Patrick Doran (c. 1893-1965) was a member of the Northern Territory's early #Bahai Faith community. We don't know much about his early life although he may have been originally from Belfast. Government employment records show him working on the North Australia Railway between 1945 and 1958 and living at a fettlers' camp at 22 Mile (modern day Wishart) near Darwin. In 1954, he married a Wadjigingy woman named Alice Mulgar Marananggu, and the two of them lived at a property at 10 Mile (near Berrimah) until his death in 1965. He is buried in Darwin General Cemetery.

I've started a WikiTree profile for him here:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Doran-2061

#bahaihistory #wikitree #genealogy

Sarah Florence (Parry) Fitzner (1906-1980) was born to William Charles Perry and Florence Griffiths in Wrexham, Wales. Her family migrated to Port Pirie, South Australia in 1913. She became a member of the #Bahai Faith in 1927 and married Harold Fitzner during 1931 in one of the Australia's first Baha'i weddings. The couple are credited with being the first Baha'is to live in Timor-Leste and in the Top End of the Northern Territory.

Her life story and family tree are here:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Parry-2451

#bahaihistory #genealogy #wikitree

Harold Thomas Robert (Pfitzner) Fitzner (1893-1969) was born in Kapunda, South Australia. He is descended from one of three brothers who migrated to South Australia during the 1850s. His uncle, Carl Pfitzner (1853-1906) was a notable early explorer of outback northern South Australia/southern Northern Territory.

He became a #Bahai in 1927, served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand and pioneered to Portuguese Timor (now Timor-Leste). During an extended stay in #Darwin during the 1950s, they became the first Baha'is to live in the Top End.

His story and family tree are here:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pfitzner-115

#bahaihistory #wikitree #genealogy

The first #Baha'is to live in Australia's #NorthernTerritory were Harold T. R. Fitzner (1893-1969) and Sarah Florence (Parry) Fitzner (1906-1980). They are also credited as the first Baha'is to live in Timor-Leste, for which they were given the title "Knight of Baha'u'llah".

https://bahaipedia.org/Knights_of_Bah%C3%A1%E2%80%99u%E2%80%99ll%C3%A1h

#bahaihistory

Hilda Margaret (Brooks) Thomas (1896-1969) was the 9th of 10 children born to a farming family in Booleroo Centre, South Australia. She was raised in the Methodist tradition but joined the Baha'i Faith after meeting Mrs. Keith Ransom-Kehler in 1931. Her mother and four siblings also became Baha'is, and many of their descendants are active members of our community.

Her profile and family tree is here:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brooks-17937

#bahai #bahaihistory #genealogy

Margaret Beveridge Stevenson (1865-1941) is considered to be the first person living in New Zealand to join the Baha'i Faith. She was born to Scottish settlers in Onehunga, Auckland. In 1934, she was one of two New Zealand Baha'is elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand in 1934, and served as its Secretary until her sudden passing in 1941.

Her story and family tree:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stevenson-7892

#bahai #bahaihistory #genealogy

Mary Charlotte (O'Dowd) Moffitt (1867-1950) was born in Sydney to Irish immigrants. She became a Baha'i in 1929 and served on local assemblies in both Adelaide and Sydney before being elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand in 1934. Her twin sons are said to be the only twins who fought at Gallipoli during WWI.

Her story & family tree is here:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/O'Dowd-145

#bahai #bahaihistory #genealogy

Silver May (Hunt) Jackman (1883-1968) was born and raised in Norwood, South Australia. Her father migrated from the island of Jersey during the 1870s, while her mother's parents hailed from Lincolnshire. Silver joined the Baha'i Faith in 1929 and served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand between 1934 and 1948.

Her family tree and life story is here:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hunt-18843

#bahai #bahaihistory #genealogy

Robert Service Brown (1891-1962) was born in Dennistoun near Glasgow, Scotland. He first arrived in Australia sometime in the 1910s but briefly returned during World War I, serving with both the Glasgow Highlanders and the AIF. In 1929, he became a member of the Baha'i Faith and was elected inaugural chairman of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand in 1934.

His life story & family tree:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Brown-40851

#bahai #bahaihistory #genealogy

Sarah (Andrews) Blundell (1850-1934) was one of the first people to become a Baha'i in New Zealand. Her family was originally from Cambridge but has significant ties to Australia as her grandparents emigrated to Victoria during the 1850s.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Andrews-15651

Her daughter, Ethel Annie Blundell (1877-1962), was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand in 1934.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Blundell-961

#bahai #bahaihistory #genealogy

Percy Meade Almond (1891-1970) was born in a small village near the present-day town of Trentham, VIC, Australia. He has the distinction of serving in both WW1 and WW2. He and his wife, Maria Alice May "Maisie" Hancock (1876-1960), were the first people in South Australia to become Baha'is.

Their life stories and family tree connections are here:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Almond-941

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hancock-8604

#bahai #bahaihistory #genealogy

The first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand was formed in 1934. Its membership consisted of five women and four men. They are:

Back row: Percy Meade Almond, Ethel Blundell, Oswald Alfred Whitaker, Robert Service Brown
Front row: Sliver (Hunt) Jackman, Mary Charlotte (O'Dowd) Moffitt, John Henry Hyde Dunn, Margaret Beveridge Stevenson, Hilda (Brooks) Thomas

#bahai #bahaihistory

Oswald Alfred Whitaker (1889-1942) was the first person in Australia to join the Baha'i Faith. He is descended from #AustralianRoyalty - his paternal grandfather was originally from Nottinghamshire and transported for life in 1834. Read his story and view his family tree below:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Whitaker-5448

#bahai #bahaihistory #genealogy

The first Baha'is to live in Australia were John Henry Hyde Dunn (1856-1941) and his wife, Clara Mary (Holder) Dunn aka Davis (1869-1960). Inspired to travel across the seas after reading Abdu'l-Baha's Tablets Of The Divine Plan, they arrived in Sydney on 10 April 1920. Their life stories and global family tree connections are here:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dunn-8663

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Holder-2011

#bahaihistory