From term to term the attendance at the Avondale school steadily increased. The dormitories, which at first also housed classrooms, needed every bit of space for student housing, and in the summer of 1898-1899 it seemed that there was no other way to meet the need but to erect College Hall. This would provide classrooms, a chapel, and administrative offices. Before the sawmill was turned over to the health-food industry, much of the lumber for the new building was cut from local timber. The General Conference promised to match pound for pound for the project (EGW, in The General Conference Bulletin, 1899, 130; DF 312d, AGD, in Australasian Record, August 27, 1928). Depending on this promise, and anticipating the receipt of funds from America in due time, carpenters were employed, supplies were purchased, and construction was begun. Funds immediately available would allow for the payment from week to week of only a fraction of the wages of the workmen, just enough for families to subsist; full wages were promised when the remittance should come from America, anticipated in early April, 1899.
As the work advanced, Ellen White made it a point to visit the families of the workmen frequently to see whether basic needs were being met. Was there sufficient food? How about the children's shoes and clothes? Were there other very special pressing needs? When she found such, she saw that they were met from her own funds. Morale must not be allowed to sink. In the meantime she addressed an appeal to the General Conference in session, which was read the morning of March 1. As she came to the point of presenting specific needs, she introduced the appeal for financial help with these words:
When the General Conference sent me and my helpers to Australia, our people should have understood the situation, and should have provided us with means and facilities for establishing the work in this country. For seven years we have labored here; but except the publishing house in Melbourne, we have no institution that can give character to the work.
In our school work something has been done; but we have not yet the means for erecting our main hall, which will contain the chapel and recitation rooms. We have not means for the necessary improvement of the land and equipment of the buildings.--Ibid., 1899, 129.
Then she turned to other pressing areas, the medical work and the need of a sanitarium in Sydney and a hospital in Cooranbong. There was a need also to establish clinics and to build churches. She added:
It was not the design of God that our work in this country should be so hard and advance so slowly. It is His purpose that there shall be a true pattern in Australia--a sample of how other fields shall be worked. The work should be symmetrical, and a living witness for the truth. God would have us cherish a noble ambition.--Ibid., 130.
Ellen White told of how the Lord's instruction on this point came to her:
I seemed to be in a meeting where our necessities were being reviewed. We were considering what should be done. One stood up among us, and the word of the Lord was spoken:
"Those in America can relieve the situation here, and should have shared with you their abundance years ago." ... "When I send My servants to establish My work in a new field, and build up the interests essential to give it character, I call upon My people to sustain that work with their prayers and with their means....
"When My servant whom I have called to make known My will was sent to Australia, you in America should have understood that you had a work to do in cooperation with her. Who was it that carried out My directions in laying the foundation of the institutions in America, which have grown to such large proportions?
"And when My servant was sent to establish the work in a new field, could you not see that He who owns all the gold and silver was calling for your cooperation? You had obtained a standing fully abundant and ample. And when the work was to begin in another field, I would be with My servant to indicate the work; and you should have been ready to aid in lifting up the standard of truth by precept and example in a way that would recommend it to a gainsaying world."--Ibid.
It was an attentive audience who listened to the messages. Ellen White made one final appeal:
I have tried to set things before you, but the attempt falls far short of the reality. Will you refuse my plea? It is not I who appeals to you; it is the Lord Jesus, who has given His life for this people. In my request I obey the will, the requirement of God. Will you improve this opportunity of showing honor to God's work here, and respect for the servants whom He has sent to do His will in guiding souls to heaven?--Ibid., 132.
The Delegates Respond
When the reading ended G. A. Irwin declared: "Here is an earnest appeal to us. What shall we do with it? Shall we begin right here to reform, or shall we forget what manner of men we have been, and continue doing as we have done? I, for one, want to have a part in this, and I will give $100 to go to that field." There was a silence, for $100 represented more than a month's pay. W. W. Prescott spoke, saying, "Shall we ... go on, and do nothing, or shall we do something?"
