feelings of profound satisfaction and gratitude to
Baha'u'llah evoked by this epoch-making event in the evolution of His
Faith in that far off region of the globe. I am deeply conscious of the
decisive share which the Australian Baha'i Community, labouring during
more than three decades, for the spread of the light of this glorious
revelation among the highly progressive people of that distant continent,
has had in the laying of the foundations of the Administrative Order and
the erection of yet another pillar of the future Universal House of
Justice in this remote Dominion.

The emergence of this independent Baha'i Community, no matter how limited
its numerical strength and modest its resources, must be regarded as a
highly significant development in the rise and establishment of the Baha'i
Faith in the Pacific Area, and should synchronise with the formulation, on
the part of the National Spiritual Assembly now being elected in that
Island, of a subsidiary Six-Year-Plan, designed to reinforce substantially
the numerical strength of the Community; to multiply its Centres, as well
as its Local Spiritual Assemblies; to incorporate the solidly grounded
amongst them; to inaugurate a National Fund; to obtain recognition for
both the Baha'i marriage certificate and the Baha'i Holy Days; to lend an
unprecedented impetus to the conversion of the Maoris, and to ensure their
active participation in the conduct of Baha'i Administrative Institutions;
to extend the scope of the work already initiated in the South Island; to
incorporate the newly formed National Spiritual Assembly, and to select
and acquire a site for the first Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of that Dominion.

I call upon the members of the Australian National Spiritual Assembly, as
well as the members of the Australian Baha'i Community, to continue to
lend their valued support to this newly pledged sister Community, and to
enable it, through the extension of material assistance as well as the
dispatch of visiting teachers and pioneers, to contribute, in an ever
increasing measure, to the furtherance of the magnificent and colossal
campaign now being so vigorously conducted in the North, in the South, and
in the heart of the Pacific Ocean.

May the outpourings of the Holy Spirit continue to energise this small yet
resolute forward marching, dedicated community, and may the outcome of the
collective efforts of its members contribute decisively to the triumphant
consummation o