Baháʼí Faith in New Zealand explained

While the first mention of events related to the history of the Baháʼí Faith in New Zealand was in 1846[1] continuous contact began around 1904 when one individual after another came in contact with Baháʼís and some of them published articles in print media in New Zealand as early as 1908.[2] The first Baháʼí in the Antipodes was Dorothea Spinney who had just arrived from New York in Auckland in 1912.[3] Shortly thereafter there were two converts about 1913 – Robert Felkin who had met ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in London in 1911 and moved to New Zealand in 1912 and is considered a Baháʼí by 1914[4] and Margaret Stevenson who first heard of the religion in 1911 and by her own testimony was a Baháʼí in 1913.[5] After ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote the Tablets of the Divine Plan which mentions New Zealand[6] the community grew quickly so that the first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly of the country was attempted in 1923[7] or 1924[8] and then succeeded in 1926. The Baháʼís of New Zealand elected their first independent National Spiritual Assembly in 1957.[9] By 1963 there were four Assemblies, and 18 localities with smaller groups of Baháʼís.[10] The 2018 census reports about 2925 Baháʼís[11] in some 45 local assemblies though the Association of Religion Data Archives estimated there were some 7518 Baháʼís in 2010.[12]

Beginnings

The first mention of events related to the history of the religion was a report in a Wellington newspaper in July 1846.[1] These were reprints of an 1845 article in the London Times which relied on Muslim reactions to the new religion.[13]

In 1853 there was an event with caused great suffering on Babís (who Baháʼís hold as a direct precursor akin to the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus.)[14] The Babís were blamed for an attempted assassination of the Shah of Persia. Recent scholarship has identified a fringe element distinct from all the major aspects of the religion, its community and leadership at the time.[15] [16] Nevertheless, coverage in newspapers at the time often echoed the Persian government's view blaming the Babís and Babís in large numbers were in fact executed as a result.[17]

Following this initial mention of incidents related to the religion there were several contacts between New Zealanders and Baháʼís at the beginning of the 20th century. New Zealander Wilhelmina Sherriff Bain may have met Sarah Jane Farmer, a notable Baháʼí in the United States, (see Green Acre) in 1904. Whoever her contact was, Bain authored a large detailed article in the Otago Witness published edition of 30 December 1908 about the religion.[18] [19] Other articles followed in 1909,[20] 1911,[21] and 1913.[22] It is also known that letters were exchanged in 1910 between a Mildred Burdon of Geraldine and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Robert Felkin had met ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in London in 1911 and in 1912 moved to New Zealand where he helped found the Whare Ra.[23] Felkin wrote an article for a New Zealand publication which was published around then too.

Meanwhile, Auckland resident Margaret Stevenson's sister living in the United Kingdom had sent her a copy of "The Christian Commonwealth" which had reported on ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's speech in London on 27 March 1911. In 1912 Stevenson rented a room to English Baháʼí Dorothea Spinney – a traveling performer of Greek plays – who had just arrived from New York via Auckland. Spinney's stay was probably brief as she is known to have been in New York in November 1912[24] and again in January 1913.[25] Following learning from a Baháʼí first hand Stevenson decided to subscribed to Star of the West, an early major English publication of the religion, and officially accepted the religion in 1913. Though Felkin is more known for being involved with other interests, another early Baháʼí, Maurice Chambers, counts Felkin as the Baháʼí through whom he learned of the religion and converted in 1914.

Whoever converted first, there was at least one Baháʼí in New Zealand in 1912 and more shortly thereafter.