"Do something!" the congregation responded.
Then Prescott proposed that a cablegram be sent to Ellen White promising to send $25,000 from personal donations and from the conferences. The very atmosphere seemed charged.
Elder Irwin responded, "It seems to me we ought to give opportunity to those who feel free to give $100 or more or less, now, to do so." Voices were heard, "I will give $100!" "I will give $50!" "I'll give $100!" "Another $100 here!"
The secretary could not get the names down fast enough, so the stenographers were summoned to help make the record, which started out:
George A. Irwin and wife $100
J. N. Loughborough and wife 100
W. W. Prescott and wife 100
A. O. Burrill and wife 100
And so it went, until more than a hundred had pledged from $5 up to $100. Then a comparative stranger stood to his feet and pledged $5,000! The audience gasped. It was Henry Norman, a sea captain whom F. H. Westphal had met on his way from South America to the session. Finding him interested in Bible truth, Westphal invited him along. He came and faithfully attended the meetings. Step by step, he took his stand for the Seventh-day Adventist message. Some days later, having kept his first Sabbath, he testified:
Here is the baby of the family. Of course you all know that I am not a minister of the gospel, but I thank the Lord that I found this people.... I am here to stay.... With the Lord's help, I intend to serve God faithfully. I have given myself and all that I have to the Lord.--Ibid., 170
To those who were acquainted with him, this statement was significant, for he let it be known that he was the owner of several oceangoing steamships. As the conference proceeded, he made other generous pledges, totaling $400,000. Of this, $200,000 was for the General Conference Association; $100,000 was for the Foreign Mission Board; and $100,000 was to be divided up among different countries, with an additional $10,000 specified for Australia. In addition, there was his yacht, costing $11,000, which he pledged as a gift for missionary work in New York harbor. Elder Irwin explained in a letter to Ellen White, written soon after the session, that the captain's fortunes were in the Bank of England in London, and his pledges would be paid in late May. Of the $3,400 pledged by the delegates for the work in Australia, $2,394 had been paid in by late March and would be held until the whole amount was on hand (DF 368, G. A. Irwin to EGW, March 26, 1899). What a plum to tantalize the money-starved workers in Australia--$3,400 almost immediately and $15,000 more by the end of May! It was late April when Elder Irwin's letter was received at Cooranbong; a few days later the General Conference Bulletin brought further word.
Financial Agony Pervaded the Avondale Community
In the meantime, the workers at the Avondale school writhed in agony. In March, Ellen White wrote, "Laborers working on the school building need their money, but they cannot have it, for there is no means in the treasury. But they have borne this bravely."--Letter 47, 1899. Workmen were pressing for long-overdue wages. Suppliers were pressing for the payment of accounts. School opened February 1, and the till was empty, so empty, in fact, that as the students came in A. G. Daniells, the acting principal, asked each one if he had some money that could be lent to the school--a pound or two or three? (as told to the author by AGD).
Ellen White described the situation as of April 2, 1899:
We could not obtain money to pay the workmen on the school buildings, and a large debt has accumulated at Newcastle for provisions, and at Sydney for lumber. But all we can do is to wait and hope and believe, and keep working in faith.
I have not paid my workers for a large share of last year, and nothing as yet for this year. But we hope that the next mail may relieve the situation.... The Lord understands every rope in the ship, and I am not at all confused or confounded. He has the means to help us, and help will certainly come. It is no use to get tired and impatient over delays.--Letter 61, 1899.
Recall of a Loan of £300
Just at this juncture, a sister in Melbourne who had loaned the school £300 asked for her money, saying that she must have it at once. The school board met to study the situation. Visiting Australia some years later, Daniells told the story. Money had not come from America. "We knew not what to do," he stated.
