Opening Fire

The Salvation Army marched into Tenterfield in March 1887. A publication produced for the Army’s centenary in Tenterfield described its beginnings as such:

Tenterfield was in the grip of a somewhat wild and uproarious kind of life with bush pubs and grog shops doing great trades as the town was invaded by workers on the construction of the Great Northern Railway line. At that time the town was startled and much curiosity aroused by the announcement that The Salvation Army would be opening fire on March 25. Captain and Mrs Rundle, with Lt Lintott, were the officers appointed to ‘open fire on sin, drink and the devil’ and establish the Tenterfield Salvation Army.