveloping her, burst ere long, into a
radiant morn, and that morn into a perfect day.
Let us not make clouds and veils by our deeds and
actions to obscure the "Sun of Truth"
that at present is flooding its rays of pure
light upon us. ...
Now my dear friends Shoghi Effendi has given
me permission to tell you that each true
and firm believer may have for him or
herself a copy of the Master's Will and
Testament. It is only to be given into the hands
of the true and firm believers, and
he enjoins you not to publish or take extracts
from it, or give it into the hands of people that
are only interested in the Cause. This, dear
friends, is to us a great privilege and bounty.
Regard this precious document as a sacred trust,
and let each believer guard and keep it safely,
by following our Beloved Guardian's wishes
regarding it.
You will be glad to hear that work has been
commenced to finish the New Pilgrims House, and
if all goes well it should be completed early
next year. Shoghi Effendi is having at present
the gardens extended at the Holy Tomb, and lovely
as it is now, in a little while it will be more
so. They are being extended at the back of the
Holy Tomb, round about the clump of ten cyprus
trees, where Bahá'u'lláh sat and rested and
revealed a tablet. We are having very little
rain, and it is needed badly. Yesterday while
walking on Carmel with Munavvar Khánum
(`Abdu'l-Bahá's youngest daughter) I found the
first cyclamen flower for the season. Carmel will
(they tell me) be covered with flowers in a few
months time. I shall have the pleasure of seeing
it so.
Once again I wish to assure you of our Beloved
Guardian's prayers for us all and that he is
eagerly awaiting news from each Assembly and
Group, so that he may become acquainted with you
and have knowledge of your progress. He sends you
his warm love and greetings. The Greatest Holy
Leaf, the Holy Mother, and Holy Leaves especially
requested me to convey on their behalf warm love
and greetings to you, and tell you they are
always so glad to hear news about you all. I send
my love and ask you dear brothers and sisters
this coming year to try and fulfil that command
of Bahá'u'lláh "Let it now be seen what
your endeavours in the path of detachment will
reveal".
Ever in His Name, your loving sister and
co-worker, Effie E. Baker.
Through this important initial correspondence between
Effie and the Local Spiritual Assemblies in Sydney,
Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Auckland, the Bahá'ís
understood that they were not sufficiently prepared for
the successful establishment of a National Assembly.
Clara wrote to Greta Lamprill that Effie was:
doing this work for Shoghi Effendi - what a
beautiful thing this is for Australia, we have as
it were an ambassador at the court to instruct us
- she sent us a private letter too - so now we
know there is no need of thinking of a National
Spiritual Assembly until all the assemblies are
formed and working in unison as he instructs in
Effie's letter.21
Writing to the Perth Assembly, Clara repeated the
metaphor:
Please write regularly to Effie - she is your
headquarters - not father and mother - we are
only pioneers and one of yourselves - Effie is
our ambassador at the court of our young
Spiritual King.22
The wisdom of Effie's advice offered on behalf of the
Guardian soon became apparent, as many of the first local
Assemblies decreased in numbers and impetus through the
years of the depression. When the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand
was eventually established in 1934, a mere three Local
Assemblies - Sydney, Adelaide and Auckland - could muster
sufficient numbers of Bahá'ís prepared to forego all
allegiances to their former creeds and religions, and to
offer complete fidelity to the Guardianship of Shoghi
Effendi.
Conversations with Jenab-i-Fazel
Effie wrote extensive and descriptive letters home
with such apparent ease that we momentarily forget the
incredible circumstances in which she wrote. Although her
days were filled, as her letters attest, with demanding
physical tasks, she quested in her leisure hours for new
knowledge of her Faith, which she shared enthusiastically
with her compatriots. Reading her now, we acquiesce to
her conviction that her presence in Haifa was a joyous
journey of learning, during which the physical demands
cost less than the intellectual and spiritual rewards.
The extent to which Effie managed to glean new
information from older and more experienced Bahá'ís, at
the same time that she fulfilled her many tasks
maintaining the Pilgrim hostel, was remarkable. In 1925
she conveyed to the Australian Bahá'ís such information
gleaned from listening to Jenabi Fadl as the meanings of
the terms Allah'u'abha and Ya Baha-el-Abha
(sic); the reason why the Báb's number was nineteen; and
clarification of the meaning of the "universal
temple" - especially since the description given
them by Martha Root proved to be quite fanciful.
The Greatest Name
"I want to tell you about a talk I had
with Mirza Jenabi Fazel on the significance of
the greatest name, and I find that for our beads
we should use Allah'u'abha and not "Ya
Baha-el-abha". This is how he explained it:-
The Greatest Name is the word
"Baha". It means "Glory", and
its numerical value is nine, which means
"perfection".
"Allah'u'abha" means "Glory of
glories" and is the form of worship, and is
therefore used with the beads, being repeated 95
times in the morning first thing. The repeating
being for firmness in the Bahá'í Faith and that
is written by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitab-l-akdas,
where he says every one must sit down and turning
their face to the place of the Manifestation of
God repeat the Greatest Name 95 times, and it is
also to be used in the time of asking assistance
or help of God. "Ya" means Oh" and
when we wish to worship God we would not say Oh!
