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Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand
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Page 97
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Note 5. (Letter No. 15)
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1 |
Mrs Amy Dewing and her son Bertram were
among New Zealand's earliest Bahá'ís; Mrs Dewing came from an orthodox
Church of England background and viewed with disapproval her
son's questioning attitude which led him to describe himself as a Rationalist.
They heard of and accepted the Truth of the Bahá'í Cause after
meeting with "Mother" and "Father" Dunn in Devonport, Auckland and,
in 1926, both of them served as members of the first Local Spiritual Assembly
in Auckland. Amy Dewing, as one of a small and persevering
group of New Zealand believers, was active in spreading the Message as
was her son through whose efforts a Bahá'í magazine was published in
Australia and New Zealand to promote the teachings. Prior to her passing
in 1957, Amy Dewing witnessed the emergence of the New Zealand community
as an independent entity.
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Having travelled extensively overseas, Bertram Dewing eventually
settled in Auckland. A tireless worker for the Faith, he was a member of the
first Local Spiritual Assembly in Devonport in 1951 and in 1958 was
elected to the second National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New
Zealand. He pioneered to Hokianga in the same year and a decade later assisted
in spreading the Faith to New Plymouth where he worked for the
Cause with unabated zeal until he passed to the Abhá Kingdom in 1972 at
the age of seventy.
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