Baha'i Community of
New South Wales

The Baha’i community of New South Wales is made up of thousands of people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The Baha’is of NSW are actively engaged in neighbourhood community development activities that are open to all, regardless of faith or background.

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This includes providing spiritual empowerment programs for junior youth aged 11-14, spiritual education classes for children, gatherings that strengthen the devotional life of the community, and study circles on spiritual themes.

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There are 50 elected Assemblies that look after the affairs of the Baha’i community at the local level in most urban and regional centres in New South Wales.

New South Wales is home to Australia’s only Baha’i House of Worship, which is located at Ingleside overlooking Sydney’s northern beaches. Opened in 1961, it is a place of prayer and meditation that welcomes visitors of all backgrounds. The National Baha’i Office is located in the Temple grounds.

The Sydney Baha’i Centre is located at 107 Derby Street, Silverwater. Officially opened by NSW Governor Professor Marie Bashir in October 2003, it serves as a meeting place, a venue for community activities and an administrative centre for the Baha’is of New South Wales.

The first Baha’is arrived in Sydney from the United States in April 1920. Clara and Hyde Dunn travelled extensively in New South Wales and interstate in the ensuing years, giving talks and presentations on the Baha’i Faith and its teachings.

Oswald Whitaker, a Sydney optometrist, became the first Australian Baha’i in 1922 after meeting Hyde Dunn in Lismore. The first Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Sydney was formed in April 1925.

Since 1938 there has been a Baha’i retreat and centre of learning at Yerrinbool, near Mittagong in the Southern Highlands. It offers a wide range of educational programs for people of all ages.