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Research centre keep memories alive
27 June 2008
Stephane Millien
Veronica Flanigan earned a reputation as a walking encyclopaedia. The Avondale College graduate--she completed the Bible instructors course in 1937--helped pioneer the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Missionary Volunteers (MVs) ministry, which served as the predecessor to Pathfinders. She also fancied herself as a collector, which comes as good news for a Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific research centre based at Avondale.
The Flanigan collection, now housed in the Adventist Heritage Centre on the ground floor of Avondale Library, includes artefacts, books, certificates, honour badges, magazines and persona papers dating to the turn of 20th century. Curator Rose-lee Power sorted all the material, filling 130 document boxes. "Veronica literally had a garage full of stuff," says Rose-lee.
The Les Parkinson collection, an anthology from the church's early missionaries, is also impressive. It includes biographical details and photographs of missionaries who served between 1915 and 1949.
Researchers such as Pastor David Hay, Milton Hook and Dr Arthur Patrick often donate material to the centre. Milton, a student at Avondale from 1960 to 1964, wrote the book, Experiment on the Dora, which covers the history of Avondale. The centre holds most of the material he used in his research.
Rose-lee encourages church members to consider donating material they would otherwise throw away. "It all helps to keep memories alive," she says.
The Adventist Heritage Centre is open Thursdays, 9 am-5 pm. Contact Rose-lee (02 4980 2313, heritage@avondale.edu.au) for more information.
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