Margaret was born on November 30th, 1865. Her first intimation of
the Bahá’í Faith was through reading “The Christian Commonwealth” and she
admitted later that “she did not think any more about it”. She received this
journal from her sister who was in London studying music and had heard
‘Abdu’l-Bahá address the congregation of St. John’s, Westminster at the
invitation of Canon Wilberforce. She was so impressed that when another
discourse given by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá at City Temple, London was printed in “The
Christian Commonwealth” dated March 27th, 1911, she sent a copy of the journal to
Margaret in New Zealand.
In 1912, Miss Dorothea, Spinney, a friend of Margaret’s
sister, arrived in Auckland from London and stayed with Margaret at her home. Miss
Dorothea Spinney gave recitals of Greek plays. While staying with Margaret she
talked about the Bahá’í Cause and her own meeting with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. This
evidently touched a subconscious chord in Margaret.
To quote Margaret’s own words: “As a child, I used to wish I
had lived when Christ was on earth. As Miss Spinney spoke, I remembered my
childhood wish, and the thought came to me that I too might have denied Him as
so many others had done. It was this secret thought that made me seriously
think of what I heard from Miss Spinney, and through God’s grace and mercy I
was enabled to grasp and believe in Bahá’u’lláh and His Message”.
Margaret spoke to others of her belief but though they
appeared to be interested, nothing more came of it. Mrs. Blundell, who also had
read 'The Christian Commonwealth,' was the most interested, and the two of them
had many talks. Her friend, Miss Spinney had given her some Baha'i books and
she obtained more literature from America, becoming a subscriber to “Star of
the West”, a Baha’i Magazine.
The first great event in New Zealand was the visit of Mr.
and Mrs. Hyde Dunn to Auckland. Margaret’s friend, Mrs. Blundell, invited them
to her home to speak to a group of about twenty people she thought might be
interested. Margaret and her two sisters were amongst them. She later wrote:
“I shall never forget my first meeting with Mr. Dunn. On being
introduced, I noticed the Baha'i ring on his finger. I was also wearing one and
turned my hand to him. When he saw my ring his pleasure and astonishment will
always be something to remember, for when Mr. and Mrs. Dunn arrived in Auckland
they did not know there was a believer in New Zealand. This was the first
Baha'i meeting in New Zealand.
While Mr. Dunn was there a hall was rented and public
meetings were held. After his return to Australia, Mrs. Dunn remained for a time
and formed a study group in Margaret’s home in Auckland which continued for ten
years. It was here that the first Bahá’í Feast in New Zealand took place in
January, 1923. This was an auspicious occasion and a flashlight photograph was
taken which appeared later in 'The Baha'i World.' The Cause in Auckland grew
through the supporting efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Dunn.
In 1925, Margaret was one of a small group who journeyed
from New Zealand to the Holy Land on pilgrimage, and after an inspiring
nineteen days in Haifa, travelled on to England where she met with the English
Bahá’í community. The pilgrims arrived back in Auckland in December, 1925, bringing
with them some dust from the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh which was placed in New
Zealand soil at the Stevenson’s home in a ceremony held on February 14th, 1926.
Her pilgrimage in 1925 made a deep impression, which
resulted in an unswerving loyalty and consecrated devotion. Her sweet, lovable
nature endeared her to all and her deep understanding of the Teachings was a
great help to students and enquirers.
 |
Martha Root (on the right) with
Margaret Stevenson, 1924
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(Adapted from an article by Mrs. E. M. Axford, published in ‘The Baha’i
World 1940-1944’, and from the Appendix of ‘Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi
Effendi to New Zealand’)
