Adventist Heritage Loma Linda University Publications
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Loma Linda University TheScholarsRepository@LLU: Digital Archive of Research, Scholarship & Creative Works Adventist Heritage Loma Linda University Publications Fall 1985 Adventist Heritage - Vol. 10, No. 2 Adventist Heritage, Inc. Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/advent-heritage Part of the History Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Adventist Heritage, Inc., "Adventist Heritage - Vol. 10, No. 2" (1985). Adventist Heritage. http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/advent-heritage/22 This Newsletter is brought to you for free and open access by the Loma Linda University Publications at TheScholarsRepository@LLU: Digital Archive of Research, Scholarship & Creative Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Adventist Heritage by an authorized administrator of TheScholarsRepository@LLU: Digital Archive of Research, Scholarship & Creative Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Editor's Stump Dorothy Minchin-Comm 2 A TIME OF BEGINNINGS Noel P. Clapham 3 THIEVES AMONG THE MERINOS? Tales from the Gospel Trail Elaine J. Fletcher 7 FULFILLING THE GOLDEN DREAM: The Growth of Adventism in New Zealand Ross Goldstone 19 THE WAYOF THE WORD: The Story of the Publishing Work in Australia Donald E. Hansen 26 KWIC-BRU, GRANOSE, GRANOLA AND THE GOSPEL Robert H. Parr 36 HEIRLOOM:The Family in the Shop Dorothy Minchin-Comm 46 SONGS OF TIlE ISLANDS: Adventist Missions in the South Pacific Robert D. Dixon and Dorothy Minchin-Comm 50 BOOKMARK:A Fourth Book of Chronicles: A Review of Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Aust.ralian Years, 1891-1900. Arthur N. Patrick 62 he lands "Down Under" have long fascinated people of the northern hemisphere. To walk a sugar-white beach enclosing a palm-fringed lagoon, to feel sharp winds blowing up from Antarctica, to feed a big red kangaroo, to see ten thousand sheep on the green Canterbury Plains below the snowy Southern Alps, to savor the solitudes of the great Outback, and to feel the magnetism of great thriving cities beside enchanting harbors - attrac- tions such as these have given the South Pacific its dis- tinctive character. Here, to be sure, lies a worthy desti- nation for the dreamers of dreams. In the 2nd century A.D., however, the Greek geog- rapher Ptolemy designated the great land mass of Australia as "Terra Incognita," the "Unknown Land." With its land bridge to Asia destroyed by volcanic ac- tion and surging seas, this remote island continent was success story. Much of that success can be attributed, left to itself for millennia, a place where curious flora first, to the pioneering efforts of the early American and fauna survived and developed. And, indeed, Austra- missionaries who dared the seemingly impossible and lians sometimes do feel upstaged by the koalas, kan- established churches, schools, medical institutions, a garoos, kiwis, frilled lizards, wombats and Tasmanian publishing concern and the health food industry. Sec- devils. To say nothing of the immense prairies grazing ond, the remarkable ability of the indigenous. member- . millions of Merino sheep, the grey-green bush sheltering ship not 'only to catch the vision of the pioneers, but to loud-mouthed parrots and kookaburras, and the transform it into a vibrant reality even while dreaming springtime desert sporting hectic red-and-black Sturt new dreams for the expansion of the .Adventist church Peas and fuzzy Bottlebrushes. "DownUnder." In 1788,Australia broke into the modern age with the The articles in this issue of Adventist Heritage re- arrival of the First Fleet which deposited more than a cord the development of the Advent movement in the thousand persons of mixed fortunes on the shores of South Pacific. They are condensed versions from a just- Botany Bay. Bred of sun, surf and bush, the colonists published book, Seventh-day Adventists in the South -I were informal, hardworking and confident. Proud to be Pacific, 1885-1985, celebrating the centenary of Advent- Australians, they forged themselves into a nation. ism in Australasia. We are indebted to the Signs Pub- Thanks to rapidly improving communication and trans- lishing Company of Warburton, Victoria, for permission portation, Australia did not remain subject to .the to use this material and to Dr. Noel P. Clapham, the -I tyranny of distance for long. It became a "Known Land." editor, for making it possible for us to share some In that newly found land, the individualistic traits of pages of Australian church history with our readers.W e the people, the accidents of geography, and the unex- have chosen articles which highlight the local color of pected turns of history together created a unique field "things Australian." and which describe some of the for spiritual adventure. In 1885, a little company of fulfillmentsof the early dreams. Seventh-day Adventist missionaries made the long We want to wish the South Pacific Division (formerly