Growth of the community

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United States in 1916–1917; these letters were compiled together in the book titled Tablets of the Divine Plan. The seventh of the tablets was the first to mention spreading the Baháʼí Faith in New Zealand and was written on 11 April 1916, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919 because of disruptions from World War I and the Spanish flu which strongly affected New Zealand and beyond.[26] These tablets were translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab on 4 April 1919, and published in Star of the West magazine on 12 December 1919.[27] Chambers is known to have exchanged letters with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in 1919. Stevenson received a visit by Australian community founders John and Clara Hyde-Dunn in 1922 and again in 1923 and the New Zealand community quickly grew, including Stevenson's sisters Amy and Lilias. The community tried to form an Assembly without properly following procedure in 1923 or 1924. In 1924 Martha Root shared news that Shoghi Effendi, then head of the religion, had space to receive New Zealander Baháʼís undertaking pilgrimage. 1924 was also the year of the first pioneer from New Zealand when Nora Lee moved to Fiji from 1924 to about 1930.[28] [29] In 1925 Stevenson left with two other New Zealand converts as well as a contingent from Australia for a year-long trip on pilgrimage where they stayed some 19 days and then visited with the community of the Baháʼí Faith in the United Kingdom. The news journal Herald of the South was begun publishing for New Zealand and Australia during their voyage[30] out of Auckland (transferred publishing to Adelaide Australia in 1931.)[31] After receiving a compilation on forming Assemblies they then returned to New Zealand in December 1925. They also returned with some dust from the Tomb of Baháʼu'lláh which was placed in New Zealand soil at Stevenson's home in a ceremony held on 14 February 1926. Later in 1926 the Baháʼís in Auckland were able to properly elect their first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly. In 1928 there were seven assemblies between New Zealand and Australia – by 1939 the number of assemblies had reduced to 4 but the locations with Baháʼís increased to 17 and by 1940 the count of assemblies reached 19 while there were still 17 other locations with smaller groups of Baháʼís.[32] In 1931 Keith Ransom-Kehler also visited.[33] [34] In 1934 Baháʼís from Australia and New Zealand elected a regional National Assembly[32] - there were three delegates from Auckland, three from Sydney and three from Adelaide. From 1934 to 1939 Stevenson served on the regional National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand and then died shortly thereafter in 1941. In 1940 the community held its first season school. In 1947 Alvin and Gertrude Blum left the United States for New Zealand where they lived until 1953 when they pioneered and became Knights of Baháʼu'lláh for the Solomon Islands.[35] In 1948 the first person of Māori descent to accept the Baháʼí Faith was Albert White, who was one quarter Māori. In 1949 the first Persian Baháʼí pioneer, Manoochehr Alaʼi, arrived as a student at Massey College. In 1953 the first standing Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the religion open to all, ʻAlí-Akbar Furútan, visited New Zealand. In 1957 the New Zealand community held its first independent convention to elect its own National Spiritual Assembly with three delegates from Auckland and two each from Devonport, New Plymouth and Wellington. This convention elected the first National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand. In 1958 Hand of the Cause of God, Enoch Olinga visited the Ngāruawāhia Marae and talked with elders and four years later, when Hand of the Cause of God, Dr Muhajir visited, Ephraim Te Paa, a Kaumatua (Māori elder) from Ahipara converted to the religion. In 1963 with the election of the Universal House of Justice the Hands of the Cause updated and published a kind of census of the religion. At that time there were four assemblies -Auckland, Devonport, Hamilton, Wellington – and 18 localities with smaller groups of Baháʼís – see maps. The story of one convert in 1964 includes her concern for her biracial children and despair at the bigotry of interracial marriage among the very minorities her children were members (she being Celt and married a Māori) when she found this kind of marriage highly accepted among Baháʼís.[36] The members of the National Assembly, who participated in the convention for the first election of the Universal House of Justice, were: Hugh Blundell, John Carr, Margaret Harnish, Linda Hight, Percy Leadley, Phyllis Milne, Jean Simmons, Douglas Weeks, and Terry Stirling.[37] The New Zealand Baháʼí community came to the assistance of refugees in 1979 from the persecution of Baháʼís in Iran who were allowed to settle in New Zealand.[38] Between 1987 and 1989, a further 142 Iranian Baháʼís settled in New Zealand.[39]

Modern community

Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women,[40] promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern,[41] and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice dated 20 October 1983 was released.[42] Baháʼís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Baháʼí teachings, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979, there were 129 officially recognised Baháʼí socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognised development projects had increased to 1482. In the modern Baháʼí community of New Zealand the Baháʼís have multiplied their interests internally and externally. Aside from major themes there have also been individual work done in variety of topics – for example post-traumatic stress syndrome.[43] Additionally the community has continued to advocate with the New Zealand government to speak up on behalf of the persecuted Baháʼís in Iran.[44]

