Historical Materials: Experiences in Australasia Collection

Collection

Identifier: Collection 235

Staff Only

Content Description

Ellen G. White (1829-1915), in response to an invitation given to her at the General Conference session held in March of 1891, departed for Australia in November of 1891, arriving a month later. She was accompanied by her son, W. C. White, and several of her assistants. She remained in the region until 1900, residing mostly in Australia. During this period she played an important role in the establishment of several institutions and church functions in the region. In 1900 she returned to the United States and settled in California.

This is a unique collection of working papers prepared in Ellen White’s office for a planned history of her ministry in Australia. Some of these documents are in the LT/MS (letter and manuscript) collection; some are variants of those in the LT/MS collection, or drawn from the Review and Herald or Bible Echo articles; and some are not found elsewhere.

Ellen G. White reworked these documents for use in a history that was never completed. They include her accounts of several aspects of her visit: the journey by ship from California, her observations about the ports and cities she visited, and letters and testimonies related to the establishment of the Adventist church in Australia and New Zealand. Documents are typewritten, but handwritten sections are found in several. The notation “Not found on file”, was, in most cases, written by Arthur White when he could not locate the manuscript among other documents in the manuscript files (Arthur White was a grandson of Ellen G. White, and the secretary for the White Estate from 1937-1978). It is not known in which year (1940s, 1950s, 1960s) he made this comparison. It does not necessarily mean that the document was not added to the file after he determined it was not found there.

This collection consists of photocopies of the originals which are available at the Ellen G. White Estate office at the church’s world headquarters, in Washington, DC.

Dates

Majority of material found within 1891 - 1900

Creator

White, Ellen Gould (Harmon), 1829-1915 (Person)

Conditions Governing Use

Any form of copying will be limited by the White Estate’s copy policy.

All users of this collection will be required to complete the “Application to Use Unpublished Records,” and to observe the regulations specified in the "Patron Agreement" and "Researcher’s Code of Conduct." All records in this collection are open and available for research. Citation for this collection:

Box ___, Fld ___, Ellen G. White: Experiences in Australasia (Collection 235), Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (5 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection consists of photocopied letters, and is arranged chronologically, not topically. No effort was made to sort the materials by writer or recipient.