A Surprise Move

After the vote, E. W. Farnsworth stood and said that he did not know whether what he was about to propose was in order, but it seemed to him that they could not do better than to make a practical beginning of the matter right there. To start the fund, he would pledge £50 ($240). This pledge was quickly followed by others, and a list of the pledges (which was reproduced in the July 31 Union Conference Record) was made. The opening lines read:WV 342.4

£ [$] E. W. Farnsworth 50 [240] Mrs. E. G. White 100 [480] C. B. Hughes 40 [192] S. N. Haskell and wife 55 [264] G. B. Starr and wife 10 [48] F. Martin 10 [48]

The list grew to 71 entries and £905, or the equivalent of more than $4,500.WV 342.5

A few months later Ellen White wrote of the fruitage of sanitarium work in Sydney:WV 342.6

Several wealthy people who have come to our sanitarium in Sydney have embraced the truth, among them a man who has donated £500 ($2,400) to our sanitarium. He is an invalid. He and his wife have taken their stand fully (Letter 11, 1900).WV 342.7

The sanitarium work in Australia was coming of age! The new sanitarium building in Sydney opened January 1, 1903, with Dr. D. H. Kress as medical director.WV 343.1