Race Relations

In 1997[45] the Baháʼí community approached the Race Relations Conciliator with a project to honour the memory of Hedi Moani, an Iranian-born Baháʼí who worked to promote positive race relations.[46] Discussions took place over many months and on 10 December 1998 (Human Rights Day), the Race Relations Office formally announced that Race Unity Day would be celebrated in New Zealand on 21 March each year. The first awards were in 2001. There are reviews of speeches in 2007, 2008,[47] and 2009.[48] National coverage of events with the police was affirmed in 2008.[49] In addition to national-scale events various localities have had local competitions – an example was the observance in Whangarei[50] and Lower Hutt in 2009.[51] In 2012 then 13-year-old Rima Shenoy submitted a video that won first place in the Race Unity Speech Awards of the New Zealand Police and the Baháʼís.[52]

Development

As the Baháʼí community has grown in size and complexity it has also run into controversies and survived. In the 1980s there was a controversy about the status of women not being electable to the Universal House of Justice.[53] [54] In 1989 there was a controversy over the burial of a Māori Baháʼí, Pakaka Tawhai. Though the National Assembly had consulted with Tawhai's wife about burial, Pakaka's tribal family, the Ngati Porou, confronted the Baháʼís during the tangihanga, demanding to take his body back to Ruatoria. Ultimately they failed.[55] Then member of the Universal House of Justice Peter Khan spoke at a conference in New Zealand in 2000, noting that the Universal House of Justice had received letters "written in distasteful language" from New Zealand – he encouraged systematic education of children, application of a moral life, a serious study of the Covenant of Baháʼu'lláh, and study of the writings of Shoghi Effendi.[56]

Beyond controversies, the Baháʼís in New Zealand have broadened their interests both through individual initiatives and collective action. In 1991 an assembly was elected in the Kāpiti Coast District. In 2000 two Baháʼí pioneers from New Zealand settled in Pitcairn Islands, one of the few nations on earth that had no Baháʼí presence. In 2006 Baháʼís helped dedicate the temporary Spiritual Centre at Middlemore Hospital.[57] In 2007 Dunedin Baháʼís had been granted access to a community centre.[58] The Universal House of Justice called for a regional conference for the Baháʼís from New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, Kiribati, New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu to be held in Auckland's Manukau City, on the sacred grounds of their marae, in 2008 and it came to pass in February 2009.[59] The Baháʼí on Air television show is broadcast weekly on Auckland's Triangle TV which also covers the Cook Islands, American Samoa, and Adelaide, Australia.[60] There has also been an independent documentary by a non-Baháʼí New Zealander exploring the religion in 2007.[61] In 2011 Baháʼís participated in the community memorial for those who had died in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.[62] It was mentioned in a review of spirituality in business in 2012.[63] The community in Tauranga invited the Baháʼís to join their interfaith council.[64]

Demographics

A 1999 report from the census bureau noted that of the citizens of New Zealand of Middle Eastern ethnicity, 4% were Baháʼí and 20% of the Baháʼís in New Zealand are members of some ethnic minority.[65] The 1991 and 2006 New Zealand census reports about 2800 Baháʼís[66] though the 1996 census listed just over 3100 Baháʼís.[67] The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated some 7400 Baháʼís in 2005.[68] There are more than 65 local Baháʼí communities around New Zealand, the large city communities have hundreds of members and assemblies, while some rural areas having groups of just two or three Baháʼís.[69] About 46 are full-fledged assemblies.[70] The religion was called a "mainstream religion" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[71]

Well known individuals

The Bahá´í Association For the Arts and its publication Arts Dialogue has produced a lists of New Zealand Baháʼí artists, reviews of the shows and articles published dealing with New Zealand.[72] The national assembly posted profiles of some Baháʼís in 2011.[73]