Naturally we blamed ourselves for going ahead without the money. After a long, fruitless discussion we adjourned in discouragement until the next morning. I went to my room, but I could not sleep. I rolled and tossed and perspired. I was in agony of mind. I rose and went out in the bush where I could be alone. I had to have help from some source.... There in the dark I prayed and cried to God to send us help. I prayed on until the morning light began to appear. With all my heart I cried to the Lord to send me an answer, to give me some light. And there came to me a most positive answer. "I have delivered thee. I will meet this situation. Be of good cheer."
The presence of God was so powerful that I could not stay on my knees, I could only lie on the ground and thank and praise God for deliverance. Something was going to be done by the Almighty, and I knew it as well as I knew that I lived.--DF 312d, A. G. Daniells, in Australasian Record, August 27, 1928.
When he met the committee early Monday morning, he told them that deliverance had come, but he could not explain just how. He asked for authorization to visit Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide, and assured them he would bring the needed funds back with him in several weeks' time. The board did not hesitate to authorize the trip, and he left that morning.
On Tuesday, April 4, Daniells arrived in Melbourne, and met the sister who was calling for her money by the following Thursday. He endeavored to persuade her to renew the loan for another year, but she insisted she must have it "the day after tomorrow." As he retired Tuesday night he was greatly troubled. Wednesday morning, while praying in his room, he reminded the Lord of the experience in the night at Cooranbong. He felt impressed that he would get an answer from the Bible. In his recital, years later, he told what happened:
Then I did what I had never done before, and I do not know that I have ever done it since. I put my finger on the margin and opened the Book. The very first words I read were these: "Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee." Daniel 6:16. I wrote in the margin of my Bible, "Salisbury's room, 7:20 A.M., 4/5/99." That evening at five o'clock, I wrote, "Fulfilled 5:00 P.M., 4/5/99."-- Ibid.
He added, "I seldom tell the marvelous way in which it was fulfilled, but I shall do so on this occasion." He went to the publishing house to see what would happen. By Wednesday noon he was still waiting, and after lunch he called Salisbury, the manager, and Faulkhead, the treasurer, together and reminded them that the next morning he must deliver £300 to the church member calling for her money. The publishing house just did not have that much money in the treasury, but Faulkhead thought of a man who some months before offered the publishing house a loan. They went into the country to see the man, but found he had invested the money elsewhere.
The Locked Bank Door Found Open
It was four o'clock when they returned. Faulkhead suggested they might possibly get a loan from the bank with which the Echo Publishing Company did business. Inasmuch as it was closed, Faulkhead suggested they call on the banker at his home. Daniells did not see much light in that, but what else could they do? It seemed their only hope. The two men started down the street. As they passed the bank, they saw that the door was open enough to allow a man to enter. The two men slipped in and found the banker and his assistant with the contents of the vault spread out on the counters. The bank inspector from London was expected the next day, and they were checking their cash holdings.
"Faulkhead!" the banker exclaimed in startled surprise. "How did you get into this bank?"
"We walked in," he replied.
"Yes, I know, but how did you get the door open?" queried the trembling banker. "I shut, bolted, locked, and chained that door myself. How did you get it open?"
"We did not touch it, it was open" was all they could say.
Pale, and almost in a state of shock, the banker hurriedly relocked the door. Returning, he asked, "What is it that you want?"
"We want to see you in your private office. We want £300 to meet an obligation in the morning.
"What security can you give?" the banker asked.
"Only our word tonight," they replied, "but we will give you something more later."
Faulkhead and Daniells were certain that an angel had opened the bank door. The banker was profoundly impressed, and the two men left the bank carrying "three hundred shining sovereigns." The next morning Daniells met the woman who was demanding her money, and placed them in her hands. Continuing his reminiscence, Daniells declared:
These experiences, I can assure you, made a deep impression on my mind--that assurance under the tree at Cooranbong, the assurance in Brother Salisbury's room that morning, the open door at the bank, and the money in my hands that evening--and that is why I wrote "Fulfilled" in the margin of my Bible.-- Ibid.
