Brisbane, Queensland

Brisbane
City in Australia
LSA of Brisbane, 1957.
Location of Brisbane
History: Firsts
-	Local Assembly	1949
How to contact:
-	Email	secretariat@brisbane.bahai.org.au
Official Website		https://brisbane.bahai.org.au/
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Brisbane is the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland.

History

The first Bahá'í to visit Brisbane was Hyde Dunn who, with his wife Clara, was the first Bahá'í in Australia. Hyde first visited Brisbane in the 1920's. On a visit in January, 1926, he gave a talk titled Divine Plan of the Ages at the Unity Truth Centre, and in July 1926 he gave a talk titled The Baha'i Movement: Its Teaching and its Universality. In March 1928 Hyde gave a talk titled Evolution: A Scientific Proof of the Existence of God to a theosophy group near the Brisbane City Hall. As of April 1928 Brisbane had a Local Spiritual Assembly, with a Mrs. Nell Midgley serving as Secretary. In July 1928 Clara Dunn gave a talk at the Unity Truth Centre titled Our Prophets and How We Receive Them. The Dunn's were listed as recent guests at the Hotel St. Bernard at Mount Tamborine in October 1928.

When Keith Ransom-Kehler visited Australia in 1931 she visited Brisbane arriving on September 8 for a brief stop on her way to Adelaide. She planned to return to Brisbane before departing Australia for India. She noted that the Brisbane community had not had much progress and Bahá'í activity was spasmodic, although she did note positively that there were youth members of the Brisbane Bahá'í group. As of 1932 Brisbane still had a Local Spiritual Assembly, but it had been disbanded by 1935, although a Bahá'í group succeeded it.

As of 1941 there was no Bahá'í activity in Brisbane, but that year Hilda Brooks and Mrs. Hawthorne from Adelaide and Charlotte Moffitt from Sydney conducted a teaching campaign in the city. Shortly after their arrival Mr. Philip O'Bryen Hoare, a local poet and public speaking teacher, provided them with advice and assistance, despite not being a Bahá'í himself. Moffitt and Hawthorne organized the teaching work and Brooks delivered talks. The first talk of the campaign was given by Ms. Brooks on May 12, 1941, with sixty people attending, and she was interviewed by the press. She went on to speak at the Theosophical Society of Brisbane, the Country Women's Association, whose rooms later hosted bi-weekly Bahá'í meetings, and other social events. Jane Routh joined the teaching efforts in June and gave a series of lectures, and Oswald Whitaker visited Brisbane to consolidate the campaign seven weeks after Routh. A formal study group was formed as a result of the campaign, which elected Mr. John B. Bedgood, long serving secretary of the community, as chairman, Mr. Richards as secretary, and Mrs. Donald as treasurer. James Heggie visited later in 1941 and attended a meeting of the study group.

In 1943 Clara Dunn pioneered to Brisbane for several months teaching the Faith and consolidating the results of the previous campaign. In 1946 Gretta Lamprill visited Brisbane and conducted a personal teaching campaign establishing contacts throughout the city which resulted in a study group of nine being formed. In 1947 the Australian Six Year Plan began, and one of its goals was to establish a Local Spiritual Assembly of Brisbane. In 1948 James and Merle Heggie pioneered to Brisbane to assist in working towards a Local Spiritual Assembly. In July 1948 Hilda Brooks, now Thomas, returned to Brisbane and gave a talk titled The Baha'i Way to World Unity which was held in the Country Women's Association Room on Queen Street. The Local Spiritual Assembly of Brisbane was re-established in 1949 on April 21st, and local press coverage estimated fifty Bahá'ís residing in Brisbane at that time. John Bedgood was elected as chairman and James Heggie was elected as secretary.

In September 1952 Shirin Fozdar spent three days in Brisbane during a lecture tour of Australia and New Zealand. She spoke at a public meeting and to the YWCA and Oriental Studies Group of Brisbane, and also visited Southport and Ipswich where she spoke at the railway workshops and Girls Grammar School. Also in 1952 a Bahá'í Youth Committee was formed for Brisbane with Betty Anderson serving as inaugural secretary. In December 1953 Hand of the Cause ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan visited Brisbane and met with the Queensland Bahá'í community, and he was interviewed by a local newspaper which estimated twenty-five Bahá'ís in Queensland. In 1954 Mildred Mottahedeh visited Brisbane during a tour of Australasia. On January 10, 1957, the Local Spiritual Assembly of Brisbane was formally incorporated, which received some press coverage. In June 1957 a Regional Teaching Conference was held in Brisbane. Some time in the late 50's the Queensland University Bahá'í Society was founded in Brisbane.

In 1965 members of a University Bahá'í club were invited to give a short talk on radio which was broadcast multiple times over a few weeks.

In 1976 a National Youth Conference was held in Brisbane. One hundred and seventy-five youth attended and Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone and Counselor Howard Harwood attended the conference and consulted with them. Firesides were held in King George Square during the Conference, and four people declared during it. Members of the National Spiritual Assembly Joy Stevenson, Aflatoon Payman, Andrew Gash and Auxiliary Board members John Walker and John Davidson provided deepening to the youth during the Conference. Hand of the Cause Abu'l-Qásim Faizi visited Brisbane during a tour of Australia in the late 70's.

In 1982 John Huddleston of the United States visited the Pacific at the request of the Universal House of Justice and he spoke at the Royal Geographic Society and was interviewed by the ABC. In 1986 a Peace Seminar attended by one hundred and thirty was held by the Bahá'ís of Brisbane. In 1987 the Association for Bahá'í Studies held a conference at Griffith University in Brisbane.

In 1993 a National Bahá'í Studies conference on indigenous peoples was held in Brisbane. In 1999 an International Women's Conference was held in Brisbane. The Bahá'í Centre of Brisbane was opened during the 1990s.

In 2005 the Bahá'ís of Brisbane launched monthly workshops for junior youth to develop peacemaking skills.

In 2013 a Youth Conference was held at the Brisbane Convention Centre which was attended by 550 youth.