Pacific voyage from California to New South Wales, the Australasian Division) a "Happy Birthday" as it also landing at Botany Bay. They had a mighty dream. moves forward into its second century of service. Looking back over one hundred years, one realizes that the saga of Adventism in Australia has been a major Dorothy Minchin-Comm.Ph.D. 2 ADVENTIST HERITAGE faith of Jesus. Under the guidance of Ellen G. White, it The handful of clergymen on board remained gen- had adopted a number of reforms involving healthful teelly aloof, shying a little nervously from theological practices, especially the rejection of the use of tobacco discussion. But some of the passengers were more re- and intoxicating beverages. Little that Seventh-day Ad- ceptive and, indeed, were sufficiently impressed by the ventism offered in doctrine was new; all, or almost all, sincerity and conviction of John Corliss to listen to him had been propounded at some stage by earlier move- preach one afternoon in a specially arranged meeting. ments. But these views were presented as a fresh com- Further, these missionaries were not prepared to ne- bination, a new synthesis. glect the people of the islands lying near the ship's The expedition to Australia was part of a new phase course. Empty bottles obtained from the well-fre- in the evolution of Adventism; it was moving out from quented ship's bar were charged with Christian mes- being a small American sect to becoming a worldwide sages and dropped into the ,ocean for the prospective and rapidly growing movement stretching out to almost spiritual benefit of beachcombers and boatmen. every corner of the globe. Already for more than a de- When the party landed in Sydney, most of its mem- cade some of Adventism's best known personalities had bers moved on to Melbourne, Victoria, which had been been carrying its message across the seas: John N. An- selected as the base for its Australian activities; Haskell drews led a party to Europe in 1874; subsequently John and Israel remained briefly to assess Sydney as a field Matteson itinerated in Scandinavia; John Loughborough for later evangelism. Within a month the reunited group commenced public evangelism in England. It took some had settled in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne, and time for Stephen Haskell to persuade the leaders of the its leaders were intent on exploring means for com- denomination that "those kangaroos" in Australia were municating with the local residents. likely to respond favorably to his evangelical endeavors. But Ellen White provided encouragement, the expedi- hat of the religious scene in Australia in tion was eventually approved, and early in 1885 the 1885? The first Seventh-day Adventist team was assembled, ready to depart. On the 10th of group arrived at a time when both Catho- May they pulled away from the Brannan Street wharf in lic and Protestant churches were reconsid- San Francisco, waved farewell to friends and passed ering their style of approach to the general through the Golden Gate. The voyage to Australia was a aim of making Australia a Christian nation. Early con- pleasant one, spiced as it was with the prospect of a vict Australia had not appeared to the eyes of many En- new land, a somewhat new culture, and the lure of the glish religious leaders as the most promising ground for untried. Neither the novelty of shipboard life and the proselytising. But the early nineteenth-century evangeli- eternal fascination of the restless ocean, nor yet the cals, both within and without the Anglican communion, sight of the tall hills of Hawaii did anything to cool had quite willingly accepted the challenge. Nor was their missionary ardor. They were called to preach "the Catholicism slow to grasp opportunities available message," and they neglected no opportunity to do so. "down under." 4 ADVENTIST HERITAGE In the middle of the century, the churches had sought to achieve their aims through church schools supported by the state. But Australia, with its scattered popula- tion, was a difficult land for competing denominational systems. Financially the effort could not be sustained; teaching standards declined and ,~quipment was often practically non-existent. In New South Wales, Henry Parkes, the premier, intervened to fill the ever-widening gaps in the church-related schools by establishing a sys- tem of public, compulsory education to which the clergy could contribute religious instruction. The Catho- lic church, somewhat bitter at the loss of government support, went on_ alone. State aid to denominational schools ceased in Victoria in 1872, in New South Wales in 1880, in Western Australia fifteen years later. The goal of a Christian Australia was not abandoned; the Protestants in particular adopted a new strategy. As the day school system of churches disintegrated, Sun- day schools became of increased importance. In 1870, in New South Wales, over 52,000 children were to be found enrolled in Sunday schools; by 1890 the number had risen to 121,886- nearly half the children in the colony.