ARMY ENGAGES IN BATTLE FOR SYDNEY

The Salvation Army received a hostile reception in Sydney, but, says Major DAVID WOODBURY, it's strategy to take the church to the people were soon paid off.

The Salvation Army's ministry in Australia commenced in Adelaide in September 1880 and almost immediately it flourished. When the Army came to Sydney, however, it was a different story. The faithful preaching of the Army's message by young Salvationist tailor, Thomas Mudiman, in the Sydney Domain failed to attract any significant following. Perhaps this should not have been surprising. After all, Sydney had a different history to Adelaide. While Adelaide was a "free" city, established by immigrants and free settlers, Sydney was Australia's first colony settled by convicts.

Although the transportation of convicts to Sydney had ceased in 1840, and many Sydneysiders were now free-born citizens, the brutal and oppressive treatment received at the hands of the British authorities was still in living memory, and the spectre of their convict ancestry hung over them. The strong Calvinistic philosophy of the Sydney clergy, which seemed to reinforce the predominant English class system, further alienated those who resented the Church's role as part of the oppressive administration.

However, the arrival of Salvation Army reinforcements from Adelaide, in Captain Tom and Mrs Adelaide Sutherland, Lieutenant Alex Canty and Mary Ann Cox, signalled a change in the Army's progress. Posters appeared around Sydney and its suburbs advertising the commencement of Salvation Army ministry in that city. “The Salvation Army will begin an attack on Sydney at Paddy’s Market,” read the poster, “with heavy field guns and light artillery, with sharpshooters bringing up the rear.”

In 1882, the central attraction in Sydney on a Saturday night was Paddy's Market. Here, out in the open, were an assortment of merry-go-rounds, sideshows, saveloy sellers, farmers with produce and animals for sale, second-hand dealers, craftsmen and members of the rag trade. It was a hub of exciting and fascinating activity and the ideal venue for a family night out; a colourful, noisy environment where Sydneysiders relaxed and shopped.

It was into this boisterous and chaotic surroundings on 2 December 1882 that the Sutherlands and their little band of Salvationists came to “open fire” on Sydney, with the words of the song, We’re a Band That Shall Conquer the Foe. The choice of a busy marketplace to launch The Salvation Army in Sydney was not surprising, for Army strategy had always been to go where the people were.

An advertisement in that day’s Sydney Morning Herald gave notice of a meeting to be held the following day, Sunday 3 December 1882, in the Protestant Hall, Castlereagh St. However, following good Salvation Army tradition, the little band of Salvationists had decided to hold an open-air meeting where the people were, on Saturday evening at Paddy's Market. With the sound of tambourine, cornet, euphonium and drum, they no doubt attracted much attention among the strident voices of the sideshows, spruikers and produce sellers.

It was no doubt an energetic and raucous experience since Captain Tom Sutherland seemed to have lost his voice and was unable to preach the following day, his place being taken by his wife, Adelaide. Bolstered by the arrival of fellow Salvationists from Adelaide, the once solitary Sydney Salvationist, Tom Mudiman, took his place on the door. With the addition of the Adelaide contingent, the Army had established its presence in the city of Sydney. 

However, in the narrow confines of the inner-city, the open-air meeting and march drew opposition and persecution from the Sydney "larrikins". During one skirmish with "larrikins" an attempt was made to seize The Salvation Army flag. Grabbing the flag and wrapping it around her body, Mary Ann Cox dared the crowd to take it away from her. The “larrikins” quickly receded.

Hostile media
The Sydney press was also not very complimentary about the presence of The Salvation Army in their city. Influenced by English reports from the Contemporary Review, it reprinted a scathing report in the Sydney Morning Herald, presenting the Army as a rowdy and peculiar rabble.

Despite the opposition and persecution, and the indifferent press, Salvation Army ministry continued to progress, with the establishment of Sydney 1 Corps, later to be called Sydney Congress Hall, and a second corps being opened at Newtown on 1 April 1883. During 1883, pioneer Salvationist, Edward Saunders, was appointed as Officer-in-Command of Newtown Corps. Drawing on his building background, Saunders set about constructing a much-needed hall which was opened on 15 March 1884.

Sydney 1 Corps was soon to follow, with the building of its own meeting hall in Goulburn St. On 9 October 1884, the foundation stone was laid on land offered to The Salvation Army on a five-year lease, with the first year rent free.

Despite initial opposition, the Army’s strategy to take the church to the people, together with the tenacity of its early leaders, meant that by 1885 The Salvation Army had established a strong presence in Sydney.

This article first appeared in The Salvation Army's Pipeline magazine.

PHOTO CAPTIONS:
1. An artist’s impression of the first meeting of The Salvation Army in Paddy’s Market on 2 December 1882.The painting hangs in the foyer of the Army's School for Officer Training in Sydney.

2. Sydney’s lone pioneer Salvationist, Thomas Mudiman.