The Sydney Sanitarium

The one matter of primary concern to Ellen White through much of her last year in Australia was the choice of a site for, and the erection of, a representative sanitarium in Sydney, or close by. During the month of September, 1899, she slipped away from Cooranbong to look at three places thought to be favorable for such an institution, but priced beyond their reach. During the month of October, John Wessels, who had come from Africa, was asked to continue the search. Near the close of the month he found at Wahroonga, near Hornsby Junction, what seemed to him a very favorable proposition, seventy-five acres of land, with fifteen in orchard, and on the place a small cottage. A group consisting of W. D. Salisbury, A. G. Daniells, F. L. Sharpe, and Ellen White joined Wessels in looking over the place. Before the day was over, W. C. White and Sara McEnterfer met with them. All were favorably impressed. The property could be secured for £2,200, or about $11,000. With £900 raised at the union conference session, this seemed within reach, and on November 1, John Wessels closed the deal. The agreement called for a down payment of £100, then another payment of £200 in three months; the balance would be due within a year.4BIO 452.2

The next step was to find money for land and buildings, and Ellen White made this a prime point in her correspondence during the next few months. In the heat of early January, 1900, she and Sara McEnterfer decided to get away from Cooranbong for two or three weeks and spend the time on the “Sanitarium farm,” living in the little cottage. It was crowded, for the caretaker family lived in two of the four rooms. They also found the building full of vermin, but Sara cleaned the place up, and the wide porches served as living and dining rooms. As for getting the needed rest, soon various workers, eager to see the new Sanitarium site, beat a pathway to the little cottage.4BIO 452.3

She and Sara did like the place—the broad veranda; the large front yard beautified with flowers, a feast to the eyes and fragrant to the senses; and the fruit, ripening fresh and palatable (Manuscript 89, 1900). The Record reported that she “returned home much benefited in health” (February 1, 1900).4BIO 453.1

Even before finding the site, Dr. Merrit Kellogg, a builder from his younger years and the physician-carpenter who in 1878 designed and built the health retreat near St. Helena, California, had drawn up plans for the Sanitarium building. He was somewhat restricted in size, for there were other places needing such institutions. When the question of building materials came up, wood was chosen in place of masonry—for comfort, roominess, and economy. Testimonies, volume 7, pages 83 and 84, present the counsel that grew out of the consideration of this point in Australia.4BIO 453.2