On Friday evening, and again on Sabbath morning, Ellen White spoke in a hall in Sydney. In describing the experience, she reported that the people said:
They had never before heard words that gave them such hope and courage in regard to justification by faith and the righteousness of Christ. They said that they felt that the treasure house of truth had been opened before them, and the words had taken hold upon their souls, filling them with joy and peace and the love of God....
The presence of Jesus is with us. The Lord has put upon me the spirit of intercession, and I have great freedom and assurance in prayer.... I am not sorry that I am here.--Letter 21, 1891.
Taking the train for the overnight trip to Melbourne, they arrived Wednesday morning, December 16. Here were located the publishing house and conference headquarters. A large group was assembled in Federal Hall, the meeting room on the second floor of the Echo Publishing Company, to extend a hearty welcome to Australia. G. B. Starr, W. C. White, and Ellen White each addressed the group. Thanks was given to God for bringing the visitors safely to Australia (Manuscript 47, 1891).
Recognized the Printing Presses
The newcomers were taken to the printing office below the hall. As they entered the pressroom Ellen White recognized the presses as those shown to her in the vision of January 3, 1875. She declared, "I have seen these presses before," and continued, "I have seen this place before. I have seen these persons, and I know the conditions existing among the workers in this department. There is a lack of unity here, a lack of harmony."--DF 105j, WCW, "A Comprehensive Vision." She had a message for the foreman working there. But she would have more of that to say and write later.
G. C. Tenney, president of the conference, writing for the Review and Herald in anticipation of Ellen White's visit to Australia, had declared:
I need hardly say that this event is anticipated by us all with great interest. I believe it is most opportune. The position that Sister White and her work occupy in connection with our cause renders it imperative that our people should become personally acquainted with her, so far as possible.
The evidences, from a Bible standpoint, of the authenticity of the work of the Spirit of Prophecy in connection with the last church are all-sufficient, but a closer acquaintance with the work of Sister White seems to be demanded, in order to satisfy the honest inquirer that it fills the requirements of God's Word.--The Review and Herald, November 17, 1891.
Now it was taking place. Ellen White was with them, worshiping and ministering in their midst.
On the next Thursday evening, December 24, the fourth annual session of the Australian Seventh-day Adventist Conference opened in Federal Hall. About one hundred people were present, representing the several churches in Australia. Since the next day was Christmas, Mrs. White delivered an appropriate message on "the birth and mission of Christ, illustrating the love of God and showing the propriety of making gifts of gratitude, as did those who brought their gifts to Jesus, rather than to waste means in useless gratification" (The Bible Echo, January 1, 1892).
Federal Hall was too small for the Sabbath-morning service, so Ellen White spoke in a larger hall. She was led to comment, "When they understand I am to speak, they have large numbers present."--Manuscript 45, 1891. For the Sunday-night meeting, the nearby Fitzroy Town Hall was secured; there she spoke on the plan of salvation and the love of God for fallen man to an audience that sat attentively for an hour and a half.
In her diary she wrote:
I was not well December 26 and December 27 [Sabbath and Sunday]. I had strong symptoms of malaria. I could eat but little through the day and had quite a fever, but the Lord strengthened me when [I was] before the people.--Ibid.
She little realized the ominous nature of the situation, for this was the onset of a prolonged and painful illness that was to affect her ministry in Australia materially.
The Business Session of the Conference
On Monday morning, December 28, as forty delegates took up the business of the session, two new churches were admitted, committees were appointed, and resolutions were brought before the delegates for consideration. These were not numerous, but they were important. The first read:
1. Resolved, That immediate attention be given to the Bible-reading work [Bible studies in private homes], and that suitable persons be selected and thoroughly trained for this kind of labor.--The Bible Echo, January 15, 1892.
The next item had to do with the literature ministry and called for a faithful follow-up work where books were sold. This was followed by a resolution of gratitude to the General Conference for sending the newly arrived workers to "visit, counsel, and assist" at this present juncture of their experience.
The Call for a School
The delegates were quite conscious of the action taken by the General Conference in its March session toward starting a school. That matter was presented at the Melbourne session, with Tenney and W. C. White making appropriate remarks. Ellen White read important matter in regard to the church's schools and the work that should be done in them. She reported:
Suddenly and unexpectedly to me the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and I was moved to give a decided testimony concerning the spiritual condition of many who had taken their position upon the truth in the colonies. After addressing the people I returned to my temporary home and tried to write.--Manuscript 45, 1891.
