North New South Wales Conference, South Pacific Division
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North New South Wales Conference, South Pacific Division BARRY OLIVER Barry Oliver, Ph.D., retired in 2015 as president of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists, Sydney, Australia. An Australian by birth Oliver has served the Church as a pastor, evangelist, college teacher, and administrator. In retirement, he is a conjoint associate professor at Avondale College of Higher Education. He has authored over 106 significant publications and 192 magazine articles. He is married to Julie with three adult sons and three grandchildren. The North New South Wales Conference is a constituent of the Australian Union Conference in the South Pacific Division of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The North New South Wales Conference office in Wallsend, NSW, Australia. Territory and Statistics Photo courtesy of Maddy Voinea. The North New South Wales (NSW) Conference headquarters is located at 112 Lake Road, Wallsend, New South Wales, 2287, Australia. Its unincorporated activities are governed by a constitution that is based on the model conference constitution of the South Pacific Division of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (SPD). Its real and intellectual property is held in trust by the Australasian Conference Association Limited, an incorporated entity based at the headquarters of the SPD in Wahroonga, New South Wales.1 The Conference Executive Committee has transferred most of its functions to three corporations to act as trustees for the conference: Seventh-day Adventist Church (North New South Wales Conference) Limited, which oversees the day-to-day operations of the conference and was incorporated on April 1, 2003;2 Seventh-day Adventist Schools (North New South Wales) Limited, which oversees the operation of the education entities within the conference and was registered on November 14, 2003;3 and Seventh-day Adventist Aged Care (North New South Wales) Limited, which oversees the operation of the aged care facilities within the conference and was registered on April 1, 2003.4 The territory of the North NSW Conference is “that part of New South Wales north of the Hawkesbury and Capertee Rivers as far as the 150th meridian of East Longitude, thence east of the line running north to Cassilis, but excluding the town of Cassilis, to a point just west of the town of Coonabarabran, but east of the 149th meridian of East Longitude and then directly west to the South Australian border parallel with the Queensland border.”5 In the 2019 Annual Statistical Report of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, THE North NSW Conference was listed as having 66 churches and 14 companies. Church membership at the end of 2018 was 12,112, making it the second largest conference by membership in Australia.6 The conference had 1,256 active employees in 2016. Its tithe receipts for 2016 totaled US$11,496,898. Its tithe and offerings per capita were US$1,453.57.7 Schools of the North New South Wales Conference The North NSW Conference operates the largest education system in the Australian Union Conference. Avondale Schools. The first school at Avondale commenced operations at Cooranbong, New South Wales, on April 28, 1897, as the Avondale School for Christian Workers.8 The school had been opened on August 24, 1892, as the Australasian Bible School in North Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia,9 with 25 students.10 When the Australasian Union Conference formed in 1894, the oversight of the school was placed in the hands of the union.11 In 1897 the union transferred the school from Victoria to the newly acquired Brettville estate in Cooranbong, NSW, and it was renamed the Avondale School for Christian Workers. Ellen White wrote extensively in support of the school.12 In 1911 it became the Australasian Missionary College, and later, in in 1954, Avondale College. An elementary school was established in 1897, and the Leaving Certificate was offered by the college from 1917 when the school gained state recognition as a secondary school. The elementary and secondary schools were transferred from the college campus to a location at 119 Avondale Road, Cooranbong, in 1980. In 2012, the Toronto Seventh-day Adventist School located at the corner of Wangi Road and Parkside Parade, Toronto, NSW, 2283, was added as a second campus of Avondale Schools.13 The Avondale Early Learning Centre was approved in June 2002 and established on the Cooranbong Avondale Schools campus.14 Blue Hills College. Lismore Adventist School was established in 1950 in the church hall in Brewster Street, Lismore.15 The school later transferred to its present location at 17 Blue Hills Avenue, Goonellabah, NSW, 2480, and was renamed Blue Hills College. It has elementary and secondary campuses. Central Coast Adventist College. Established as the Erina school in 1969,16 the school began in a small building on Mann Street in Gosford, with one teacher and 18 students. In 