Sabbath morning, in the worship service, Daniells could not refrain from telling the experience of finding the bank door open and the deliverance that came. After the service the woman who had called for her £300 asked whether the school could still use the money, and promised to add £75 as a "penalty." This was a good omen. The tide was turning.
At the "Red Sea"
When they had learned of Capt. Norman's promised gift, the workers at Avondale took heart (Manuscript 185, 1899). But reports of promises could not buy food for hungry families. Conditions rapidly worsened. On April 14, Ellen White wrote:
There are workmen here waiting to get their pay. We are hoping and praying that means will come.... Everything that comes to our hands is swallowed up as quickly as possible, and still we want more.--Letter 70, 1899.
Elder Daniells was at Adelaide at about this time, and felt impressed to go to the home of a certain woman church member and endeavor to secure means. The husband was not a member of the church, and while Daniells was searching for a way to bring up the subject, she asked whether he did not think it would be well if her husband would make "our cause his banker." The result was a loan of £400 (DF 312d, A. G. Daniells, in Australasian Record, August 27, 1928). One evening, after presenting the needs of the school to the church in Adelaide, one member said he would let them have £100. The next day he raised it to £300, and a little later to £600 (Ibid.). From place to place Daniells went, and the Lord favored him.
But at Cooranbong people were hurting badly. On April 24 Ellen White wrote in her diary:
We have many perplexities to meet. We see everything pressing in upon us and we have no money to handle these things.... We did suppose our statement of our necessities would have brought immediate relief, as the money was raised when the [General Conference] Bulletin came to us. But the matter has gone into the papers so that it is considered a sure matter that we are well supplied with funds. We are supplied with anticipation, and that is all, with the exception of the draft from Dr. Kellogg.--Manuscript 185, 1899.
Three days later she told of how the workmen could not pay their grocery bills and of how "money must come from some source."--Letter 252, 1899.
One of the non-Adventist plasterers working on College Hall, Conley by name, was taunted by some of his acquaintances: "Why do you work for those Adventists? You will never get your money!" "Oh, yes, I will," he replied. When asked why he was so sure, he answered, "Because Mrs. White is behind it." When the men got paid in full, there was a strong feeling the God of heaven was behind it (as told by J. B. Conley to A. L. White in 1958).
When Daniells returned in late April, a little more than three weeks after he had struggled with the Lord in the Avondale woods, he brought with him sufficient money to pay the workmen and the suppliers.
College Hall is Dedicated
Thursday, April 13, 1899 was a day to be remembered. College Hall was finished and ready for use. The first meeting of the day was held in the morning at six o'clock. Ellen White explains why:
This early hour was chosen as appropriate to accommodate those who had worked with decided interest on the building. There was assembled the entire company of students and principal, preceptor and teachers. W. C. White and Brethren Palmer and Hughes spoke. I then spoke to the students and all present thirty minutes. At the close of the exercises there was the dedicatory prayer.--Manuscript 185, 1899.
The more formal dedication took place in the afternoon. Ellen White reported in a letter to S. N. Haskell:
The room was decorated and festooned by flowers from our gardens, and beautiful tree ferns, some of which were placed before the entrance of the building. W. C. White spoke well. Brethren Palmer and Hughes followed. Herbert Lacey then addressed the people.... He spoke well.--Letter 70, 1899.
Of the gifts pledged at the General Conference session in March, which were to yield some $18,000 or more for the work in Australia, the part pledged by self-sacrificing workers in the amount of $3,400 was soon available. They waited with baited breath for the $15,000 pledged by Capt. Norman, which was to come in late May.
