Scientology and New Zealand

John Dalhoff and the Zenith Applied Philosophy (Z.A.P), Part 1

The further I explore the rabbit hole of fringe groups, the more I find out about the kiwis who were a large part of the fabric of these organisations - men like William Chesterman (BOTA) and David Mayo (Scientology), who made significant contributions to their respective organisations. Or, the variety of kiwis who earned the appellation of first New Zealander to establish the first New Zealand branch of an overseas religion or spiritual group of their choosing

But, some kiwis aren't followers. Many men and women of high motivation but unusual vision strike out on their own with groups that borrow heavily from their predecessors; be it the multitude of Golden Dawn breakaway groups spawned from the Whare Ra, or Bruce Lyon and his heavily theosophy-inspired Highden Temple. John Dalhoff aka John Ultimate belongs to the latter.

John Dalhoff was the founder and leader of the Cantabrian group Zenith Applied Philosophy, or Z.A.P. An unauthorised Scientology offshoot, ZAP was a source of ongoing concern and consternation for the people of Christchurch through the 70s and 80s. However, ZAP was less concerned with Thetans, Xenu, and crossing the bridge; instead they had more earthly concerns like communists, unions, and aligning themselves with the ultra-conservative far-right politics of the John Birch Society. Even after John Dalhoff's death in 2001, the influence of Dalhoff's teachings lived on in the high profile of students such as David Henderson and Trevor Loudon.

But who was John Dalhoff really? While ZAP courted controversy, there is little personal information about Dalhoff the man, and no pictures. However, it is still possible to piece together some of his early history via the obituary of his sister, artist and curator Marianne Baillieu and a little bit from the December 16th, 1984 edition of the New Zealand Times.

Dalhoff was born in 1944 in Copenhagen to Bente and Jorgen Dalhoff. Before him came older sisters Vibeke (born 1938) and Marianne (1939-2012). Marianne had a stint in a rehabilitation clinic for polio when she was 5 from which she recovered, save for a weakened left arm. In 1948, Jorgen moved the family to California but they stayed for just one year before they permanently relocated to New Zealand, where they would eventually settle near Nelson. Jorgen, in partnership with a local businessman, started the very successful Dalhoff and King, which imported construction and farming equipment. Jorgen is alleged to have also introduced pre-stressed concrete and freeze-dry technology to NZ but was scuppered by local authorities. Another sister, Bodil, was born but died tragically as a toddler, drowned in the garden pond while Marianne was still in her teens.

Marianne only stayed at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch for two years before starting to work with and learn from Dr. Harry Bethune, a psychiatrist in Auckland who specialised in hypnosis. I have not ascertained if this is the same psychiatrist who was part of the LSD scandal at an Australian hospital and/or associated with the Melbourne sect The Family, led by Anne Hamilton-Byrne.

Marianne would soon follow her elder sister to Australia and find work operating an electron microscope. She was working as a translator with physicist Arthur Bieser in Denmark when her lovesick boyfriend Ian Baillieu proposed. They married in a lavish ceremony that garnered more than a couple of columns on both sides of the Tasman and, rumour has it, had one British millionaire scrambling to rent a Boeing 707 to fly in guests. The Dalhoff's were described as one of the wealthiest families in New Zealand with the senior Dalhoff alternately described as a businessman and a civil engineer. In one write-up about the wedding, the Dalhoff's counted such persons as the first Danish Ambassador to Australia as part of their social circle and Jorgen (sometimes printed in antipodean papers as John) was quoted as saying, “I spend 10 days a year in New Zealand. We go abroad often and always spend the winter in the northern summer”. If Jorgen's success included Sealord, then yeah, the Dalhoff's were big money.

Which makes the omission of John Eric from family history, outside of personal genealogy pages, all the more interesting. No mention is made in any article about John nor does he score so much as a nod in the obituaries of either of his sisters that I could find. Although, random comments by random people on random blogs also confirm the connection between Dalhoff and his alleged wealth as an inheritor to the Dalhoff and King company. There is a rare picture from 1962, documenting an operetta produced by Nelson College, where a John Dalhoff is acting in the role of King Cannibal. John Eric would have been 17/18 during this school year.

Source | A possible future John Ultimate

Source| Our John Dalhoff in the front?

Otherwise, there are few physical descriptions of Dalhoff aside from claims that he was close to 190kg and spent most of his money wearing a kaftan (New Zealand Times, December 18, 1984)

The specifics around when and where Dalhoff was introduced to Scientology are vague but is it believed that it was during his studies at Massey University in Palmerston North, and not during one of the family's overseas jaunts, that Dalhoff became interested in L. Ron Hubbard's organisation. In 1965 he went to Saint Hill Manor in the UK where he completed at least two courses: in 1967 he was listed as Clear no. 165 and a Class VII while working as an intern at Saint Hill; In 1968, Dalhoff also completed the Organisation Executive Course.

In 1968, Dalhoff set up shop in Newbridge Terrace, Christchurch and along with Bob Hopper, operated Scientology Christchurch. I have not found much from this time in Scientology NZ history, possibly because Lady Hort burnt all the files, but Dalhoff does merit a mention a couple of times during the Dumbleton-Powles inquiry. Roberts Horsfall answered an advert for a private investigator in the New Zealand Herald in February 1968. He received instructions via mail directing him to go to a hotel room in Ponsonby. Being a competent private investigator, Horsfall tracked the letter to a PO Box registered to a John E Dalholl of Devonport. Horsfall then met two men who tasked him with traveling throughout NZ and Australia and finding possible incriminating evidence on persons of interest. Dalholl was one of the men present at this interview and Horsfall informed the other gentleman that he knew their identity. Undeterred, the potential employers asked Horsfall he would be prepared to incorporate Scientology inquiries into his work. The same article goes on to note that Scientology owned at least two companies in NZ at that time: Repossession Ltd and Ability Employment Agency.

Whether Dalholl was a terrible pseudonym or a misprint is unknown but it is corrected later.

Auckland lawyer P. A. Williams also made a submission to the Dumbleton-Powles inquiry. Williams reported that he had been approached by and given counsel to private investigators hired by Scientology to find damaging information on individuals. It isn't clear from available newspaper articles why but Kevin Ryan QC, a fellow member of an anti-scientology committee with Williams, directly asked Lady Hort whether Dalhoff had been personally assigned to investigate Williams. Hort denied any knowledge of such an assignment.

Eventually, Dalhoff's time with Scientology came to an end on August 1st, 1972. John was expelled from Scientology for failure to comply with the church's ethical codes. In a letter dated 1977, Scientologists are prohibited from using or joining ZAP but it is unclear whether this was in place since 1972 or after. Dalhoff himself claimed that he left because he believed their fees were too high (NZ Times, 16/12/1984)

Between 1972 and 1974, Dalhoff peddled a version of Scientology and gradually built up both a loyal base of followers and a portfolio of businesses.

The Canterbury Atheist (CBA) maintained the best website to date on the similarities of ZAP and Scientology and its from them I crib my explanation. By the mid-80s, Dalhoff's 9 step programme of Sequence Principles would cost $50,000 (over $195,000 in 2023 adjusting for inflation). In return for this sizable amount of cash, ZAP claimed to ‘clear the mind' through a combination of complicating the process of positive thinking, hyper-individualism, and free market philosophy.

Only with an Oscilloscope instead of an E-meter.

The earliest media records of ZAP start in 1974. On September 3rd, 1974, Dalhoff (then 30) and Lane Anthony Hunt (age 26) were charged with obstructing a pathway when they refused to let a police car pass at 0520 AM. Dalhoff and Hunt were allegedly discussing philosophy alongside a third person and had already stopped two motorists when their third party left, causing a commotion in his wake. While they were issued a suspended sentence on October 8th, 1974, their lawyer described Hunt and Dalhoff as part of a group that abstained from drugs and alcohol and practised mental discipline and applied philosophy.

This practise of mental discipline and applied philosophy would eventually be named as Zenith Applied Philosophy. And just a few days after the traffic incident, John Dalhoff would announce his identity as John Ultimate. In truth, he actually had the revelation on the night of August 31st, just minutes after the death of Prime Minister Norman Kirk. For some reason, Dalhoff claimed that he was the last person in contact with Kirk but, in what would later lead to tragic circumstances, Dalhoff's followers would come to believe that Dalhoff could speak to people telepathically.

The ‘here' John refers to was the centre of the universe - 193 Clyde Road, Fendalton, Christchurch. It used to be a B&B called Tangley on Clyde and had some very 90s paint choices but with a recent real estate listing, it has gotten a fresh coat of bland. It was a property he shared with his wife Joy/Mary-Joy, their son Jens, and many other ZAP members. Other Zappers would buy up properties around the 193 with 155, 194, 196, 208, and 209 being known as ZAP huants. In a 1981 article, someone claimed that seeing John Ultimate in person was something of a mission and required going through a complex system of security mirrors and other gadgets before entering the so-called throne room. The throne was a wicker chair placed in front of an astrological sign of the sun and an abstract mural of a spacecraft.

A mural done by John Dwyer, a former ZAP member.

In next week's instalment, I'm going to dig deeper into claims that ZAP was fascist and anti-union; it's massive portfolio of business failures; and the varied fates of its students.