See also

Further reading

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Mahometan Schism. New Zealand Spectator Cook's Strait Guardian . 3 near the bottom . 15 July 1846 . 31 May 2013.
  2. News: Bain . Wilhemenia Sherriff . Behaïsm . Otago Witness . New Zealand . 87. 8 December 1908 . 10 September 2010.
  3. Encyclopedia: Stevenson, Margaret Beveridge 1865– 1941 Baha'i. Elsmore . Bronwyn . Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Online . New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage . 22 June 2007 . 19 September 2009.
  4. There isn't a definite date Felkin is considered a Baha'i except before 1914 – Arohanui, Introduction by Collis Featherstone.
  5. Web site: New Zealand community – The first New Zealand Baháʼí . New Zealand Community . National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of New Zealand . 19 September 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090217081432/http://bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_first.html . 17 February 2009 .
  6. Book: ʻAbdu'l-Bahá . ʻAbdu'l-Bahá . 1991 . Tablets of the Divine Plan . Paperback . Baháʼí Publishing Trust . Wilmette, IL . 978-0-87743-233-3 . 47–59 . 1916-17.
  7. Encyclopedia: Hassall . Graham . Clara and Hyde Dunn . draft of Short Encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith . bahai-library.com . January 2000. 28 September 2009.
  8. Book: Effendi, Shoghi . Shoghi Effendi . J. E. Esslemont . Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand . Baháʼí Publishing Trust of Suva, Fiji Islands. 1982 . Suva, Fiji Islands . Appendix,?? .
  9. Web site: New Zealand community – Historical timeline . New Zealand Community . National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of New Zealand . https://web.archive.org/web/20071023184025/http://www.bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_timeline.html . dead . 23 October 2007 . 19 September 2009 .
  10. Web site: The Baháʼí Faith: 1844–1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Baháʼí Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953–1963. Hands of the Cause. Hands of the Cause. 11, 104–5.
  11. Web site: 2018 Census totals by topic – national highlights - Stats NZ . stats.govt.nz . 21 December 2020.
  12. Web site: Most Baha'i Nations (2010) QuickLists The Association of Religion Data Archives . www.thearda.com . 21 December 2020.
  13. Book: National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States. World Order. 31 May 2013. 1977. National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States..
  14. Book: Christopher Buck . Moshe Sharon . Moshe Sharon . W. J. Hanegraaff . P. Pratap Kumar . Studies in Modern Religions and Religious Movements and the Babi/Baha'i Faiths . The eschatology of globalization: the multiple-messiahship of Baháʼulláh revisited. http://christopherbuck.com/pdf/Buck_2004_Globalization.pdf . Brill Academic Publishers . Mumen Book Series, Studies in the history of religions . CIV . August 2004 . 143–173 . 9789004139046 .
  15. http://bahai-library.com/momen_attempted_assassination_shah The Attempted Assassination of Nasir al Din Shah in 1852: Millennialism and Violence
  16. Momen . Moojan . Millennialism and Violence: The Attempted Assassination of Nasir al-Din Shah of Iran by the Babis in 1852 . Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions . 12 . 1 . 57–82 . August 2008 . 10.1525/nr.2008.12.1.57 . 10.1525/nr.2008.12.1.57 .
  17. Web site: Wilhelmina Sherriff Bain (1848–1944) An early advocate of the Baha'i Faith in New Zealand, 1908 . Antipodean Baháʼí Studies . 2009 . 19 September 2009.
  18. Encyclopedia: Bain, Wilhelmina Sherriff 1848 – 1944 – Teacher, librarian, feminist, peace activist, writer. Hutching . Megan . Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Online . New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage . 22 June 2007 . 19 September 2009.
  19. News: An Eastern Religion . Colonist . 4 . National Library of New Zealand . 3 March 1909 . 19 September 2009.
  20. News: Bahaism -New Religion from Persia "Prophet"'s visit to London . Poverty Bay Herald . 1 . National Library of New Zealand. 21 October 1911 . 19 September 2009.
  21. News: A Prophet of Peace . Evening Post . 12 . National Library of New Zealand . 8 March 1913 . 19 September 2009.
