Emily M. Axford

Emily Mary Axford (October 19, 1870 - December 26 1949) was an early member of the New Zealand Bahá'í community who served on the National Assembly of Australia and New Zealand. Eight letters written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi addressed to her were published in the compilation Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand.

Biography

Emily was born in Huddersfield, England. She worked as an infant teacher until marrying Sidney Bertram Axford, a medical Doctor, and she and her husband emigrated to Te Aroha, New Zealand, in 1907. In 1908 they assisted a Presbyterian Bible Class for girls in organizing a Benefit Concert for a Dunedin orphanage. Sidney passed on September 3, 1912, at the age of 51 leaving behind an estate of 2477 pounds and Emily moved to Auckland with their three children settling in the suburb of Remuera. Emily was introduced to the Faith by Sarah Blundell and declared in 1923. In 1926 she was elected as Chairman of the inaugural Auckland Local Spiritual Assembly.

Emily continued to serve as Chairman of the Auckland Bahá'í community into the 1930’s, and when Keith Ransom-Kehler visited New Zealand in 1931 she met with the Assembly in Axford’s home. In March 1933 she wrote to Shoghi Effendi regarding a pamphlet in Maori and the concept of the wrath of God and she received a reply written on his behalf which included the following written by the Guardian himself:

"May the Almighty bless your efforts, deepen your understanding of the essentials and distinguishing features of His Faith, guide your steps, and aid and assist you to extend the range of your activities and services."

In 1934 Axford attended the first National Convention of Australia and New Zealand as an elected delegate of the Auckland Assembly, and voted for the first National Spiritual Assembly. In addition to serving on the Assembly she gave speeches at various meetings of non-Bahá'í groups including the Auckland Psychology Club. She was also appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly to keep records of the Australian and New-Zealand Bahá'í communities in 1935. Shoghi Effendi approved of the appointment, with the following being written in a letter on his behalf:

"...In connection with the N.S.A.'s decision regarding the appointment of Mrs. Axford and Mr. Inman to keep records of Australian and New-Zealand activities for the " Bahá'í World"; the Guardian wishes you to assure your fellow-members in the assembly that he fully endorses their choice. He also wishes you to impress the newly-appointed correspondents with the vital importance of their task, and to urge them to acquit themselves of it with thoroughness, efficiency and vigour...."

In August 1936 she expressed her desire to visit the Holy Land in a letter to Shoghi Effendi, and received a reply expressing Shoghi Effendi's hope that it would fulfilled, however she had to cancel the trip in order to support her daughter through some domestic difficulties.

Emily was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly at the National Convention of Australia and New Zealand in Sydney in April, 1937. She gave a speech at the Convention emphasizing the non-political nature of the Faith, encouraging the Bahá'í community to avoid partisan politics when trying to deal with societal issues. She later wrote an article on the same topic for the Australia Bahá'í Quarterly periodical which received high praise from Shoghi Effendi. When the National Spiritual Assembly met in Adelaide in 1938 they decided that Emily should visit Perth to support the newly established Local Spiritual Assembly there. She stayed in Perth for two weeks and studied Bahá’í Administration with the LSA as well as delivering talks on the Faith to the public. In November 1938 she expressed her wish to visit the Holy Land again in a letter to Shoghi Effendi, but was advised to postpone a trip until November 1939 due to the turbulent situation in Palestine at the time receiving the following message from the Guardian himself:

"I shall indeed grieve if the situation in Palestine should prevent our meeting and prevent your pilgrimage to the Holy Shrines. I pray that this may not be the case. I am so eager to meet you, and express in person my deep and abiding sense of appreciation of the splendid and historic services you have rendered. I will continue to pray for you from the depths of my heart."

Circumstances did not allow her to postpone the trip for so long, as she was visiting while returning to New Zealand from England and she attempted to visit in early 1939, however Shoghi Effendi was not present in the Holy Land at this time. Shoghi Effendi commended Emily with the following comment added to a letter to her written on his behalf in 1941:

"I cannot refrain from adding a few words in person to assure you of my lively appreciation of your constancy and of the distinctive services you are so ably and devotedly rendering our beloved Faith. That you may be able to extend their range is my fervent and constant prayer. Persevere, and be confident and happy."

In the early 1940’s Emily wrote an introductory presentation on the Faith for use on radio broadcasts which was published in World Order, Volume 14 in 1948. When the Haziratu’l-Quds of Australia was purchased in 1944 she personally directed the furnishing and redecorating of the building, living in the building while the refurbishment was in progress. She encountered some difficulties as wartime restrictions limited the availability of resources, but she managed to prepare the building for use as the Secretariat of the Australian and New Zealand communities, and as the venue for the Centennial Convention before the end of 1944. She gave a speech on the history of the Bahá'í Faith in Australia at the 1944 Centennial Convention and chaired a Centennial celebration held at the Pickwick Club. In 1946 she was appointed to the New Zealand Regional Teaching Committee. In 1947 she began negotiating with New Zealand immigration authorities to secure permission for Persian Bahá'í students to study at New Zealand Universities and continued working towards that goal until her passing in 1949.

Shoghi Effendi cabled the following message after her passing:

"GRIEVED PASSING PRECIOUS PIONEER PROMOTER FAITH MRS AXFORD PRAYING FERVENTLY SHRINES PROGRESS SOUL ABHÁ KINGDOM HER SERVICES UNFORGETTABLE. SHOGHI"

Family

Sidney and Emily had two sons, Morris and Edward, and one daughter, Mavis. They all studied at the local State School in Te Aroha. Emily did not become a Bahá'í until after they were grown and it seems they did not convert.

Edward was the elder son. He was engaged to a Margery Ryan in 1932. By 1934 he was living in Melbourne, Australia and hosted his mother when she traveled there for the 1934 Bahá'í Convention.

Morris (1902 - 1968) studied medicine, passing the examination for Matriculation, Solcitors' General Knowledge and Medical Preliminary in 1918, although his name was accidentally omitted from the list of passes. He studied at the University of Otago Medical School from 1920 to 1924. He taught anatomy at the university after graduating. In 1928 he went to London for postgraduate study, being awarded the title FRACS in 1929. In 1930 he returned to New Zealand where he was appointed surgical registrar of the Auckland Hospital and married Doreen Clark, who he had been engaged to since 1926. He worked as an orthopedic surgeon until illness forced him to resign in 1957. He passed in 1968 a month after his wife and was survived by a daughter and his siblings.

Mavis studied the psychology of teaching music at the Incorporated Academy of Music in London from 1922 to 1924. By 1925 she was teaching pianoforte and musicianship back in New Zealand. In 1926 she was engaged to W. Aitken Commons, a New Zealander who had been living in China, and they married in 1928.