Early Opposition

Local hoodlums interrupted some of the early meetings, at one stage throwing a home-made bomb at two local officers who were conducting an open-air meeting one evening.

A local Salvation Army history book written for the Gosford centenary in 2004 states that after this first incident, the officers recovered their poise and carried on. A second attempt was made to banish them from the town. Another officer was approached and told that his bag was packed and already on the train. He was advised to join it quickly and “get out” but he chose to remain at his post.

Brigadier George Batten, who served as a Lieutenant at Gosford Salvation Army in 1915, recalled a meeting being held at the Wyong Outpost. The Gosford Centenary history book states that suddenly a gang of roughs appeared and the officers were “rolled over the fence” where they finished the meeting. Despite this early opposition, The Salvation Army stood firm on the Central Coast, and its numbers grew.