Matters reached a head when Jack Patten, who had become president of the Sydney league, read the Committee's report and warned the Aboriginal community at Cummerangunja that the Board planned to turn it into a closed compound, control their earnings and take away children. As a result, 170 people who were part of the Atkinsons' community crossed the Murray to camp at Burmah in what was known as the Cummeragunja walk-off and Patten was charged with "inciting Aborigines to leave their reserve". Fourteen days later, the Atkinsons moved with their community to Burmah. They had been entrusted with money for food for those who left, and the new manager of Cummerangunja, a Mr A. J. McQuigan, had threatened Eddy and ordered him to "remain neutral and not to help the people who had left". The Atkinsons eventually moved to Mooroopna in 1941, following many in their community who moved there as work was more readily available because it was a fruit growing centre. They later moved to Melbourne, yet again following and ministering to their community—many of whom had found paid work in factories. Some time after they moved back to Cummerangunja and continued to support Ferguson and James, who continued making deputations to the Minister for the Interior. In the meantime the division between AIM and the Church of Christ had been healed in 1943 when they both conducted joint services praying for the men serving in World War II. The Atkinsons later moved their ministry to Mooroopna. After many lost their homes from severe flooding in March 1950, the government built a three-roomed weatherboard hut and, as parishioners guaranteed the Atkinsons' rent, they moved into this as their rental home in April of 1951. On 2 November, 1952 Eddy Atkinson died. Atkinson told Diane Barwick that "Eddy worked so hard for the people [and] the doctor told me his heart just gave out." After her husband's death, Atkinson urged the Church of Christ leadership to accept her son, Geoff, as pastor but was largely ignored and Doug Nicholls was made the pastor. Eventually there was a split in the church as James started his own independent church. According to Barwick, "this division of her family and community grieved Ellen. She was grateful for the genuine kindness of some clergymen and wanted Eddy's church to survive as his memorial. But she also resented the paternalism and regretted that Geoff was not helped to carry on his father's work."