In Memoriam 1992-1997/Pieter J. de Vogel

In Memoriam 1992-1997 Pieter J. de Vogel

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PIETER J. DE VOGEL

1930-1995

DEEPLY DISTRESSED NEWS PASSING VALIANT SERVANT CAUSE PIETER DE VOGEL, WHO PLAYED CRUCIAL ROLE DEVELOPMENT AUSTRALIAN BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY THROUGH DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ALMOST THREE DECADES NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY, INCLUDING LENGTHY PERIODS SECRETARY, TREASURER, CULMINATING HIGHLY MERITORIOUS WORK ESTABLISHMENT OFFICE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS. HIS HIGH SENSE RESPONSIBILITY, TOTAL DEDICATION PROMOTION INTERESTS FAITH WILL STAND EXAMPLE OTHERS CALLED UPON SERVE ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER YEARS AHEAD, KINDLY CONVEY LOVING CONDOLENCES WIFE, FAMILY, ASSURANCE PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS LUMINOUS SOUL.

Universal House of Justice March 5, 1995

Pieter de Vogel brought to every task a unique blend of devotion, dignity, competence, enthusiasm. and vision. His skills as a communicator and his wide experience on two continents equipped him to represent the Bahá’í community with distinction in this period of its emergence as a significant contributor to the social processes leading to the resolution of global problems and the establishment of a peaceful and prosperous world.

Our loss is felt equally in the personal dimension, since Pieter was a much-loved and valued associate and friend.

Our hearts and prayers are with his dear family, the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia, and the Australian Bahá’í community. The Board of Counsellors shares your sorrow and sense of loss, tempered by the awareness that Pieter's illumined spirit will continue to inspire us as we move forward in all the areas of endeavor to which he

[Page 203]devoted himself so effectively and wholeheartedly. Continental Board of Counsellors

Pieter J. de Vogel

At the time of his death, in Bathurst, New South Wales, on March 5, 1995, Pieter de Vogel was the national treasurer and director of the Office of Government Affairs for the Australian Bahá’í community. He had served on the Australian National Assembly for twenty-seven years, being its secretary for ten years and its treasurer for sixteen.

He was born in Rotterdam, Holland, in 1930, and after living through World War II, he graduated from the Hotelschool (hotel management college) in The Hague in 1949 and immigrated to Australia in 1952.

Pieter became assistant manager of the Hotel Canberra, which was then the largest hotel in the national capital, and later he worked for the National Capital Development Commission as an architectural model maker.

While in Canberra in 1956 he became a member of the Bahá’í community, meeting "Mother" Dunn 127 a few days after his declaration, thereafter devoting his life to the service of his Beloved Lord, Bahá’u’lláh.

His skill in art and model-making is well expressed in the five beautiful models he made of the Sydney Bahá’í House of Worship. These models became available to Bahá’ís interstate so that knowledge of the beautiful Temple, then under construction, could be conveyed to the public together with the Bahá’í teachings.

He was a founding member of the Canberra Assembly in 1957, and his first national Bahá’í appointment was in the late 1950s when he became government liaison officer. Pieter was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly in 1965 and elected as its treasurer the same year serving in this capacity until 1968, when he was elected as the National Assembly's first full-time secretary.

127 The Hand of the Cause of God Clara Dunn (1869-1960).

He remained secretary through the formative years of the growth of the national administration until September 1975 when he and his wife, Kay, with their little daughter Miesje pioneered to Belgium after visiting Iran and making their pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Pieter was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Belgium in April 1976 and served on that institution until the family returned to Australia in September 1977. In Australia again Pieter and Kay's second daughter Annelies was born. They settled in the homefront pioneering goal of Bathurst, opening it to the Faith, and Pieter later became a member of its first Local Assembly.

His early training in hotel management enabled him to obtain a position as manager of the division of conferences and [Page 204]catering at Mitchell College in Bathurst. Under his direction the number of annual conferences the College attracted was increased threefold. Pieter was made a Fellow of the Catering Institute of Australia, and he helped found the Australian Tertiary Institutions Commercial Companies Association (ATICCA). He represented the association presenting a paper at an international conference in Lulea, Sweden, in 1982. Pieter was also business manager for the residential colleges and from 1980 secretary/manager of Mitchellsearch Limited, the associated research, consultancy, and publishing company.

Pieter was reelected to the National Spiritual Assembly in 1978 and served as treasurer from 1979 to 1990 and as secretary from 1990 until 1993. Throughout the period of his service on the National Spiritual Assembly, he served on committees including the legal committee for which he was closely involved in the drafting of an Act of Parliament for the incorporation of the National and Local Spiritual Assemblies. He had participated in proclamations made to prominent people and government officials including Prime Ministers Sir Robert Menzies and Harold Holt. He also served on the Board of Bahá’í Publications Australia, to which he contributed the knowledge and skills he gained from his publishing and managerial experience at Mitchell College.

The period of Pieter's service was one of great expansion of the Australian Bahá’í community. During this time Australia witnessed a vast increase in the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies and a corresponding development in the extent and complexity of the national administration that was endeavoring to serve the emerging needs of the Bahá’í community and to take advantage of new and exciting opportunities.

Presently known as "Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia" or KCA.

Pieter's life was characterized by great dedication, exemplified by the long hours he worked as treasurer for many years. One would see him writing short notes on the receipts till after midnight in order to keep in personal contact with the friends.

He will be remembered for the courage and loyalty with which he championed the interests of the Faith, particularly in the area of proclamation.

Many of today's adult Bahá’ís remember with gratitude the care, encouragement, and inspiration he showered upon them when they were youth.

He was decisive in his views and acted with vision and great perseverance. In his last years he was again an administrative pioneer founding the Office of Government Affairs and working to create many favorable opportunities in the nation's capital for the greater recognition of the Faith and the protection of the worldwide Bahá’í community. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and colleagues in Australia and around the world.

From an article prepared by the The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia