Salvation Army marks 150 years by taking history to the future
In recognition of the worldwide 150th anniversary, The Salvation Army in the Australia Eastern Territory is documenting our history online, as well as a publication to commemorate the anniversary.
Salvation Army archives in Australia date back to the 1880 when a tradie and a railway worker began preaching and offering meals on the back of a cart in Adelaide's Botanic Garden. Many are stored at The Salvation Army’s Heritage Centres in Sydney and Melbourne, however much of the Army’s local history is contained in the yellowing pages of its corps history books around the country.
“This leaves important pieces of our history at risk of deterioration at best, or destruction at worst,” says the head of The Salvation Army’s Historical Society, Major David Woodbury.
“We’ve had instances where our churches have been broken into and our records have been vandalised or set fire to,” he says. “And cases of flooding, churches burning down, and we’ve even had some records lost or accidentally destroyed over the years during rebuilding programs when we upgrade our facilities.
“By placing our history online, we can preserve it into the future.”
The Salvation Army’s Historical Society in the Australia Eastern Territory has spent much of this year compiling the local histories of more than 100 of its churches and centres. These are being systematically transferred to electronic files uploaded to the local history website.
“We have uncovered so many informative, inspiring, and sometimes downright hilarious tales of early Salvation Army work,” says Major Woodbury. “For example, in the late 1800s The Salvation Army in Brisbane had two Armies, which battled each other for a time over which one was the ‘real’ Salvation Army in the city!
“Our members have recorded diary entries of the early days when The Salvation Army and its passionate and practical brand of christianity was a new thing in Australia. They record our soldiers and officers being imprisoned, jeered, and having rotten eggs and fruit thrown at them as they marched down streets of Australian towns and cities, of persevering with open-air meetings in rain and mud. It’s these inspirational stories of faith and hard work that The Salvation Army is built on today.”
A commemorative magazine has also been released, titled 150 Years of The Salvation Army Worldwide, which details highlights of the worldwide Salvation Army and its Australian ministry.
“The Salvation Army is proud of its heritage,” says Major Woodbury. “Right from the early days when our brass bands would march, calling people to open-air meetings and rendering a practical example of
the love of Christ, The Salvation Army has been about people finding freedom. And we still are today.
“Our methods have changed of course, our church work and social services have moved into the 21st century. Now it’s time for our historical records to catch up!”
If you have any memories, photographs or historical Salvation Army documents, please contact the Heritage Centres on (02) 9502 0424 so they can be preserved for the 150 years to come.
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