At the session, work continued, and resolutions on the matter of establishing a school were brought forward and acted upon. These read:
Whereas, There is an increasing demand for educated laborers in Australasia and adjoining fields, and in view of the fact that many young men and women now stand ready, and are waiting to enter a school where they may receive education and training for the work; and--
Whereas, The distance and traveling expenses to America are so great as to make it impracticable for any large number to attend our colleges; therefore--
4. Resolved, That it is our duty to take immediate steps toward the establishment of a school in Australasia.
5. Resolved, That six persons be chosen by this conference, to act with two to be chosen by the conference in New Zealand to represent that field, and one chosen by our missionaries in Polynesia to represent that field, to act as a committee on location.
6. Resolved, That a committee of seven on organization and plans be elected by this conference.
7. Resolved, That in the interval preceding the location of this school, the erection of buildings and opening, the executive committee be authorized to arrange for and conduct such terms of a workers' training school as they deem advisable.--The Bible Echo, January 15, 1892.
The Unusual Monday-Evening Meeting
Before Ellen White had left America the situation in Australia, and particularly Melbourne, had been opened to her in vision. This was one of the reasons she dreaded going to Australia. Now on that Monday evening she was impressed by the Spirit of God to call the ministers together for a special meeting in one of the publishing-house offices. While G. B. Starr preached to the congregation in the meeting room above, she bore her testimony. Of this she wrote in her diary:
In the evening I attended a meeting for the ministers held in the Echo office. I talked for half an hour plainly and decidedly, calling them by name and telling them the Lord had shown me their dangers. This was a precious season.
Brother Curtis made a heartbroken confession. He humbled himself as a little child. He wept aloud and confessed that he had not had the Spirit of the Lord with him in his preaching. He was discouraged and did not feel that he should receive credentials. Brother Hare also confessed that he could see no success attending his labors and that he had been envious and jealous of Brother Daniells. Brother Steed and Brother Tenney made humble confessions and then we bowed before the Lord and had a precious season of prayer, and the Lord blessed us.
The brethren confessed to one another and fell on one another's necks, weeping and asking forgiveness. We were together for about three hours, while Brother Starr was speaking to the congregation in the room above. The Lord is at work, and we praise His holy name.--Manuscript 45, 1891.
The next morning Ellen White addressed the conference, as she did each morning, and then gave her time to writing.
Testimony Concerning the Echo Publishing House
That Tuesday morning she picked up her pen and began to write concerning the publishing house and its problems. The eight-page testimony opened:
In connection with our publishing work in Australia, there has been a combination of circumstances that have not resulted favorably to the interests of the work.--Manuscript 13, 1891.
Later she wrote more, elaborating on the problems as she saw them in the publishing house.
I attended two committee meetings, and presented the true condition of things in the Echo office. This institution had been gathering up branches of work which it was not able to carry, and this was hampering, entangling, and impeding its forces.
Too many lines of work were carried on, which were merely dead weights. Seemingly a labored effort was being made to keep up appearances for the sake of appearances.
The publication of the Echo was being made at continual loss. Jobs were secured at altogether too low a price, and loss was the result. Funds were being sunk in nearly all lines that were being carried forward. There was not sufficient business ability in the office or wise generalship to bind up the work in a way that would save expense.
I was shown that this was not the way to do business. It is not the will of our heavenly Father that His work should be so conducted as to be a continual embarrassment. The office should not be eaten up by its own expenses. Work that could not be done without this cost should be abandoned.--DF 28a, "Experiences in Australia," pp. 26, 27.
In this latter statement, as well as in the eight-page testimony, Ellen White specified a major factor that contributed to difficulties among the workers: their failure to exchange among themselves knowledge in the carrying through of certain processes in the plant. She wrote:
Some of the workers were not willing to help and instruct their fellow workmen. Those who were inexperienced did not wish their ignorance to be known. They made many mistakes at a cost of much time and material, because they were too proud or too self-willed to seek instruction. This ignorance could have been avoided if those at the work had shown kindness and love toward each other. The workers in the Echo office had very little insight into the right methods of obtaining success. They were working at cross purposes with each other. The office was sick, throughout all its departments.-- Ibid.
In the heart of the testimony she read to the committee meeting, she revealed the source of the information and counsel she was passing on to them:
Brethren and sisters connected with the work of the Echo office, these words I have written were spoken to you by my guide.--Manuscript 13, 1891.
A. G. Daniells Elected President
The nominating committee brought in the name of A. G. Daniells for president of the Australian Conference, and he was elected. The choice was not an easy one. Writing of the experience to O. A. Olsen six months later, Ellen White explained their dilemma found in the extremely short supply of leadership material available. The delegates were divided in their preferences. She told the nominating committee that not one of the men from which they must choose "was competent for the situation; but we must have a president; and I presented before them the objectionable features of each case. I told them that Elder Daniells was certainly standing in the best condition spiritually of any of them, and would be better fitted for the work than any other man in Australia.