Lord! If anyone opposes us `Abdu'l-Bahá says say
Ya Baha-el abha, when going about our work say it
but Allah'u'abha is the form to use for the beads
and is the form of worship. In the time of the
Báb four forms were used as greetings:
1. Allah'u'akbar. God is greatest.
2. Allah'u'A'zam " " "
3. Allah'u'Agmal (pronounced
Adye-mal.) God is most beautiful
4. Allah'u'Abha Glory of Glories.
Bahá'u'lláh chose the fourth form.23
The Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
Effie's conversations with Jenabe Fazel also informed
her as to the future structure and functions of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár.
She had related to him a description of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
given the Australian Bahá'ís by Martha Root. They were
led to understand that the nine doors to the Universal
Temple were to lead to nine interior chapels. At seven of
these worship was to be offered according to the ritual
of the great religious traditions. The rituals of New
Thought, Theosophy, and other modern religions, would be
allowed the other two chapels. At the centre of the
auditorium would be raised galleries from where some
3,000 children would sing praises to God. This account
much amused Fazel, who pointed out that it was "a
very nice explanation but purely imagination". He
then offered an explanation, which Effie transcribed and
passed on to the Dunns:
The idea of the Universal Temple is given by
or written down in the Kitab-el Akdas by
Bahá'u'lláh and He says in every city a very
high and beautiful Temple of worship should be
built in the name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár.
It is to be entirely without decoration or
pictures or statues etc. There the people will
worship God in the morning and evening and
`Abdu'l-Bahá in some of his talks about the
temple explained it will have nine doors, nine
avenues, 9 gardens, etc. All different religions
and races can enter from every door and praise
God (there will be no raised platform) under its
dome. The significance of the nine doors, gardens
etc, is because nine is the perfect number and
the number of the greatest name. All people are
permitted to enter any door. If it were
restricted to different doors leading into
chapels for the different religions, etc, it
would at once mean separation and be contrary to
the Bahá'í principle of universality which the
teaching of Bahá'u'lláh aims at establishing.24
Effie realised that it was important for her to
establish the correct statements on such matters, and
convey them to the Australian Bahá'ís before incorrect
notions gain wide acceptance. In May 1926 she wrote a
circular letter, to the Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and
Sydney Assemblies, to the Hobart Friends, and to the New
Zealand Assembly:
My dear friends and Co Workers, I ask you to
forgive my long silence but in the work that has
entailed with the moving into the new Pilgrim
House it being only in a half finished state when
we entered I haven't realised how quickly the
weeks have gone. I will endeavour now that we are
getting a little head way with the work to try
and correspond more frequently. The days of the
Ridvan have come and past, being to Bahá'ís a
time of joy and importance for firstly they
commemorate the dawning of the Sun of Truth for
this new age whose vivifying rays leave already
awakened the dead spirit of the World into fresh
activity and as we celebrate the Feast to
commemorate that memorable day 21st April 1863 we
remember that once more the Glory of God was made
manifest on Earth.
We who embrace the Bahá'í Faith and desire
to partake in its Promulgation and administration
must endeavour to keep it free from limitation
and Separateness, must ever see that by our
personal thoughts and ideas we do not limit its
unlimitlessness and cause this Great Era of
Universality which Bahá'u'lláh has ushered in
to lose its true objective, that is, the unifying
of the People of the World both in spiritual
thought and material progression into the
recognition of the One True God so that all
National Political social and religious prejudice
may be eliminated and the one great brotherhood
of the world established. Secondly, they are
important for the various groups of Friends
partake in the fresh election of their Local
Spiritual Assembly that group of nine members
entrusted to administrate faithfully and
sincerely the activities of their respective
groups and I trust each group has given due
recognition to this important feature and that in
due time our Beloved Guardian will receive
reports and affirmations so that he may be
acquainted with the representative body elected
by each coming year. In former letters I have
mentioned that our Guardian desires to hear from
you individually as well as collectively as he
thinks it is (at the present time) essential for
him to have that phase in the Cause, but when
writing I personally ask you dear Friends to word
your letters as concisely as possible, expressing
in few words your love and appreciation
eliminating long details of personal troubles and
ideas, etc.