1970 the campus was moved to the current site at Penrose Crescent, Erina, NSW, 2250. The 4.2-hectare (10.4-acre) property has been developed into a pre- Kindergarten to Year 12 campus. In 2018, Central Coast Adventist School had more than 110 staff, and about 875 students were enrolled.17 Kempsey Adventist School. Originally located on Yaraval Street in Kempsey, NSW, Kempsey Adventist School was established in 1977.18 Approval for the school to relocate to 108 Crescent Head Road, Kempsey, was given in October 2001.19 The school has both elementary and secondary campuses. Macksville Adventist School. Macksville Adventist School commenced operation with 17 students on January 31, 1967. By the end of the year, the enrollment had grown to 24. Classes were run in the Macksville church hall. The school was relocated to its present site with the official opening of the building in October 1984. The school is located at 11 Dudley Street, Macksville, NSW.20 Macquarie College. The Hamilton church in Newcastle, NSW, established the first school in the conference in the rear of the church building on Lindsay Street, Hamilton, sometime between mid-1900 and the start of 1901.21 The school closed after about three years, and then reopened about 1913 and closed again sometime after 1918. In early February 1933, the school reopened in the rear of the Hamilton Church, beginning with 19 students, growing to 24 within weeks.22 The potential of the school prompted a report at the conference session “that more church schools should be established in this Conference.”23 A new facility was built by the end of 1938. The two-teacher school boasted a mere 20 students, 11 of which were primary pupils, with several non-Adventists included.24 The school gradually increased in enrollment and staff. In 1991, the school was once again relocated25 to 182-222 Lake Road, Wallsend, NSW, 2287, and renamed Macquarie College. The campus includes an early learning center, elementary school, and secondary school. The Macquarie College Early Learning Centre commenced operation in 1994.26 Manning Adventist School. The Manning Adventist School commenced operations in 1977.27 It is located at the corner of Urray Road and The Bucketts Way, Tinonee, NSW, 2430, Australia. Port Macquarie Adventist School. Established by a 1991 action of the North New South Wales Executive Committee,28 the Port Macquarie Adventist School is located at 500 Ocean Drive, Port Macquarie, NSW, 2444, Australia. It is an elementary school. Toronto Adventist School. Opened on February 12, 1982, with 14 pupils, the Toronto Adventist School was located in the Toronto Church complex at the corner of Galbraith Street and Barry Street, Toronto.29 The school transferred to a campus at the corner of Wangi Road and Parkside Parade, Toronto, NSW, 2283, Australia, opening on April 5, 1983. 30 In 2012, the school became a second elementary school campus of Avondale Schools.31 Tweed Valley Adventist College. When opened as a primary school in Riverview Street, Murwillumbah, in 1958, Murwillumbah Seventh-day Adventist School had 20 students. By 1964 the college had 35 students enrolled and offered a secondary curriculum. In 1974, the college was moved to its present site on Hall Drive in Murwillumbah. By 1998 Tweed Valley Adventist College had been named one of the top nine “Outstanding Small Schools” in New South Wales and was providing a curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12.32 Nursing Home and Retirement Facilities Alstonville Lifestyle Community. The Alstonville Lifestyle Community facility was established in 1984.33 It has a 51- bed hostel accommodating the needs of residents in low care, high care, and secure dementia care.34 It also has 84 self-care villas.35 It is located at 77 Pearces Creek Road, Alstonville, NSW, 2477, Australia. Avondale Lifestyle Community. Located at 552-578 Freemans Drive, Cooranbong, NSW, 2265, Avondale Lifestyle Community was established by action of the North New South Wales Executive Committee in 1955.36 Its entities include the Avondale House Aged Care Facility (formerly Charles Harrison Nursing Home); the Alton Lodge Aged Care Facility; Alton Villas, situated on the western side of Freemans Drive and comprising 104 two- and three- bedroom villas, communal village gardens, and croquet and golf courses; and Kressville Villas on the east side of Freemans Drive, which is the location of the Adventist Senior Living corporate office. Kressville Villas offers 128 one-, two-, and three-bedroom villas, a village maintenance shed, and the village café.37 Jewells Lifestyle Community. Located at 7 Niaba Road, Jewells, NSW, 2280, the Jewells Lifestyle Community was purchased in 2012.38 It has 97 villas, a community hall, a croquet course, and a community garden.39 Wyee Point Lifestyle Community. The Wyee Point Lifestyle Community is located at 100 Government Road, Wyee Point, NSW, 2259. The land was purchased in 2012.40 It has 26 independent living units with further development planned.41 Camps Stuarts Point Convention Centre.