Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand

Your letters dated June 8th, Sep. 12th, Nov. 12th, Jan. 10th and 17th, 1944, together with their enclosures, have all been received, and the Guardian has instructed me to answer them on his behalf. He has also received the envelope of photographs you sent of N.S.A. Members, Father Dunn’s grave and other pictures of Bahá’í friends, for which he thanks you.

He also wishes to thank you for your manuscript for the Bahá’í World which was also received safely.

In regard to the recently purchased National Headquaters in Sydney: He was delighted that you were able to take possession of a house suitable to the present requirements of the Faith, and he trusts that by the time this reaches you all the legal steps will have been completed and the building registered in the name of the National Spiritual Assembly. It should be called by its proper title of “Hazíratu’l-Quds”.

The ideal to be followed, of course, is for the Secretariat, the office of the treasurer, etc., to be in the National Headquarters. However, this can be brought about gradually, and he leaves decisions in this matter to the N.S.A.

He trusts that the combined Centenary Celebrations and annual Convention will not only draw a large group of believers to Sydney to meet in their new Hazíratu’l-Quds, but will also be a means of attracting the attention of the public to the Faith on a wider scale than ever before. The Australian and New Zealand friends are standing not only on the threshold of the second Bahá’í Century but also on the threshold of a new phase of the Cause in that part of the world. Their responsibilities are therefore greatly increased, and he believes they will meet them unitedly, with clear vision, and their characteristic devotion to our beloved Faith.

He assures you and the other members of the N.S.A. of his 50 loving prayers for the success of your labours and the fulfilment of your dearest hopes.

P.S. He found the newspaper clippings you forwarded of great interest, and is pleased to see that the press is being so friendly and helpful. He has already through a cable stated that the convention should be held in conjunction with the Centenary Celebrations which embrace the 23rd of May. The Commemoration gathering should be held on the 22nd of May exactly at two hours and eleven minutes after sunset, which is the time at which the Báb declared His Mission.

The activities of the beloved friends in Australia and New Zealand during recent troubles have been truly remarkable. Now that the Hazíratu’l-Quds is to be established in Sydney I trust and pray that this central administrative headquarters in the oldest and leading Bahá’í centre in that far-off continent will act as a powerful magnet and attract the manifold blessings of the Almighty and lend a tremendous impetus to the organized activities of the believers in Australia and New Zealand. I will continue to pray for them from the depths of my heart.