Such letters take so much of his valuable time
in reading and you cannot imagine what an almost
superhuman task the vital problems and
perplexities of the Cause that he has to ponder
over from day to day are. I am so anxious that
Australia will take up the work for the Cause
with the true spirit of Self effacement,
reliance, ardour, fervour and reasonableness in
all matters, that the Friends will ever bring -
as `Abdu'l-Bahá enjoins in his last Will and
Testament - joy and gladness to our Beloved
Guardian's heart, by being able to send in
faithfully reports of the true solidarity amongst
the Friends. Overzealousness and eagerness though
is sometimes more a retarding than a progressive
factor. Let our deeds be a reflection of our
words but see that our words are of God. The only
thing that is going to bring about the right
working conditions is the true spirit of self
sacrifice pervading the hearts of the believers
which will cause self effacement, humbleness,
sincerity and faithfulness to be the outstanding
characteristics of our lives....(23 May 1926)
Early in the year she reported to the Australians and
New Zealanders that Shoghi Effendi had received from the
North American Bahá'ís a "plan of unified action
to spread the Bahá'í Cause". The Perth Bahá'ís
inquired of the American National Assembly whether they
could be involved in the plan, only to have it explained
to them that the plan was essentially for the Americans.25
Margaret Stevenson, writing to the Bahá'ís of New York
in September 1926, reported:
In Effie Baker's last circular letter from
Haifa, she tells us that our beloved Guardian was
taking a much needed vacation and we trust he
will return much refreshed in body and spirit. We
are always pleased to hear from Effie any news of
the Holy Household".26
Maysie Almond reported for the Adelaide Assembly:
We are happy to hear of the activities of the
various groups as such knowledge cheers and
encourages. Letters often come from our sister
Effie Baker, of the pilgrim house Haifa, giving
news of the work and workers there, and loving
thoughts and messages from the Holy family.27
Pilgrims and other visitors
Bahá'ís came to visit the Holy Land from all parts
of the globe. Most came for short periods, either on
pilgrimage, or to assist the Guardian with one or other
special assignment. In December 1925, shortly after Effie
returned to Haifa from a break, American Bahá'ís Dr
Susan Moody and Mrs Adelaide Sharp visited from Persia,
where they operated a school for girls. On 11 November
1926 Effie wrote in a circular letter to the Australian
Bahá'ís:
Yesterday we had a young American lady and her
mother to dine with us. She has been sent by the
St. Stephen College, Missouri, to investigate the
various Religious Movements in the East, so she
came to see Shoghi Effendi. She was a very nice
girl and showed that she was spiritual as well as
intellectual, and it was very interesting to hear
her speak on the new broad methods they are
trying out in their College. They have been
observing the students to ascertain whether they
have any spiritual trend or whether they are void
of it, and they find that they are really
spiritually inclined, but this is the time when
Religion must go hand in hand with Science. They
have been working along the lines of a broad and
sane interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount,
and their endeavour has been to try and urge a
student to go back to his community and put
vitality into it. They certainly have received
the rays of the Sun of Truth, not knowing from
whence they come. Probably after her interview
with Shoghi Effendi this morning, she may be able
to recognise the source.
Ruhi Effendi and I represented the Bahá'í
Community at the Service held at the little War
Memorial here to commemorate Armistice Day, and
on behalf of Shoghi Effendi placed a wreath on
the Cenotaph, also a wreath of Gum leaves for the
28 Australian and the one New Zealander who lie
there.
Miss. Hoagg leaves for Italy on Saturday
morning. We shall miss her very much.
Shoghi Effendi received a copy of the
"Herald of the South" this week, and he
was very pleased with it, and urges its' editors
to try and develop and expand its scope. He was
pleased to see that the friends in Australia and
New Zealand are corresponding with other
countries.
Today, we celebrate, according to Mohammadan
calendar, the declaration of the Báb and the
Birthday of the Master. We will visit the Holy
Tomb this afternoon. Shoghi Effendi went and
spent the night at Bahjí. I wish to ask the
friends if they send any papers to Shoghi
Effendi, to please mark the article they think he
would like to see and if possible underline the
paragraph that has any bearing on the Movement.
He spends so much of his valuable time searching
over papers to see what the friends have sent
them for. You have no idea what a stupendous task
it is to cope with his mail. Personally I think
it is better not to forward papers unless they
have something vital pertaining to the Cause.
Shoghi Effendi was pleased with the reference
to the persecutions in Persia written by Mr.
Brewer and also the article (I think Mrs Blundell
sent me the paper containing it) in the Auckland
paper which gave Martha Root's account. He has
forwarded the reports to the Tehran Assembly.
I trust that you are all keeping together in a
united little band and doing your utmost to
assimilate and put into practice these teachings
which are certainly the solvent for today's
problems.
As yet we have had no rain, and it is badly
needed now. The gardens at the Holy Tomb are
getting more beautiful every day and should in a
short time be full of bloom.
Effie's residence in Haifa not only brought the
Australian community into closer contact with happenings
there, but allowed the Bahá'ís in Haifa, as well as
Shoghi Effendi, to learn of conditions in Australia.
Acting as secretary for Shoghi Effendi in 1927, Ethel
Rosenberg wrote to the Perth community:
Our dear Effie Baker tells us that Perth is
not only a very beautiful place but extremely
healthy and we therefore hope that residence
there for a few months will be of much benefit to
Mrs Dunn's health - Effie Baker and Fujita thank
you for your kind messages to them - they both
continue their devoted service here for the
Guardian.28
Bahá'í Holy Days
Effie visited the Shrine of the Bab on Sunday
afternoons. On Holy Days, she joined the other Bahá'ís
resident in Haifa, as well as any visitors, in special
observances at the Shrines in Haifa, or otherwise at
Bahjí. When Effie described for the Australian Bahá'ís
the celebration of Holy Days in Haifa she both educated
and inspired them, for the Australians were grasping for
understanding of their new religion, and Effie's
communications assisted them in gaining a feel for the
spiritual and administrative heart of their faith.
#Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh
In 1926 she wrote to describe the commemoration of the
Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, held on 12 May. The vivid
picture of this solemn and dignified occasion conveyed in
her account must have enchanted the Australian Bahá'ís:
I want to tell you about our visit to Bahjí
to commemorate the night of the ascension of
Bahá'u'lláh which took place on the 28th. of
May 1892. Most of the Friends went during the
day-time to the Holy Shrine. Shoghi Effendi
accompanied by the Greatest Holy Leaf and the
Holy Mother left by car at dusk. I went with
Munavvar Khánum and our American guests
and Ruhi Effendi at 9 p.m. In three-quarters of
an hour we were at the Holy Tomb. Bathed in the
silvery light of the moon and bright with many
electric lights it was a wonderful sight as we
approached. Looking across the Bay of Akka one
could see a myriad of lights, just as if the
stars had come to spend a night on earth. This
denoted Haifa situated on the slopes of Mount
Carmel. With our Beloved Guardian the men
believers were sitting out in the beautiful
little garden facing towards the Holy Tomb. At
intervals they chanted singly and in chorus. The
ladies of the Holy Household and all of us
visited the Holy Shrines silently. Praying and
meditating until nearly the hour of the departure
of Bahá'u'lláh. I went out into the garden at
midnight and sitting behind a screen of green
shrubs listened to our Beloved Guardian chanting
in sweet melodious tones, his face radiant with
the light of love and devotion upon it. The
ladies during the early hours of the morning
retired to an ante-chamber off the inner garden.
As the hour approached when the Spirit of
"Him whom God made manifest" took its
flight to the realms of the Abha Kingdom our
Beloved Guardian entered the inner garden which
was so full of light and luminosity from the many
electric bulbs. Surely a fitting symbol of the
"Great Sun of Truth" which had arisen
and shed its vivifying rays for this "New
Age". Followed by the men believers, in
great humility and reverence, he approached, and
kneeling placed his forehead upon the threshold
of the Holy Shrine, then for a moment prayed
silently. It was such a solemn, reverent, and
inspiring time. At the hour of the passing our
beloved Guardian stood and chanted the
"Tablet of Visitation" and the night's
Holy Vigil ended. We then departed, reaching
Haifa at early dawn. I think it would be a great
help and inspiration, if, on the night of the
Ascension, you could possibly come together, and
celebrate this solemn occasion, by keeping this
Holy Vigil.29
By describing such events in detail, Effie sought to
convey to the Australian community something of the
spiritual atmosphere which prevailed in Haifa. At other
times, her purpose was to convey knowledge of the Faith
which she gleaned from the Persian Bahá'ís resident in
Haifa, or from Shoghi Effendi.
While retaining this vital link with the progress of
the Bahá'í community in her home country, Effie
gradually settled into domestic and social life in Haifa.
At one time she and Ruhi Effendi represented the
Bahá'ís at an Armistice Day service at Haifa's war
cemetery, and placed a wreath of gum-leaves on the
cenotaph to honour the 28 Australians and one New
Zealander who lay buried there. From 1927 she spent two
afternoons each week assisting Dr Cotching, a
"charming English woman", care for some 191
babies at Haifa's Infant Welfare Centre, which had been
established in 1925 by the English residents of Haifa who
sought to counter the illiteracy and superstitions of
Arab mothers:
We meet with some very sad cases, where the
children are under nourished on account of
poverty. As yet our funds are slender, but we do
what we can to give relief to these children, by
providing milk tickets for them. Mrs Cotching has
found it hard to get suitable workers, many
promised to help, came for a few weeks, then left
off. When the President of the Centre told her I
had offered my services, she was rather dubious
about having me, but as she was in desperate need
of someone, she told Mrs Abrahams to send me
along. Last week Dr told me this, then she said
"you are a god send to me! I find you a
doer, not a talker." In this way we can show
to outsiders that Bahá'ís are willing to
cooperate with those who are rendering loving
service to their fellow men, for we have
perceived the lamp from whence the light is
pouring. They too have seen its rays, and by
trying to mirror forth its pure light in our
lives, maybe they will perceive the source of
these life-giving rays also.30
When Túbá's husband Mirza Mohsin died in 1927 his
was the first Bahá'í burial in Palestine. This
breakthrough in recognition of Bahá'í laws followed the
decision of an Egyptian court that Bahá'ís were not
Muslims. It allowed for the burial of Bahá'ís without
the reading a Muslim service by a Mufti. Effie shared
with Bahá'í News a description of Mirza Mohsen
Afnan's funeral, relating its significance as the first
fully Bahá'í funeral service, which was not required by
law to include Muslim rites.31
#Earthquake
An earthquake in Haifa in July of 1927 caused
excitement, trepidation and devastation across Palestine.
