Clara Dunn
| Clara Dunn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Clara Holder May 12, 1869 London, England |
| Died | November 18, 1960 Sydney, Australia |
| Resting place | Woronora Cemetery |
| Title(s) | Hand of the Cause Australasia 1952 - 1960 |
| Spouse(s) | William Allen Davis (1885-1888), Hyde Dunn (1917-1941) |
| Children | Harry Allan Davis (1888-1957) |
| Parents | Thomas Holder and Maria McHugh |
| Signature |  |
Clara Dunn (May 12, 1869 - November 18, 1960) was a Hand of the Cause of God appointed by Shoghi Effendi on February, 29 1952. She and her husband Hyde Dunn were the first Bahá’í's in Australia and among the earliest Bahá’í's to teach in New Zealand[1]
Background[edit]
Clara was born on May 12, 1869 in London, England, but was raised in Ireland and moved to Canada while still a teenager.[2] She moved to the United States in 1902. In 1907 she met Hyde Dunn in Walla Walla, Washington when he and Nathan Ward Fitzgerald sought to place an advertisement for a Bahá'í meeting they were holding in the medical office she was working at. She attended the meeting and later became a Bahá’í.[3]
The Walla Walla Bahá’í community was isolated from the rest of the American Bahá’ís, and the local clergy were strongly opposed to the Faith. These factors contributed to Clara suffering a nervous breakdown for which she was hospitalized. Because she was unable to work she had to stay in a friends attic after leaving hospital as she could not afford to pay rent. Her friend told Clara's visitors that she was mentally unstable due to her religion.[4]
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited California in 1912 Clara took a train to San Francisco and found the house where 'Abdu'l-Bahá was staying, even though she only knew the street name, by asking a tram driver to take her where the Persians were staying. Hyde Dunn was also in San Francisco and had been given the responsibility of answering the door to the house where 'Abdu'l-Bahá was staying, but did not hear Clara knocking, so she pushed on the door which was unlocked and opened and she as able to attend a talk given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.[5]
Pioneering[edit]
Clara married Hyde in San Francisco in 1917, and in 1919 the couple resolved to travel to Australia to teach the faith after reading 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan.[6] As most of their income had been spent on teaching the faith, Clara suggested that Hyde travel to Australia alone to save money, however when asked about the matter via telegram ‘Abdu’l-Bahá expressed approval of their plan to go together.[7]
Australia[edit]
They stopped for two months in Hawaii, and for a brief time in Samoa while en route to Australia and arrived in Sydney 20 April, 1920. Clara found work within a few months, but quit after Hyde found employment as a travelling salesman so that she could teach the faith. Clara often invited many people to weekend meetings in Sydney while her husband was travelling the countryside. The Dunn's found it difficult to attract people to the faith, but by 1922 two Australians has become Bahá’í's: Oswald Whitaker and Effie Baker.
New Zealand[edit]
At the end of 1922 Hyde used the holiday time that he had saved up for the couple to travel to Auckland, New Zealand to teach the faith.
Upon arriving they were surprised to learn that a single Bahá’í, Margaret Stevenson, had been living there for some time. Clara described her as "holding the fort and waiting for reinforcements,".[8] Hyde had to return to Australia due to work commitments, but Clara remained in New Zealand until April 1923. The Auckland Local Spiritual Assembly was established around this time.
Pilgrimage[edit]
Clara made a pilgrimage to Bahá’í holy places in what was then Mandatory Palestine for two months early in 1932. While there, she met with Shoghi Effendi who gave her encouragement. She later wrote "Since going to Haifa ... I find I have fresh courage to go on. I was almost in despair as the Cause was not growing."[9] The Guardian also stressed to her the importance of establishing a National Spiritual Assembly. A national Bahá’í convention held in 1934 achieved this goal, with a National Spiritual Assembly for both Australia and New Zealand being established.
Later Life[edit]
Clara's husband, Hyde, passed away in 1941, and after his passing she was expected to speak in his stead by the Australian Bahá’í community. She often began speeches with a quote of 'Abdu'l-Bahá: "Do you know in what day you are living?".
In 1943 the National Spiritual Assembly asked for pioneers to teach the faith across Australia. Clara moved to Brisbane for several months, and then began travelling to many major cities and towns across Australia. She participated in summer schools held at Yerrinbool, a Bahá’í property south of Sydney, from late December to January most years. She was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi on 29 February, 1952.
Shoghi Effendi named her Trustee of the Continental Fund for Australasia in April, 1954 and asked her to appoint two Bahá’í's to the Auxiliary Boards, she appointed Collis Featherstone and Thelma Parks at a national Bahá’í convention.
After Shoghi Effendi's passing on 4 November, 1957, Clara traveled to Haifa and signed many major statements produced at a meeting of the Hands of the Cause.
In 1958 she was involved in the foundation ceremony of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Ingleside, Australia, and in 1959 she participated in her final summer school at Yerrinbool, and in 1960 her last Australian Bahá’í convention.
She passed away in Sydney on 18 November, 1960 and was buried alongside her husband in Woronora Cemetery.
The Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land cabled the following after her passing:
“Grieved announce (the) passing (of) Hand (of the) Cause Clara Dunn, distinguished member (of the) American Bahá’í community who with Hyde Dunn, spiritual conqueror (of) Australia, responded (to the) Master’s appeal (in the) Divine Plan, arose (and) carried (the) Faith (to the) Antipodes (and) rendered unique, unforgettable pioneer service over (a) forty year period. Advise hold memorial gathering (in) Temple. Share message (With) Hands (and) National Assemblies." (Signed) HANDSFAITH.[10]
References[edit]
- ↑ Hassall, Graham (30 January 2000). "Dunn, Clara and Hyde". Bahá’í Library Online. Bahá’í Library Online. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/hassall_ambassador_court_baker&chapter=3
- ↑ To Follow a Dreamtime: "Father" and "Mother" Dunn, The Spiritual Conquerors of a Continent: Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Arrival of the Bahá’í Faith in Australia (Paddington, NSW: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia, 1970) 1–2.
- ↑ Bahá’í World, Vol. 13, p 859
- ↑ Janet Ruhe-Schoen, A Love Which Does Not Wait
- ↑ Conversation quoted in Agnes Alexander, Personal Recollections of a Bahá’í Life in the Hawaiian Islands: Forty Years of the Bahá’í Cause in Hawaii, 1902–1942, rev. ed. (Honolulu: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Hawaiian Islands, 1974) 27.
- ↑ National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia, "Clara Dunn," The Bahá’í World, vol. 13: 1954–63 (Haifa: The Universal House of Justice, 1970) 860.
- ↑ Clara Dunn, letter to John and Louise Bosch, 30 Jan. 1923, Bosch Papers.
- ↑ Clara Dunn, letter to Elisha and Martha Shaw, 10 Apr. 1933, Elisha D. and Martha L. Shaw Papers, NBAUS.
- ↑ "Hand of the Cause Clara Dunn Ascends to the 'Abhá Kingdom". Bahá’í News. January 1961. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
Notes[edit]
- Hassall, Graham (2009). "Dunn, Clara (1869–1960), and Dunn, John Henry Hyde (c. 1855–1941)". Bahá’í Encyclopedia Project. Bahá’í National Center. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
