• Advanced Meditation and Communication
• Spiritual Healing
• Learn Psychometry
• Learn to communicate directly with Spirit Guides

We open our arms to all religions of the world, not in an attempt to draw you away from your way of life, but to help you to add to it.

The aim of these pages is to offer you the information of our philosophy not to rewrite your philosophy.

Spiritualism - what it stands for:

Spiritualism Proves:

What Spiritualism does:

Principles of Spiritualism

Towards the end of the 19th Century a concise summary of Principles was received from the spirit of the Welsh reformer Robert Harding Owen through the mediumship of Mrs Emma Harding Britten.

Seven Principles are set out in the Spiritualist Church of N.Z. Act of Parliament of 1924 and are as follows:

Spiritual Healing

Spirit Guides

A Brief History of Spiritualism in New Zealand

This history by Harold Sell was commissioned in 1974 by the SCNZ National Council to prepare the document “A Guide to Modern Spiritualism”.

In 1866, Mrs. Harris-Roberts arrived in New Zealand from England and became one of the first pioneers of Spiritualism in this country. She began conducting meetings at which she presented the beliefs and philosophy of the Movement. About 1896, she settled in Auckland and founded the “Auckland Society for Spiritual Progress,” with meetings held in the Choral Hall. She later became affectionately known as “The Mater.”

During July 1879 we received a visit from the distinguished personality Mrs Emma Hardinge Britten, inspirational speaker of great erudition, highly developed medium and authoress. Mrs Britten had just spent the best part of a year touring Australia during a course of which she visited all the principal cities of that vast continent.

Her first meeting here was held in the Garrison Hall at Dunedin which drew an attendance of some 1800 persons. Her chairman was the Hon. Robert Stout, New Zealand’s Attorney-General. He later became Prime Minister and then Chief Justice when he was knighted. At the time of the meeting he was President of both the Spiritualist and Freethought Associations and was strongly opposed to the introduction of the Bible in schools as a necessary element of education.

On New Years day 1897, Dr J.M. Peebles, M.A. M.D. PhD. learned American exponent of the Movement, arrived in Auckland from Samoa on the third voyage of five journeys from the U.S.A. propagating Spiritualism. He gave lectures on our philosophy, phenomena and comparative religion. He spent time among the Maori people and their medium priests and learned something of tohungaism.

Although Spiritualist gatherings were being held in many parts of the country by 1875, it was not till around 1900 that these really began to emerge as organized meetings and church services in Christchurch and elsewhere. In Wellington they were conducted by the Hon. Mr. W. McLean, M.P. who was ably assisted by Mr. W.C. Nation who was held in esteem as the G.O.M of New Zealand Spiritualism. Mr. Nation also edited the “Message of Life” which he commenced in 1903. He continued publication till his passing to spirit in 1929, the journal itself ceased in 1934.

In 1907 most of our established Spiritualist Churches federated into a National Association of Spiritualist Churches which was the forerunner of the present “The Spiritualist Church of New Zealand”. (SCNZ)
In 1920 that British crusader Sir Arthur Conan Doyle paid us a visit which aroused great interest. His visits to a number of centers on lecture tours gave further stimulus and direction.

Because of continued interference with our mediums and violent denunciation from orthodox pulpits resulting in several prosecutions for alleged “fortune-telling” under the New Zealand equivalent of the archaic Witchcraft Act operating in Britain, the National Association of Spiritualist Churches decided that if Spiritualism was to continue in this country, early steps would have to be taken to place it on a legal footing.

For this reason the first Conference of the Association was convened in April 1923, at Kent Terrace in Wellington. Prior to this, all business had been conducted by a Board of Management under the chairmanship of Mr. Nation and under a constitution registered under the Companies Act. At this Conference, represented by delegates from Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Levin, Napier, New Plymouth and Wellington, it was resolved to draft a Bill for presentation to Parliament. After careful preparation under the guidance of Magistrate Poytoun, it was presented to Select Committee by Mr. G. L. Anderson of Wellington and sponsored by Mr. Alexander Young, M.P (later Sir Alexander) who, together with the Hon. G. J. Garland, and the Hon. J.A. Hanan later steered it through the House without amendment.

The Bill became Act of Parliament No.2. of 1924 and it was thus, The Spiritualist Church of New Zealand was accorded legal persona. This was no mean feat as the climate in those days was such that our Movement was, interalia, regarded as one of His Satanic Majesty’s numerous agencies.