Thelma Perks

Thelma Perks
Born	July 21, 1901
Died	May 21, 1988
NSA member	Australia and N.Z. 1954 - 1957 Australia 1957 - 1963
ABM	Australia 1954 - 1968
Counsellor	Australasia 1968 - 1980
Media

Thelma Perks (July 21, 1901 - May 21, 1988) was an Australian Bahá'í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia, as an inaugural Auxiliary Board member for Australia, and as a Continental Counselor for Australasia. She also served on the Australian Bahá'í Library Committee, the Regional Teaching Committee for New South Wales and the Local Spiritual Assembly of Sydney.

Biography

Thelma was born into a wealthy family, and was able to travel Europe and North America in her youth, living abroad from 1932 to 1935 to study languages. She was introduced to the Faith when she asked about a photo of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in a friend's cabin while sailing from Southampton to New York, and her friend took her to visit the Kinneys in New York, who she borrowed a copy of Dawn-Breakers from. She also met May Maxwell and Sylvia Matheson while in America. She met with Hyde and Clara Dunn in Sydney after returning to Australia and became their driver, although she did not become a Bahá'í until 1947. She received the following message from Shoghi Effendi in 1948:

"Assuring you of a most hearty welcome into the Bahá'í Faith, & of my loving prayers for your spiritual advancement & success in the service of our beloved Faith & its God-given institutions,
Your true brother, Shoghi"

Thelma accompanied Clara Dunn on many teaching trips from 1947 to 1953. In 1948 she visited Woodville with Clara and Mariette Bolton to assist in the establishment of a Local Spiritual Assembly there. In 1950 she donated land to the Yerrinbool Bahá'í School but asked that it not be publicized and the land not named for her. In 1952 she attended a World Religion Day commemoration in Ballarat and secured a Hall in Wollongong with Dulcie Dive for Feasts and other events. In 1953 she pioneered to Grafton, N.S.W., to establish the Faith there.

In 1954 Clara Dunn appointed Thelma and Collis Featherstone as the first members of the Auxiliary Board of Australia, a body formed to assist her in her duties as Hand of the Cause. Thelma was also first elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand in 1954, as several members of the body had retired in order to pioneer to the Pacific. She accompanied Clara Dunn on a tour of Australia in 1954 visiting Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, and a second visit to Victoria and Queensland in 1955. She also visited New Zealand in 1955 and in 1956 toured the Pacific to visit pioneers.

In 1957 she was present at the first National Convention of New Zealand at which the independent National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand was established, toured the Pacific again, and visited the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. In 1957 Shoghi Effendi announced that a second Auxiliary Board specifically for protection of the Faith was to be formed, and Thelma was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member for Protection. She was also elected to the first independent National Spiritual Assembly of Australia in 1957. In 1958 she represented the Auxiliary Board for Australia at an Intercontinental Conference in Singapore. She traveled across Australia extensively in the late 50's and early 60's to explain the plans of the National Spiritual Assembly, and in 1961 she helped organize events associated with the opening of the House of Worship in Sydney. She went on pilgrimage to Haifa with Greta Lake in 1961. In 1962 visited the majority of Bahá'í communities in New Zealand. She attended the International Convention in Haifa in 1963 at which the Universal House of Justice was established, casting a vote for the body as a member of the Australian Assembly.

In 1963 Thelma retired from the National Spiritual Assembly in order to continue to serve as Auxiliary Board member, as the Universal House of Justice had announced that one could only be a member of one of the bodies at a time. In 1964 she visited Honiara in the Solomon Islands to attend the first National Convention of the Southwest Pacific at which the National Spiritual Assembly for the Region was established. In 1965 Thelma stepped down from the Temple Services Committee as the Universal House of Justice had announced that Auxiliary Board members would not serve on such Committees. In 1966 she represented Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone at the New Zealand National Convention. She gave a presentation on the Guardian, Universal House of Justice, and Hands of the Cause at the 1966-67 Yerrinbool Summer School. In April 1967 she helped the New Zealand Bahá'ís organize pre-Ridvan conferences in Wellington, Wanganui, Whangarei, Hamilton, and Auckland, at which the role of Assemblies, the responsibilities of delegates to the National Convention, and the Bahá'í Fund were covered. In October 1967 she spoke at a Bahá'í Conference in Sydney which was attended by the Lord Mayor of the city.

In 1968 the Universal House of Justice established the Continental Boards of Counsellors, a body which was to carry out the duties of the Hands of the Cause indefinitely, as they were unable to appoint Hands. Thelma was appointed as an inaugural Continental Counsellor for Australasia along with Suhayl ‘Alá'í and Howard Harwood, and was appointed as the Counsellor who was Trustee of the Continental Fund. In 1969 she attended the first National Convention of Papua New Guinea at which the Countries first National Spiritual Assembly was elected. In November 1969 the Continental Board of Australasia, including Thelma, called a Conference in Melbourne, the first of its kind and the first national Bahá'í conference held in Melbourne. In 1970 she attended the Oceanic Bahá'í Conference in Suva, Fiji. She attended the North Pacific Oceanic Conference in 1971 when it was held in Sapporo, Japan, and attended a follow-up Conference held in Seoul.

In 1974 the Counsellors for Australasia held some major Conferences, including one which coincided with the 155th Anniversary of the Birth of the Báb which Thelma gave a closing address at. In 1977 she and her fellow Counsellors attended the Sixth International Teaching Conference in Auckland, New Zealand.

In 1980 Thelma retired from the Continental Board of Counsellors and resided in Mosman, N.S.W., continuing to participate in Bahá'í activities in Sydney and visit the House of Worship. She suffered a stroke which caused paralysis towards the end of her life and passed in 1988. The Universal House of Justice sent the following after her passing:

WE ARE DEEPLY GRIEVED TO LEARN OF THE PASSING OF THELMA PERKS WHOSE OUTSTANDING SERVICES FOR THE PROMOTION OF THE FAITH IN AUSTRALASIA WILL LONG BE REMEMBERED. HER LOVING CARE OF HAND OF THE CAUSE CLARA DUNN, HER DISTINGUISHED WORK AS A MEMBER OF THE FIRST CONTINGENT OF AUXILIARY BOARD MEMBERS FOLLOWED LATER BY HER APPOINTMENT AS A MEMBER OF THE FIRST BOARD OF COUNSELLORS IN AUSTRALASIA, TOGETHER WITH HER MANY YEARS OF SERVICE AS A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF AUSTRALIA, STAND AS SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF HER DEVOTED LABORS. PRAYERS ARE BEING OFFERED IN THE HOLY SHRINES FOR THE PROGRESS OF HER SOUL IN THE ABHA KINGDOM. ADVISE HOLD A BEFITTING MEMORIAL SERVICE IN HER HONOUR IN THE MASHRIQU'L-ADHKAR, A SIMILAR SERVICE IS BEING REQUESTED IN SAMOA

References

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:Thelma Perks

• Obituary published in Bahá'í World, Vol. 20, pp 903-907