Oswald Whitaker
Oswald A. Whitaker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | abt. 1889 Bombala, NSW |
| Declared | 1922 |
| Died | July 3, 1942 |
| Nationality | Australia |
| NSA member | Australia and NZ, 1934-1942 |
| Spouse(s) | Lynda Haynes, m. 1922 |
| Children | Margaret |
Oswald Alfred Whitaker (abt. 1889 - July 3, 1942) was the first Australian member of the Bahá'í Faith. He declared in 1922, and from then on he was dedicated to teaching the Cause and adhering to its principles.
Biography[edit]
Oswald Whitaker was born during 1889 to John Darker Whitaker and Sarah Margaret Perry in the town of Bombala, New South Wales, Australia.[1]
Whitaker was a Sydney optometrist with an interest in Theosophy. He began working as an optician in the early 1900's, and also had a knowledge of lens grinding and manufacturing glasses. He worked for H. A. Barracloguh Ltd. as an optician, and as Country Representative and City Branch Manager.[2]
He first heard of the Faith in 1922 in Lismore when some of his friends asked him to debate Hyde Dunn, then one of only two Bahá'ís in the country, and debunk the Bahá'í Faith.[3][4] He asked Hyde to define love, was satisfied with his answer, and borrowed some Bahá'í Tablets from him. He read them all in one night and returned them the next day convinced that they contained the truth.
A Bahá'í study group under Oswald's guidance was established in Sydney shortly after he became a Bahá'í[5] and many Bahá'í meetings were held in Oswald's home, including the first Nineteen Day Feast held in Australia. He hosted Martha Root when she stayed in Sydney during her visit to Australia in late 1923. In the late 1920's he moved to Randwick.
He played a significant role in supporting the Sydney Bahá'í community when the Dunn's were travel teaching in other parts of Australia, and he was elected as the chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Sydney when it was re-established in 1932.[6] His teaching activities in Sydney included teaching Baha'i classes, speaking at the Harmony center and maintaining friendly relations with the 'Radiant Health Society'.
When the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand was formed in 1934 he was elected to the institution as vice-chairman. In addition to serving on the NSA he participated in the early Australian Bahá'í Summer Schools held in Yerrinbool, speaking at the first Yerrinbool Summer School in 1938 and chairing a public session, contributing to the curriculum, and reading a prayer at the opening of the Second Summer School in 1939.
In 1941 he participated in a teaching campaign in Brisbane which stimulated the community there and led to the formation of a Local Spiritual Assembly in the late 1940's.
Whitaker served on the NSA until his death in 1942. He was survived by his wife, Lynda, and daughter Margaret.
References[edit]
- Baha'i World, Volume 5
- Baha'i World, Volume 8
- Baha'i World, Volume 9
- Official Website of the Australian Baha'i Community [1]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Birth Certificate no. 26855/1889, Bombala. Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, New South Wales, Australia.
- ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/239801381
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/hassall_bahai_community_randwick
- ↑ A Love Which Does Not Wait by Janet Ruhe-Schoen
- ↑ "... To Follow a Dreamtime", National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia, 1970, p 5
- ↑ Baha'i World, Vol. 5, p 130
External Links[edit]
- Oswald Alfred Whitaker on WikiTree - family tree
