Of Wellington, and of New Zealand in general, Ellen White cried almost in despair: “God has a people in this place, and how can we reach them?” (Letter 9a, 1893). WV 298.2
Writing to the churches in America, she described the difficulties for success in evangelistic effort. There was no church in Wellington; Adventists met in Elder Israel's house. People were not attracted to meetings in halls. Workers had tried everything possible to get people out. They circulated notices, leaflets, tracts. Workers went from house to house, sowing the seed upon ground that had hitherto proved unfruitful. WV 298.3
But the prejudice seemed like a granite wall. So far, except in a few places, almost every conventional means of reaching the people had failed. WV 298.4