1894 — Avondale College

EGW urges location of school “a wide distance from the cities” (Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, 351).EWP 5.1

a) Avondale property-70 miles from Sydney, 1500 acres for $3 an acre.EWP 5.2

b) May 21, 1894, Government fruit expert: “The land... has the great drawback of being in the first place expensive to clear, and when cleared, of requiring draining and liming to produce satisfactory returns, and even when got into condition the land will require constant manuring to maintain its fertility.... It is my opinion that the Society will be unwise to select the land I visited.”—A. H. Benson.EWP 5.3

c) May 25, 1894, Pastor McCullagh miraculously healed at Avondale; decision to purchase made. “There was perfect unity in making the decision to purchase the 1500 acres of land at the price of $4,500.”—Letter 82, 1894.EWP 5.4

d) Bad reports led brethren to delay further operations, reconsider location, possibly forfeit deposit.EWP 5.5

e) August 27, 1894, Ellen White writes: “When the board wants to go back on this purchase, I pledge myself to secure the land....EWP 5.6

“No one need to have regret in reference to this land, for with proper working, it will surprise the people in this section of the country. All the regret I have is that we have not money to take in sections of the land that would expand the ground. I have not one doubt in reference to the securing of this land....EWP 5.7

“In the dream you have heard me relate, words were spoken of land which I was looking at, and after deep ploughing and thorough cultivating, it brought forth a bountiful harvest. Having had this matter presented to me at different times, I am more than ever convinced that this is the right location for the school.”—Ms 35, 1894.EWP 6.1

f) July, 1895, Ellen White bought 66 acres; August, 1895, she moved into four tents on her land.EWP 6.2

g) “On one occasion she quoted words from the heavenly messenger spoken to her for our assurance, ‘They have borne false witness against the land.’ Repeatedly she assured us, ‘God will spread a table in the wilderness,’”—A. G. Daniells, Abiding Gift of Prophecy, p. 314.EWP 6.3

h) April 28, 1897, school opened.EWP 6.4

i) All fulfilled as early as 1909. Professor C. W. Irwin, Avondale principal 1903-1908, stated: “As time has gone on, and we have had an opportunity to watch the work develop, we can say most assuredly, from our experience, that God led in the selection of this place. Everything that has been said about the location of the school in this place has been fulfilled—everything.”—Abiding Gift of Prophecy, p. 318.EWP 6.5

j) RWO flight over the property, September, 1981.EWP 6.6