The quake razed one hundred houses in Akka, and homes in
the Bahá'í village of Addassia, in Transjordan, near
the shores of the sea of Galilee, were badly damaged. The
quake caused its most serious damage in Nablus, a
historic town mid-way from Haifa to Jerusalem. It was the
town, Effie informed her Australian friends in a graphic
depiction of conditions immediately the quake, known as
Shechem, which was associated with the oldest period of
Jewish settlement in Palestine, the place where Abraham
first pitched his tent and set up an alter. Many ancient
buildings and churches had been damaged, and there was
not a whole street left in the town. Some 250 dead had
been removed, another 500 were injured, and thousands
were now homeless. Workmen had had to pour "gallons
of phenyle upon the ruins" before they could
commence their work. Effie had been at the Infant Welfare
Centre, preparing to weigh a baby, when:
there seemed a sudden rush of wind, then I
felt myself swaying back and forth, I looked out
of the window and the building in front seemed to
be rocking also. It lasted about ten seconds. I
was wondering what was going to happen to our
room, and didn't realise it was an earthquake
till Mrs Cotching, our medical officer said so.
She really thought our building would collapse.
Some of the Arab women waiting their turn, rushed
into the room, they were so afraid. We little
dreamed then how severe it had been in other
places.32
It was always important to Effie to receive news or
gifts from home. Muhammad Mustapha, the young man who
worked in the Telegraph Department at Port Said whom
Effie had first met when she passed through Egypt at the
beginning of 1925, visited Haifa each year, and assisted
Effie in sending letters and parcels to Australia.
Herbert Webb of Perth supplied 19 shrubs and herbs
which the West Australian Department of Agriculture felt
would suit the climate of Palestine, for planting with
the first autumn rains. At the prompting of Maysie
Almond, assemblies sent books and magazines. When the
Dunns suggested to the Sydney Assembly in 1927 that they
send Effie a "love gift", the community
responded by raising four pounds. Melbourne Assembly sent
3 pounds 2/6.
Effie would have loved to greet some Australians in
Haifa. Margaret Dixson planned to travel from Melbourne,
but was unable to; Mrs Henderson, another Melbourne
Bahá'í, visited Canada and England without journeying
to Haifa: Effie hoped that the Dunns could one day visit.
Occasionally, someone would send a copy of Sydney's Illustrated
Mail, or a South Australian paper, from which she
could get a feel for events. "I am always glad to
hear news from the friends", Effie wrote to one
friend in 1927,
"for one seems shut off from the rest of
the world here and is almost in ignorance of what
is happening in other parts, and it is only
rarely that a paper of any kind comes to hand. My
uncle has been sending me the illustrated paper
with the accounts of the visit of the Duke and
Duchess of York to Australia. What festivities
you've all been indulging in and a right royal
welcome met them in every state. I'm sure that
the personal contact with the members of the
Royal family does more than all the
representatives of the nation put together to
bring about the bond of affection and loyalty
between the motherland and her dominions.33
Civil events in Palestine were not as encouraging:
29.6.27
Dear Friends and Co-Workers,
I am taking a few hours off, to try to cope
with my piled up correspondence. A hot wind is
blowing today, much to the danger of the gardens,
as there is not sufficient water to keep them
moist; already the lawns are burnt. I thank the
dear friends for the illustrated papers that have
come to hand. Mrs Wilkins sent the Illustrated
Mail from Sydney, and I've received a South
Australian paper with illustrations of the visit
of the Duke and Duchess [of York]. I felt a
longing to fly home. At present Palestine is
suffering from a financial crisis and there is
much unemployment. Strikes are prevalent amongst
the Jewish element; a number of Bolsheviks from
Russia are always making trouble; the Arabs
dislike the Jews intensely. Please convey my
thanks to everybody for all the little acts of
kindness that come my way and forgive me if I do
not write personally for I have little time to
spare for correspondence. Shoghi Effendi is
feeling the benefit of his holiday, Ruhi Effendi
will attend Green Acre this year. The members of
the Holy Family send you all love and greetings.
I pray for you all that you may be helped and
blessed in Service to the Cause,
Effie34
Late in 1927 conditions in Haifa were hard, as winter
approached. There had been an influx of Jews from Russia,
but little work to be had. Disgruntled, many of the new
arrivers were demonstrating against British rule.
"Many people think the next war will start in these
regions."35 Haifa's religious activities,
unlike its civil tensions, were to Effie a constant
spectacle:
We have come to regard Australia as the home
of strikes, I think we can say Palestine is the
home of religious feasts and holidays. The
English being in occupation, the King's birthday,
State, and even ecclesiastical holidays are
observed. The Jews and Moslems, Christian Arabs,
and English, Greek Orthodox, and Greek Catholic,
each hold Feast and Fast days. A great procession
will go to the Monastery which contains the cave
of Elijah (which `Abdu'l-Bahá says is
authentic). Hundreds of people spend the night on
the mountains, and then picnic the whole day, the
men being usually incapable with arrac, at the
end of the day.36
Haifa's climate was extremely difficult. By June of
each year, the hot winds were blowing, water was in short
supply, the grass burnt, and the gardens in much danger.
Summer was a time of enervating heat, with each year
worst than the last. A hot wind known as the
"sirocco" blew across Haifa from the desert.
There were mosquitoes and gnats. At this time each year
Effie's head "throbbed" with pain.
