Early opposition

Not everyone was a fan of these marching, singing, band-playing Salvos at first! Ransom T Wyatt, in his History of Goulburn, discloses that the Army’s coming to town was ... met with hostility and bigotry almost amounting to persecution. The police hounded it off the streets and larrikins interrupted its meetings. Despite such persistent opposition, The Salvation Army thrived, building its first weatherboard barracks in the early 1880s on the corner of Coromandel and Addison streets. This was later sold to the Methodist Church. In 1892, the Clifford Street Citadel was purchased and served as the Salvos’ home in Goulburn until 1979 when it was sold and demolished to make way for a major redevelopment. A new citadel in Hovell Street was opened in 1981 and continues to serve as the Army’s centre in Goulburn today.