"Well," she said, "they selected Elder Daniells, and this we are sure was the best thing they could do, for decided changes for the better have been made."--Letter 40, 1892. Earlier, in her letter to Olsen, she declared: "Few thought that Elder Daniells could be the one for the place of president; but with W.C. White as his counselor, he has done well."
In later years Daniells told in rather general terms of this experience:
I was elected to the presidency of the newly organized Australian Conference, and continued in that office during the nine years of Mrs. White's residence in that field. This official responsibility kept me in unbroken association with her. Our mission field was vast. Our problems were heavy, and some of them very perplexing....
Our membership increased encouragingly, and it became necessary to establish a training school for Christian workers, also church schools for the children of our believers. Then followed the erection of a sanitarium for the treatment of the sick, and the establishment of a factory for the manufacture of health foods.
I was young, and utterly inexperienced in most of these undertakings. As president, I was held more or less responsible for progress in all these endeavors. I needed counsel. This I sought at every important step from Mrs. White, and I was not disappointed. I was also closely associated in committee and administrative work with her son, W. C. White. His counsel was very helpful to me; it was based on a longer experience than my own, and also upon his intimate knowledge of the many messages of counsel that had been given through his mother during past years, in meeting conditions similar to those we were facing.--A. G. Daniells, The Abiding Gift of Prophecy, pp. 364, 365.
The conference session was profitable and instructive to the relatively new believers, few of whom had been in the message for more than six years. On Sunday, January 3, it closed, but the program continued for another full week in "An Institute for Instruction in Christian Work" and devotional meetings. Two of the popular classes were in cooking and in nursing the sick; Mrs. Starr and Mrs. Gates taught the cooking, and Miss May Walling gave practical instruction in the care of the sick. She had just recently completed the nurses' course at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. The people attending felt they had gained a good deal of practical instruction and were highly satisfied.
Mrs. White devoted this week to house hunting. She and her office family needed to have a place to live and work. The overall plan was that she would make Melbourne her headquarters for six months, and write on the life of Christ. From there she would visit the principal churches and even spend two months in New Zealand in connection with their conference session.
On Sunday morning, January 3, Stephen Belden drove Ellen White in his carriage five miles north to a suburb known as Preston. She was pleased with the country atmosphere and with the area generally, but the cottage they went to see was not large enough for the group that had to work together. Tuesday morning they were back in Preston, this time with better success. She noted in her diary:
We found a nice brick house with nine rooms which, with a little squeezing, would accommodate Elder Starr and his wife and our workers. There is a beautiful garden, but it has been neglected and is grown up to weeds.--Manuscript 28, 1892.
Wednesday they were there again, this time to make arrangements to rent the unfurnished house for six months. The next two days were spent in buying furniture, dishes, and other household necessities. Sunday morning she was up early packing and getting ready to move into their new home. By noon they were in their new quarters, and quite content with the prospects: a large lot; pure, invigorating air; a yard full of flowers "of fine rich quality": and good soil.
Because the new "home" was five miles from the city and the publishing house, Ellen White purchased a horse and carriage, a double-seated phaeton in which she could ride with comfort. They secured a good healthy cow to provide their milk supply, and a stable was built to accommodate the horse and cow (Letter 90, 1892). A girl, Annie, was employed to assist with the housework. May Walling did the cooking. Because their plans called for only a six-month stay, they bought secondhand furniture, improvising somewhat with packing boxes. Some of the old carpeting used in packing the goods shipped from America served as floor covering. Economy was the watchword.
The women helpers took the yard work under their care, and the garden responded well. Wrote Ellen White:
The girls went to work in the garden, pulling weeds, making flower beds, sowing seeds for vegetables. It was very dry, so we bought a hose, and Marian [Davis] was chief in the flower garden. With water, the flowers sprang up. Dahlias, the richest beauties, are in full bloom, and fuchias flourish. I never saw them blossom as they do here; the geraniums, Lady Washingtons, in immense bunches of the richest colors to delight the eye.--Manuscript 4, 1892.
But for Ellen White, who began to feel ill during the conference session, there was an acceleration in her suffering. From week to week she seemed to be in more and more pain and was becoming more helpless. Nevertheless, she did not turn from her writing. On January 23, near the onset of her illness, she stated in a letter to Lucinda Hall:
I am now writing on the life of Christ, and I have had great comfort and blessing in my writing. It may be I am a cripple in order to do this work so long neglected.--Letter 90, 1892.