Pilgrims
The constant flow of pilgrims brought Effie immense
joy and made all her labours worthwhile. In March 1926
she met Mrs Bessie Rischbeith, an Australian Theosophist,
accompanied by Mrs Kitching, a South African who had
assisted Dr Seton establish the New Thought centres in
Australia; and she met Victoria Bedekian, promoted
Bahá'í childrens' "fellowship gardens" in
different countries of the world. In May Juliet Thompson,
Mrs Smythe of Boston and Miss Mary Maxwell from Montreal
were present. In September 1926 she met Mrs Emogene
Hoagg, an early San Francisco Bahá'í then living in
Florence in Italy, who knew the Dunns before their
arrival in Australia. Mrs Hoagg travelled via Paris, and
accompanied to Haifa Shoghi Effendi's cousin Maryam and
sister Merhanguez, who had been stuying in Paris for four
years.
In September 1926 Mrs Jean Bolles, the sister-in-law
of May Maxwell, together with her young son, visited
unexpectedly en route from Paris to North America. Effie
took the opportunity to visit the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh
with them, so that she could pray for the refreshment and
spiritual vigor of the Australian Bahá'ís.37
In December 1926 Miss Storey, an English woman of
independent means who ran the "Quo Vadis
bookshop" in Geneva, and who had recently heard of
the Faith from Mrs Stannard in Geneva, arrived
accompanied by Mrs Nourse, an American Bahá'í.38
Mountford Mills, Dr Hippolite Dreyfus, Mrs Slade and
Mrs Rosenberg had also arrived, the latter in time to
make a Christmas tree for the children. Mills and
Dreyfus, who had both been in Haifa to assist Shoghi
Effendi, had left by late January 1927, leaving him once
more in need of a good secretary. Also Mrs Rosenberg
remained to assist Shoghi Effendi until May 1927. The
Guardian's sister Ruhangiz also gave some secretarial
support, but his need was for someone who could assist
competently in dealing with both Eastern and Western
Bahá'í communities.
2 June 1927
Dear Friends and Co-workers,
Many Persian pilgrims were here for the
celebration of the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh on
Friday last 28th of May. Only the men pilgrims
visited the Bahjí this year. Shoghi Effendi was
ill for a fwe days, but he kept the vigil at the
Holy Tomb on Friday evening. He left for his
vacation on Tuesday evening and I trust he will
be able to rest a little. It was very interesting
to hear Mrs Schopflocher relate her experiences
about the places and people she visited in India
and Persia. Martha Root has visited Prague,
Norway and Sweden, always giving the message,
attending also the Esperanto Congress in Danzig.
The Weather is beginning to get warm now.
Fujita and I, now we have no guests, will
leave off work to carry bricks, so as to get the
place in order for the new furniture, the
contract for 8 bedroom suites has been given. It
seems quite a time since I had news from
Australia. I send you love and greetings from the
Family, and assure of their earnest prayers on
your behalf. I always remember you all in my
prayers, and send you much love,
Ever in His Name,
Your loving Sister and Co-worker,
Effie
With no pilgrims to care for for a number of weeks,
Effie and Fujita contentrated on completing the new
pilgrim house. She made 14 pairs of curtains, and dyed
them "art shades" in keeping with the
calcimimed walls, and the new furniture. Mrs Lorel
Schopflocher arrived in June 1927, and told of her visits
to the Bahá'í communities of India and Persia; her
husband, Freddie Schopflocher arrived the following
January 4th (1928); Mrs Corrine True arrived with her
daughter Edna in October 1927, as did Mrs Moffitt, and Dr
and Mrs Slater from Chicago. Others to arrive in 1927
included Julia Culver and Dr Sabine, together with her
daughter.
16 November 1927
My Dear friends and co-workers,
... All the friends expressed delight at the
work done, and thought all was in good taste, so
we were glad. It was rather an anxious time for
me doing it all alone, but everyone seems pleased
and satisfied. I am glad the weather has become a
little cooler. It has been such a moist heat, and
makes one feel very tired. There has been a big
out-break of Cholera in Baghdad, and they are
very strict with people entering Palestine now at
the Quarentine Office. The Persians coming here
are having a hard time to get across the border.
I expect there will not be so many present (on
account of this) at the Commemoration of the
Ascension of the Master. Our last pilgrim left
last week, so I am improving the shining hours,
by resting in bed. There is an epidemic of fever
in Haifa: I decided to join in the happy throung.
Today I feel every so much better, temperature
normal. It was 102 for four days. Dr Cotching has
been very kind to us, but says I must not get up
yet.
Effie was particularly happy to welcome Mrs True, as
she had been the first to greet the Australian and New
Zealand pilgrims when they arrived at the steps of the
pilgrim house in Haifa two years earlier. Corrine True
wrote her from Wilmette many years later:
It is long since I have had any direct word
from you but I am thinking of you so many times,
and all the lovely kindnesses you bestowed upon
me and Edna and Katherine while we were visiting
in the Holy Land.39
Effie had heard a rumour that Queen Marie of Rumania
was to visit Haifa, Akka and Jerusalem. The rumour proved
true, but the dowager Queen, a daughter of Queen
Victoria, who had embraced the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in
...., was thwarted in her attempt to visit Haifa by the
political officials who controlled her diary.
There seemed little prospect of returning soon to
Australia: "[Bahíyyih] Khánum says I can't
go back", Effie reported to friends in, "you
all have to come and see me".
