SUNNYSIDE AND THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS MUSEUM

On March 23rd, Betty, Melanie and I went to Cooranbong (situated on the western side of Lake Macquarie) to tour Sunnyside, the historic home of Ellen White. Sunnyside home was built in 1895 for Ellen White, an American Christian pioneer whose ministry was instrumental in founding the Sabbatarian Adventist movement that led to the rise of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Ellen White was born in Gorham, Maine, November 26, 1827. She and her twin sister, Elizabeth, were the youngest of eight children. In spite of her initial shyness and reluctance, Ellen White eventually became a very popular public speaker, not only in the United States, but in Europe and Australia as well. In 1876 she addressed her largest audience, estimated at 20,000, at Groveland, Massachusetts, for more than an hour without the aid of a microphone.

Ellen White (1827 - 1915) was a prolific writer. During her lifetime she wrote more than 5,000 periodical articles and 50 books. More than 100 years later, many of her writings are still available in various languages. She was sent to Australia in 1891 as a missionary for several years and helped establish Avondale College.

When we arrived at Sunnyside, we watched a 10 minute video of her life and I was very surprised that she actually lived in Battle Creek, Michigan during the 1850s and she and her husband are both buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek, Michigan. Health and nutrition were very important to her. Her idea of health reform included vegetarianism in a day and age where "meat and two vegetables" were the standard meal for a typical North American. Her health message inspired a health food revelation starting with John Harvey Kellogg in his creation of Corn Flakes. On display at Sunnyside was a letter written to John Harvey Kellogg by Ellen White.

Before visiting Sunnyside, I knew nothing of Ellen White. The tour was very informative and I walked away with a profound respect of this remarkable woman who made such a spiritual impact on the lives of millions, from one end of the earth to the other. She did not attend school beyond the age of nine, yet her messages set in motion the forces that produced the present worldwide Adventist education system from day-care centers to universities.

Housed next door to Sunnyside is the South Sea Islands Museum which we also visited. The museum houses a unique collection of artifacts and handicrafts from the South Pacific Islands and the story of Christian missionaries. The artifacts assembled in the museum record the progress of Christianity in such places as Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji. Our tour guide was an 87-year old man who had spent many years in the South Pacific Islands as a missionary and a dentist. He was SO interesting and told us many stories.

One of the most impressive artifacts was a 53-foot war canoe from the Solomon Islands. The lower section of the canoe was made from a single large tree. Solomon Island ocean-going canoes often carried up to 35 crewmen. They were used for early morning head-hunting raids on distant islands.

In April 1959, the British Solomon Islands Government used this canoe to transport Prince Phillip from the "Briannia" ship to land. Twenty-six Adventist village men swiftly paddled Prince Phillip to the shore. Then together they lifted the canoe with the guest seated mid-center and carried him ashore to a speaker's platform. The canoe was brought to Australia in 1976.