Sidharta Books & Print

Win Wise grew up in Wangaratta, Victoria. She trained as a nurse at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and after graduating in 1951 worked as a private nurse in England. She hitchhiked around Europe, and in 1955 returned to Australia, where she met and married Tom Wise. For four years Tom and Win lived on the family farm, but after researching the new motel industry the couple decided a change was in order. They sold the farm and moved to Benalla to build the first motel in town.
Despite the demands of caring for four children, in 1963 Win purchased a small dress shop called Elisa Fashions. The shop was a success, and Win successfully expanded the business, taking in her stride the arrival of child number five in 1971. Tom, meanwhile, had quit the motels and established a frozen food distribution business.
The defining event in the couple’s life together was their conversion to active Christianity in 1967. In 1978 they closed their businesses and went to Bible College, both qualifying to begin full-time ministry. They established the Beacon Christian Contact House, a non-denominational teaching ministry, in Benalla in 1980. They hosted visiting speakers and ministries, ran seminars and studies, a bookshop, a primary school and crisis accommodation. They also taught religious education in state primary schools. This period was the height of the charismatic movement and brought many Christians together.Win was always a keen writer. For several years she wrote a weekly newspaper column, ‘Home Help’, followed by a book called Tongues? Yes or No? where she attempted to explaining the roles of tongues and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Being keenly interested in people and social affairs, Win stood on a Christian ticket once for election to the Victorian State Parliament and once for the Commonwealth. To help teens and new Christians understand the Gospels, Win began work on The Light of the World in 1996 and completed it in 2006.