Ethel Blundell
Ethel Annie Blundell | |
|---|---|
 Ethel Blundell (c. 1934) | |
| Born | August 2, 1877 Wissett, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | June 22, 1962 Auckland, New Zealand |
| NSA member | Australia & N.Z., 1934 - 1948 |
| Parent(s) | Arthur Blundell and Sarah Andrews |
Ethel Annie Blundell (August 2, 1877 - June 22, 1962)[1][2] was an early New Zealand Bahá'í who served on the first National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand.
Life[edit]
Ethel was born in Wissett, a town in Suffolk, England in 1877 and emigrated to New Zealand with her family in 1887.
She and her mother, Sarah, considered themselves Bahá'ís since 1913, having heard of 'Abdu'l-Bahá’s travels through Europe in an article published in ‘The Christian Commonwealth in 1911,[3][4] but they did not formally become Bahá'ís until 1923 when Hyde and Clara Dunn visited New Zealand. She later said "I have gone deep into all the new movements as they have come to New Zealand, but Mr Dunn brought the light of the Manifestation of God through the Centre of His Covenant. That was what arrested my attention. I knew it was in the world, but I knew he had the truth..."[5]
In early 1924 Martha Root visited New Zealand, and told the Bahá'ís there that Shoghi Effendi wanted them to go on Pilgrimage to the Holy Land so he could meet them. Ethel, her Mother, her brother Hugh (then not a Bahá'í), Margaret Stevenson and Effie Baker went to the Holy Land in 1925.[6] John Esslemont wrote the following in a letter regarding the New Zealand pilgrims:
"Shoghi Effendi has asked me to reply to your letters of 19th and 29th Jan., and I also owe you a letter on my own account, and it is with great pleasure that I take my pen in hand to write to you. We had a delightful visit, lasting three weeks, from the three Blundells, Margaret Stevenson and Effie Baker, whom the Holy Family and the friends here came to love very much. They are very sincere and selfless souls. We hope you have many more such in the various groups you have founded. Few things have contributed more to Shoghi Effendi's happiness during the last year or two than the progress of the Cause in Australasia, thanks to your tireless and selfless efforts. We all hope that what has been accomplished up till now may be but a foretaste of much greater progress in the future when those you have been training & teaching become themselves active workers."[7]
Shoghi Effendi himself contributed a paragraph to Esslemont's letter regarding the Pilgrims:
"My most precious, my dearly-beloved friends!
It is always an indescribable joy to receive your letters & learn of the marvellous progress of your work, your cherished names are graven in letters of gold upon my heart & the memory of your unremitting and selfless labours is an inspiration to me in the discharge of my manifold & arduous duties. Your exemplary devotion, your unrivalled services are being abundantly rewarded by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá & He who loves you & guides you will surely bless you even more richly than before. We have witnessed with profound admiration and the deepest emotion the remarkable results of your self-sacrificing labours and have been refreshed & encouraged by meeting the first fruits of your splendid efforts - the beloved pilgrims from Australia & New Zealand. We have all remembered you in our prayers & we trust their return will add a fresh impetus to the memorable work you are doing in those remote corners of the globe. I assure you of my profound affection, my ardent prayers for you both & my heartfelt gratitude & appreciation, Shoghi"[8]
The Pilgrims visited the Bahá'í community in England before returning home, staying for three months.[9]
Ethel was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Auckland when it was established in 1927, and elected to represent Auckland at the election of the National Spiritual Assembly at the first National Convention of Australia and New Zealand in 1934. She was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly herself and served on the institution until the late 1940’s.[10] She also served on the Editorial Committee of the Australian periodical Bahá'í Quarterly when it was established in 1936[11] and contributed papers to the curriculum of the Yerrinbool Bahá'í Summer School.[12]
She passed away in 1962 and was buried in Hillsborough Cemetery, where her mother was also buried.
Family[edit]
Ethel's parents were Arthur Blundell (January 12, 1840 - December 26, 1923) who was a farmer and Sarah Blundell (February 3, 1850 - December 20, 1934). They had seven children including Ethel. The Blundell family was relatively wealthy and could afford to employ seven farmhands, a Governess and a domestic servant on their farm in Suffolk.
Ethel's brother Hugh King Blundell (October 21, 1884 - 1976) became a Bahá'í in 1925 after meeting Shoghi Effendi in the Holy Land when he accompanied his Mother and Sister on pilgrimage. Hugh served on the Regional Teaching Committee for New Zealand in the 1940's and was appointed as an Auxiliary Board Member in 1956.[13] He accompanied Stanley Bolton on his teaching tour of New Zealand's North Island in 1956.[14]
References[edit]
- ↑ http://www.collettfamilyhistory.net/Part-4-The-Great-Western-Line-Rev.22.htm
- ↑ https://www.myheritage.com/names/ethel_blundell#
- ↑ http://bahai-library.com/hassall_ambassador_court_baker&chapter=3
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 421. View as PDF.
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/hassall_ambassador_court_baker&chapter=7
- ↑ The Bahá'í World 1963-1968, The Universal House of Justice 1974, p.320 (Effie Baker's In Memoriam article)
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/shoghi-effendi_messages_antipodes&chapter=1#fn10
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/shoghi-effendi_messages_antipodes&chapter=1#fn10
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/hassall_ambassador_court_baker&chapter=5
- ↑ Baha’i News, No. 382
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/hassall_brooks_australian_bahais
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/hassall_yerrinbool_1938-1988
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/shoghi-effendi_messages_antipodes&chapter=1#fn10
- ↑ Baha'i News (1956). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 301, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
External Links[edit]
- Ethel Annie Blundell on WikiTree - family tree