  22. Edney, Ken. Dr. Robert William Felkim and the S.R.I.A.. From the website of the Felkin College of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, Napier, New Zealand. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
  23. Book: Thompson, Juliet . Juliet Thompson . 1947 . The Diary of Juliet Thompson . Kalimat Press . Los Angeles .
  24. News: Euripides at Wells; Miss Dorothea Spinney Reads "Hippolytus" at Student Gathering. . The New York Times. . Magazine Section Part Five, Page SM18 . 19 January 1913 . 4 October 2009 .
  25. Web site: Winder . Virginia . Spanish Influenza NZ's Worst Disaster . Taranaki Stories . Puke Ariki . 21 July 2004 . 9 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081019130733/http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/disasters/flu.htm . 19 October 2008 . dead .
  26. Book: ʻAbbas, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá . Mirza Ahmad Sohrab (trans. and comments) . Tablets, Instructions and Words of Explanation . April 1919 .
  27. Book: Effendi, Shoghi . Shoghi Effendi . Messages to the Antipodes:Communications from Shoghi Effendi to the Baháʼí Communities of Australasia . Peter Khan (Introduction) . Mona Vale: Baháʼí Publications Australia . 1997 . and page 14 . Introduction . http://bahai-library.com/shoghieffendi_messages_antipodes&chapter=1#introduction. 978-0-909991-98-2.
  28. News: Baháʼí International Community . Baháʼí International Community . Tree-planting marks Fiji anniversary . Baháʼí International News Service . 12 April 2005 . 19 September 2009.
  29. Web site: Hassall . Graham . Pilgrimage . Ambassador at the Court: The Life and Photography of Effie Baker . bahai-library.com . January 2000 . 11 October 2009.
  30. Baha'i Activities in Other Lands; New Zealand . Baháʼí News . September 1931 . 55 . 6 .
  31. Smith . Peter. Peter Smith (historian) . Carole M. Cusack . Christopher Hartney . The Baha'i Faith: Distribution Statistics, 1925–1949 . Journal of Religious History . 39 . 3 . 352–369 . Dec 2014 . 1467-9809 . 10.1111/1467-9809.12207 .
  32. Hassall . Graham . 'Ala'í . Sitarih . Daws . Colleen . Hilda Brooks and the Australian Baha'i Community . Association for Baháʼí Studies, Australia . 1989 . 19 September 2009.
  33. Book: Mathews, Loulie . Outposts of A World Religion by a Baha'i Traveler; Journeys Taken In 1933-1934-1935, Accompanied by Edward R. Mathews . Bahai-Library.com .
  34. News: The Baha'i Faith in Solomon Islands have launched three stamps . Solomon Star Newspaper . Tooraj Enayati . 2006 . 19 September 2009.
  35. Book: Universal House of Justice . In Memoriam . The Baháʼí World . XVIII . Baháʼí World Centre . 730–1 . 1986 . 978-0-85398-234-0.
  36. Book: Rabbani, R. . 1992 . The Ministry of the Custodians 1957–1963 . Baháʼí World Centre . 978-0-85398-350-7 . 411.
  37. Fond memories of NZ welcome . Immigration Matters . July 2004 . 30 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100522041426/http://dol.govt.nz/PDFs/IMIssue2.pdf . 22 May 2010 . dead .
  38. Encyclopedia: Beaglehole . Ann . Refugees – 1970s–2003: refugee groups . Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand . Online . Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga . 4 March 2009 . 978-0-478-18451-8 . 19 September 2009.
  39. Encyclopedia: Momen . Moojan . History of the Baha'i Faith in Iran . draft "A Short Encyclopedia of the Baha'i Faith" . Bahai-library.com . 16 October 2009.
  40. Kingdon . Geeta Gandhi . Education of women and socio-economic development . Baháʼí Studies Review . 7 . 1 . 1997 .
  41. The Baha'i Faith 1957–1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments . Moojan . Momen . Smith, Peter . 1989 . 19 . Religion . 63–91 . 10.1016/0048-721X(89)90077-8.
  42. Barbara . McLellan . The Chasm of Belief . New Zealand Association for Baha'i Studies conference, 1996 . Antipodes Baha'i Studies . 1996 . 19 September 2009.
  43. Book: Briefing from the New Zealand Baháʼí community . Report of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, New Zealand House of Representatives . Baháʼís of New Zealand . 24 September 2009 . 10 September 2015 .
  44. Web site: Involvement in society . New Zealand Community . National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of New Zealand . 19 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090221032014/http://bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_society.html . 21 February 2009 . dead .