When the last pilgrims left in November 1927, Effie
contracted dengue fever.
At the beginning of 1928 Mr and Mrs McDaniel visited
from the United States, Mr Van Patten from New York; and
Miss Storey arrived from Geneva. Following the overnight
train-journey that pilgrims generally took to reach Haifa
from Egypt, the McDaniels were met by Effie:
‘Please feel that this is your home, that
we are here to serve and make you happy, and
while here you are the guests of Shoghi
Effendi’. Shcu were the kindly words that
greeted us on our arrival at the Bahá'í Pilgrim
House. ‘And perhaps you know that this
building was designed by one American Bahá'í
and built through the generosity of other
American Bahá'ís’. After several weeks of
continual journeying over sea and land, with its
exactions and annoyances of drafty cabins, cold,
cheerless hotel rooms, bills, tips, and fees,
this home seemed a sanctuary of rest.
12 May 1928
My Dear Friends and Co-Workers:
The summer has come in earnest and it has been
so hot for the past few weeks. Twice we have had
three or four days with the sirocco blowing (the
hot wind from the desert) and it is dreadful. My
head has been aching a good deal lately. I think
it must be the heat. You dare not go outside
without a covering on your head here. We have
been expecting Mrs Schopflocher here for the past
few weeks from Persia but she hasn't arrived so
far. Maybe she has gone on to India. There have
been new regulations enforced in Persia lately
and it isn't easy for the friends to come on a
pilgrimage so we didn't have so many here for the
days of the Ridvan. No Western guests were here
this year at all. Shoghi Effendi came over to see
me for a few moments the last day of the Ridvan
and he was enquiring about the friends, and about
the Herald of the South. He was wondering if it
was still being published, as it seems some time
since he had a copy. He was greatly cheered by
the news of the successful Convention held by the
American friends at Chicago and the raising of
$40,000 towards the Temple and the pledge of the
friends to make an effort in the next year to try
to raise the £300,000 estimated in the budget
plan, so that the first story may be completed.
....I do not see very much of Shoghi Effendi
when no guests are here. He is mostly in his room
coping with his correspondence and only goes out
for a walk towards evening to visit the Holy
Shrine and see the gardens. Sometimes he cannot
do that if he has a heavy mail. Khánum
and the family are well. I saw Shoghi Effendi
just a moment this afternoon and he asked me to
convey his love to you and says he wishes to hear
from you all. I don't think he has had any news
for a long time.
In some years lack of rain through the winter months
severely effected food crops, and threatened many with
famine. Effie's efforts to assist the poor are recorded
in a letter written by Clara Dunn to the Bahá'ís of
Perth at the beginning of 1928:
14 February 1928
....Last week we had a letter from Maysie
Almod asking us if we as an assembly would think
of something taht would help to gladden Effie
Baker's heart - and send her some books and
magazines as Maysie said she is still human
enough to love her own country and all the
Australian people - she often tells us in private
letters she is lonely for news of the affairs of
the assemblies and would sometimes love to fly
back and see us all - she said she was so
thankful for the four pounds we sent her to buy a
sack of rice for the very poor - felt she was
longing fro some money of her own to spend on the
poor. She comes into touch with them doing clinic
work in Haifa. We have had a talk about it in
this assembly [Sydney] and are sending her some
good Austarlian magazines and American ones - I
am sure she will be glad of some news from her
own country...
Effie remained ill throughout 1928, and caused her
friends much concern. Grace Challis wished to have her in
England, while Miss Storey, who presented Effie with a
gramophone wished to take her to Geneva.40 In
need of three months rest, Effie left Haifa for
Alexandria on 6 July. Eight days later she was in Geneva,
"very worn, very thin, very eager to meet the
friends but too fatigued to go to them".41
She wrote to Gretta Lamprill on 8 August:
Miss Storey met me at Lausanne and as I was so
ill and worn out she decided to leave me in a
"rest home" there instead of taking me
on to Geneva. I stayed at the rest home three
weeks and last Sunday she brought me up to her
little cottage. It is such a charming little home
and the view from the verandah and windows are
magnificent. One can see the lake, the Rhine
Valley with the river flowing down it and
entering the lake and surrounding all the alps.
Some of the peaks eternally snow-capped and
glistening in the sunshine.
We are having exceptionally hot weather they
say in Switzerland, but everywhere is so
delightfully green. Such a contrast to hot and
arid Palestine at this time of the year, I am so
thankful to escape it. The climate was telling on
me a bit. I had been working without cessation
for three years and the heat in Haifa is so humid
and enervating. However, I hope that I will
return refreshed and invigorated to carry on the
work after this lovely vacation. I wish to thank
you and all the good friends for their kindness
in sending me the money which I shal duly
receive. It has to go to Jerusalem first and will
be send on to me from there. Fujita will forward
the notice on to me and all I will have to do is
sign it and he can get it and forward it to me. I
am very grateful for it ('though I do not look
for any monetary reward for my services) as I
have many stamps etc to purchase. I am afraid I
have been rather much to blame about the
cessation of letters. I had let my correspondence
slide a little but I was really not well and did
not have the energy to write after my work was
done, I was glad to go to bed. I've never
regained my strength since I had that attack of
fever just before Xmas. I am only six stone eight
pounds now but hope to regain some of my lost
weight during this rest. I trust that all is
going on well with your group. I had a postcard
from Martha forwarded on with this. She is in
Brussels evidently. I expect to see quite a
number of Bahá'ís in Geneva in September. I
will be returning on the 29th of September and
will reach Haifa on 4th October.
