Margaret Stevenson
Margaret Beveridge Stevenson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 30, 1865 Onehunga, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Died | February 11, 1941 (age 75) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| NSA member | Australia and NZ, 1934-1939 |
| Parent(s) | William Stevenson and Margaret Turnbull |
Margaret Beveridge Stevenson (November 30, 1865 – February 11, 1941), was the first New Zealand member of the Bahá'í Faith.
Biography[edit]
Introduction to the Bahá'í Faith[edit]
She first heard of the Bahá'í Faith from her sister who had attended a talk given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London and sent Margaret a copy of 'The Christian Commonwealth' containing an article about him. Margaret later said "I read the article about him in the papers, but am sorry to say did not think any more about it."[1]
In 1912 Margaret's sister returned from London along with Dorothea Spinney, and Dorothea told Margaret about meeting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Margaret later said:
"As a child, I used to wish I had lived when Christ was on earth. As Miss Spinney spoke, I remembered my childhood's wish, and the thought came to me that I too might have denied Him as so many others had done. It was this secret thought that made me seriously think of what I heard from Miss Spinney, and through God's grace and mercy I was enabled to grasp and believe in Bahá’u’lláh and His message."
Dorothea gave Margaret some Bahá’í books, and Margaret subscribed to the Bahá’í magazine Star of the West.
New Zealand Bahá'í Community[edit]
She was the only Bahá'í in New Zealand until the end of 1922 when Hyde Dunn and his wife Clara Dunn visited from Australia.[2] The first Bahá'í Feast in New Zealand was held in Margaret's home the night before Hyde's departure, and those present wrote a telegram to Shoghi Effendi detailing the establishment of the Faith in New Zealand.
Clara stayed in New Zealand until early 1923 and a Local Spiritual Assembly of Auckland was established before she left, however the Bahá'í community was unaware of many of the details of how a Spiritual Assembly functioned until receiving a copy of Bahá’í Administration. Margaret served as the inaugural secretary of New Zealand's first properly constituted Assembly which was established on April 21, 1926.[3]
Pilgrimage[edit]
In late 1923 to early 1924 Martha Root visited Australia and New Zealand, and told the Bahá'í community that Shoghi Effendi was eager to meet them [4]. Margaret and a few other Australian and New Zealand Bahá'ís went on pilgrimage to Haifa in 1925, departing Melbourne on February 10 and arriving in the Holy Land on March 13. They stayed in Haifa for nineteen days, meeting Shoghi Effendi, Bahíyyih Khánum and other Bahá'ís including Corinne True. The Guardian suggested that before returning to New Zealand the group go to England, where they stayed for three months.
Some dust from the tomb of Bahá'u'lláh was brought back to New Zealand and placed in the soil at Margaret's home at a ceremony on February 14, 1926.[5]
Later Life[edit]
Margaret undertook travel teaching trips to Christchurch and Wellington in the early 1930's[6]. She attended the first Baha’i convention of Australia and New Zealand in 1934 at which the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand was established and to which she was elected [7]. She served as a member of the NSA of Australia and New Zealand from 1934 up to and including 1939.
She passed away on February 11, 1941 and is buried at Hillsborough cemetery. After her death Shoghi Effendi stated "The work which this exemplary pioneer achieved is imperishable", and this is written on her tombstone.
References[edit]
- ↑ National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada. "The Bahá'í World Volume IX" (PDF). Bahá’í Publishing Trust. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ↑ Hassall, Graham (30 January 2000). "Dunn, Clara and Hyde". Bahá’í Library Online. Bahá’í Library Online. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
- ↑ Carr, David Brown (1996). "The Australian-New Zealand Bahá'í Connections". Bahá’í Library Online. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
- ↑ The Bahá'í World 1963-1968, The Universal House of Justice 1974, p.320 (Effie Baker's In Memoriam article)
- ↑ "The Bahá'í World, Vol. IX, 1940-1944", pp. 600-602. Bahá'í Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois, 1945
- ↑ The Baha'i World, Vol. 5
- ↑ Report of the First Convention of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand held in Sydney, May 1934
External Links[edit]
- Margaret Beveridge Stevenson on WikiTree - family tree