  45. Web site: Human Rights Commission/Te Korowai Whakapono . NZ Inter-Faith Network . February 2007 . 19 September 2009.
  46. Web site: Race Unity Speech Award – Finding Common Ground / He Rapunga Tahitanga – National semi finals and finals 2008 . Events . NZ Interfaith Group . 17 February 2008 . 19 September 2009.
  47. Web site: NZ Bahai Community . Race Relations > Te Ngira: The NZ Diversity Action Programme > Participants 2009 . New Zealand Human Rights Commission . 19 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101116180311/http://www.hrc.co.nz/home/hrc/racerelations/tengirathenzdiversityactionprogramme/participants2009/nzbahaicommunity.php . 16 November 2010 . dead .
  48. News: Speech competition promotes race unity . Ten One, Community Edition . New Zealand Police . April 2008 . 19 September 2009.
  49. Web site: Settlement Support is a winner & Regional winner promoting racial harmony . Public Notices and News . Whangarei District Council . 2007 . 19 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100516055721/http://www.wdc.govt.nz/resources/13017/public-notices-and-news-2009-04-07.pdf . 16 May 2010 . dead .
  50. Web site: Race Unity Speech Award . Lower Hutt Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly . 19 September 2009.
  51. Web site: Race Unity Speech Awards go from strength to strength . New Zealand Police . 18 June 2012 . 10 September 2015 .
  52. Web site: Universal House of Justice . Universal House of Justice . 1988 Letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of New Zealand . Letters from the Universal House of Justice, unpublished . Bahai-Library.com . 31 May 1988 . 19 September 2009.
  53. Momen . Moojan . Marginality and Apostasy in the Baha'i Community . . 37 . 3 . 187–209 . 8 June 2007 . 0048-721X . 10.1016/j.religion.2007.06.008 . 55630282 . 19 September 2009.
  54. Web site: National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand . Special Report on Baha'i Burial vs. Maori Custom . Letters from National Spiritual Assemblies, unpublished . Bahai-Library.com . 6 October 1989 . 19 September 2009.
  55. Web site: Khan . Peter . Peter Khan . Dr. Khan's Address at Queen's Birthday Weekend Conference . Informal Talks by Notable Figures . Bahai-Library.com . June 2008 . 19 September 2009.
  56. News: Spiritual Centre Opens at Middlemore Hospital . Project Excel 20-20 Newsletter . Counties Manukau District Health Board . March 2006 . 19 September 2009.
  57. Web site: Resource Consent Application . Dunedin Hearings Committee . 12 February 2007 . 19 September 2009 .
  58. News: Baháʼí International Community . Baháʼí International Community . The Auckland Regional Conference . Baháʼí International News Service . 1 February 2009 . 19 September 2009.
  59. Web site: Resources . National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of New Zealand . 19 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091220225406/http://www.bahai.org.nz/resources.html . 20 December 2009 . dead .
  60. Web site: Odess-Gillett . Warren . A Baha'i Perspective 08.15.2009 Warren Odess-Gillett interviews Jess Firth . WXOJ-LP . 19 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110722212640/http://www.valleyfreeradio.org/2009/08/a-bahai-perspective-08-15-2009/ . 22 July 2011 . dead . dmy-all .
  61. News: Christchurch Memorial Service . ESL News New Zealand . Christchurch, New Zealand . 18 March 2011 . 10 September 2015.
  62. Luk Bouckaert . László Zsolnai . Spirituality and business: An interdisciplinary overview . Society and Economy . 34 . 3 . 489–514 . 19 September 2012 . 10.1556/SocEc.34.2012.3.8 . 1588-970X.
  63. News: Ruth Keber . Interfaith council gets under way with prayers for world peace . Bay of Plenty Times . Tauranga, New Zealand . 10 October 2014 . 10 September 2015.
  64. Book: Thomson, Barbara . Ethnic Diversity in New Zealand: a Statistical Profile . Ethnic Affairs Service Information Series . 03 . 178, 183 . Research Unit, Department of Internal Affairs . https://web.archive.org/web/20081014200352/http://www.ethnicaffairs.govt.nz/oeawebsite.nsf/wpg_url/Resources-Research-Index/$file/EthnicDiversity.pdf . dead . 14 October 2008 . 1173-7166 . 978-0-478-09244-8 . 19 September 2009 . 1999 .