While in Switzerland Effie met up with Martha Root and
Julia Culver, who had just returned from an Esperanto
conference at Antwerp. Grace Challis arranged for her to
travel to England for two weeks, where she stayed first
with Miss Philipps, a woman from Adelaide with whom
Sydney Bahá'í Charlotte Moffitt always stayed when in
England. She then visited Claudia Stuart Coles and Grace
Challis. To Claudia, Effie seemed "all spirit
...frail, but indomitable, and deeper and deeper in her
faith and realisation".42 Effie Returned
to Haifa 31 October.
1929
In 1929 Mrs Rischbeith made a second visit to Haifa,
at the same time as Miss A.W. Henny, an international
lawyer from Holland. Ruhi Effendi, who had spent almost
one year in America (1927-), was to leave with Shoghi
Effendi for the continent.
Walter Guy was another of the Bahá'ís on pilgrimage
in 1929. He returned to his home to pen an essay about
his experiences, which concluded:
The time of departure had come. The Guardian
gave me the threefold embrace and words for the
friends. Faithful Fugeta holding my hand, we went
together down the narrow wayt through the
straight gate on Carmel's slope that leads to the
Shrines which speak so eloquently of Life
Eternal. We passed over barren rocks and through
dark ways till we came to the Western Pilrim
House, a home of sacrifice and loving service;
from thence early next day to travel homeward to
service and work in the vineyard of human hearts.
The Pilgrimage ended and work begun.43
About the end of November 1929 Martha Root came to
Haifa. She had been in Egypt, then travelled to Palestine
to interview British officials and religious leaders in
Jerusalem before spending a month as guest of Shoghi
Effendi. On Christmas day she travelled to Damascus,
before moving further east.44 Effie departed
with her (it seems, for she went somewhere on 25
December, and returned to Palestine on 30 December).
During the years 1923-29 Shoghi Effendi gained control
of the tomb and mansion of Bahá'u'lláh. The process of
acquiring surrounding lands, commenced in 1931, took the
next twenty years. In January 1930 Shoghi Effendi was
extending the gardens at Bahjí and work had commenced on
restoring the "palace" (as it was called at the
time). The new rooms at the rear of the Shrines of the
Báb and `Abdu'l-Bahá were also nearing completion, and
he was also busy translating the Iqan into better
English. He was better again, but according to Effie, had
to be careful to not catch cold.
17.2.30
Dear Father & Mother,
I am mailing you today a bottle of attar of
rose which Shoghi Effendi gave me to send to you.
It is the very best from Persia. You should get a
bottle of reclified spirit and put some in a
bottle about the same size as this one and then
just put a few drops of this pure essence in. It
will last for along time I am still very busy
doing photographs for the Bahá'í World. I took
this from the top of our roof the other day. It
shows the progress they are making at the Harbour
works with the breakwater. I sent one enlarged
copy to the Times the other day. They are asking
for pictures of interest from readers. The flat
roof in the foreground is the French Consulate.
The house belongs to Túbá Khanum. This is the
Germany Conoly portion of Haifa. The other is a
view of Acca. Bahji is just beyond the clump of
trees to the right of Acca. The whife cliff on
the left is the boundary between Palestine and
Syria. The customs gate is there and after you go
round that
In 1930 New Zealand Bahá'ís Mrs Jessie and her
daughter Netta Macquarie visited Haifa, and afterward
wrote their experience for Herald of the South:
Surrounded by lovely shrubs, trees, flowers -
very refreshing to the eye after the sunless,
foggy atmosphere of London, the Pilgrim House
stands as a choice scintillating gem amidst a
mosaic of the rainbow. It was built in circular
fashion with central hall of beautiful white
marble, with inviting and comfortable bedrooms
leading off, complete in every detail that a
guest could possibly require, showing the loving
thought, care and service which Effie Baker has
given so freely.45
Corrine True once more made her pilgrimage to Haifa,
arriving in March 1931 with Mrs H.A. Harding from Urbana,
Illinois. For Effie, this was a chance to renew the
friendship she had established with Corrine in 1927.46
Marion Jack was also in Haifa, painting a scene at
Bahjí.
By 1931 Effie had served Shoghi Effendi in Haifa for
five years and had proven both her abilities and her
complete devotion. He so trusted her as to name her
custodian of the International Archives. He had
assemblied the relics and Writings of the Báb,
Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1929, in three
chambers recently added to the mausoleum. He joked one
evening at dinner about the number of keys Effie now
carried, as custodian of the archives and as manager of
the Western pilgrim house.47 Yet in addition
to these tasks, which required of Effie such sacrifice
and physical commitment, Shoghi Effendi was to add a
further and more lasting duty - that of recording on film
the momentous landscaping and building program in which
he was engaged on Mount Carmel.
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