On May 4, still in anticipation of the gift, Ellen White addressed a letter to Capt. Norman, thanking him for his generous gift and asking whether he would not help with some specific projects. Then word came from Battle Creek that the whereabouts of Capt. Norman were unknown, and the deadline for the payment of his pledges was marked with default. Ellen White commented:
It is a strange thing that occurred in reference to Captain Norman. I understand all that business of his liberal donations is a fraud. He has not the means he so liberally donated.... Well, we did hope for donations to help us out of our difficulties, but if we cannot obtain means in that way, the Lord can open up some other way to help us.--Letter 243, 1899.
Mrs. White's letter to the captain lay unclaimed at the General Conference office in Battle Creek for a month or two, then, after being furtively opened and read, was returned to her. Some have been surprised at her writing to the captain. It should be remembered that as in Bible times, not every line of information was given to the prophet. She did not have total knowledge.
On July 19, writing to Mrs. Henry, Ellen White declared:
The $3,000 raised in the General Conference assembled at South Lancaster is all that came from that wonderful donation. The $15,000 appropriated by Mr. Norman, where is it? If he had kept out of the way, then the work begun there would have gone through the churches, and we could have had sufficient to erect a sanitarium. But the spirit of sacrifice stopped there and then.--Letter 96a, 1899.
Captain Norman Disappears
A whirlwind love affair developed between the captain and one of the General Conference secretaries. Shortly thereafter he informed his fiancee that he was unexpectedly called to New York on urgent business. Being without ready cash, he asked whether she could lend him $300, which would be paid back when he returned. The young woman withdrew the money from her savings account and happily put it into the hands of her wealthy suitor. Capt. Norman left Battle Creek on the eastbound train, expected back in a few days (DF 368). As the days slipped by and the May deadline for the captain to pay his pledges came and passed, his fiancee and the workers in Battle Creek grew increasingly uneasy and finally disillusioned. The captain and his wealth had disappeared.
G. A. Irwin was in Australia. L. A. Hoopes, secretary of the General Conference, wrote to W. C. White on June 7, 1899:
You will remember that in my letter I made mention of the offer that Capt. Norman had made, and that I could tell you more in the next mail.... I had every evidence to believe, from the human standpoint, that the offer was genuine. Doubtless Elder Irwin has told you ere this something of the situation. We have heard nothing from the captain since Elder Irwin left; and as the pledge was to be paid in the month of May, everything seems to indicate that there is nothing to it.... I can only say that I am disappointed thus far, and await with patience the developments, and trust that God will help us to see all that is needful for us to see and understand.--Ibid.
Ellen White spoke of the matter a few months later:
When I read in the General Conference Bulletin that $20,000 had been donated to Australia, and that large donations had been made to the General Conference to help in other places, a feeling of sadness came over me. I felt that if this donation came to our people in this way, it would deprive them of a blessing, according to the eighth and ninth chapters of 2 Corinthians, so that rich supplies of grace might flow in upon God's people, because of their self-denial and self-sacrifice.
Christ says: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."--UCR, July 28, 1899.
Hoopes later wrote to Ellen White of the experience, particularly of what took place subsequent to the Norman pledge at the General Conference session:
I have no doubt that the Lord has revealed to you the fearful state into which we all have fallen in reference to the spirit that actuated the conference after the Norman gift was proposed. It is simply horrifying as I review the history at the present time. For one, I mean to profit by the experience. I never was so convinced of the utter necessity of our being where we can discern the leadings of the Spirit of God as I am in this whole transaction.--DF 368, L. A. Hoopes to EGW, October 3, 1899.
The promise of a new day in which the wealth of the Gentiles would flow into the coffers of the church resulted in a failure on the part of the church leaders to come to grips with sound financial planning at the General Conference session of 1899. The sense of release and relaxation that came to the members of the church throughout the world field as the result of promised large gifts that would make individual sacrifice no longer necessary bore an ill harvest severely felt for a number of years.
But to Australia, the cumulative adverse circumstances that greatly reduced the flow of means from America forced the field to financial self-reliance, and proved an awakening blessing. The work in Australasia was coming of age.