  65. Nachowitz . Todd . New Zealand as a Multireligious Society: Recent Census Figures and Some Relevant Implications . Aotearoa Ethnic Network Journal . 02 . 2 . August 2007 . 1177-3472 . 9 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180123212440/http://aen.org.nz/journal/2/2/AENJ.2.2.Nachowitz.pdf . 23 January 2018 . dead .
  66. Web site: International Religious Freedom Report – New Zealand . 26 October 2001 . 19 September 2009. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor . United States State Department.
  67. Web site: Most Baha'i Nations (2005) . QuickLists > Compare Nations > Religions > . The Association of Religion Data Archives . 2005 . 4 July 2009 . 23 January 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160123095007/http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp . dead .
  68. Web site: The local Baháʼí community . New Zealand Community . National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of New Zealand . 19 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090221024332/http://bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_local.html . 21 February 2009 . dead .
  69. Web site: About Us . The Baháʼí Community of the Kapiti Coast District of New Zealand . Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Kapiti . https://web.archive.org/web/20081016043211/http://www.kapitibahai.org.nz/collateral/Kapiti_Welcome.htm . dead . 16 October 2008 . 23 January 2018.
  70. Carrie Moore . Spiritual Experiences and Environmentalism of Recreational Users in the Marine Environment: New Zealand Surfers and Scuba Divers . 22 . Natural Resource Management and Ecological Engineering at Lincoln University . Christchurch, New Zealand . 2011 . 10182/3881 .
  71. Web site: Aotearoa / New Zealand . external LINKS . The Bahá´í Association For the Arts . 19 September 2009.
  72. Web site: Profiles of some New Zealand Baháʼís . National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of New Zealand . 2011 . 10 September 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150930051132/http://www.bahai.org.nz/new-zealand-bahais/profiles-of-some-new-zealand-bahais/ . 30 September 2015 . dead .
  73. News: Reid . Tony . Crump Flags It Away . New Zealand Listener . Wellington, N. Z. . 21–22, 25, 26 . 20 November 1982 .
  74. Book: Robinson . Roger . Wattie . Nelson . The Oxford companion to New Zealand literature . Oxford University Press . 1998 . 978-0-19-558348-9.
  75. Web site: Sheryl Davis . Profiles of Baháʼís . National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of New Zealand . 19 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100513084320/http://bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_profiles9.html . 13 May 2010 . dead .
  76. http://www.cdbaby.com/rainbolt3 Charmed Life: Shaynee Rainbolt Sings Russell Garcia
  77. Web site: Russell Garcia . The Time Machine Project . Don Coleman . 19 September 2009.
  78. Web site: Heather Simpson . Profiles of Baháʼís . National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of New Zealand . 19 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100513084134/http://bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_profiles5.html . 13 May 2010 . dead .
  79. https://web.archive.org/web/20081010194342/http://www.bahai.org.nz/Bahai_Institutions_and_Governance_Booklet.PDF Baháʼí Institutions AND Global Governance
  80. News: Dewes . Haydon . Palmer . Rebecca . Twenty New Zealanders in Haifa . The Dominion Post . 31 July 2006 . 19 September 2009.
  81. News: Halle . Charlotte . Lots of parties, a war, some bad press and an astounding garden terrace . 19 September 2009.
  82. see for example Greg Zemke-Smith who both works in government and is a Baháʼí – Web site: Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Wellington. 2014. Charity Summary. Charities Commission. 12 February 2014.
  83. Zemke . Ken . Ken Zemke . Ken Zemke film, video editor, New Zealand . Arts Dialogue . 2002 . November . November 2002 .
  84. Web site: Ken Zemke . Profiles of Baháʼís . National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of New Zealand . 19 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100513084202/http://bahai.org.nz/what_is_bahai/NZ_profiles4.html . 13 May 2010 . dead .