Wollongong History
The first recorded Salvation Army visit occurred on Boxing Day 1884, just four years after its first appearance in Australia in Adelaide. The movement quickly took hold in the Illawarra and remains today.
Radical beginnings
The first recorded Salvation Army visit occurred on Boxing Day 1884. The next day Wollongong’s newspaper, the Illawarra Mercury, reported: A skirmishing squad of The Salvation Army opened fire on the enemy in Woll...
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Early opposition
Those early Salvationists faced their biggest challenge in 1888. In an effort to appease the local population, the council passed a by-law to control “nuisances”, effectively outlawing the Army's outdoor me...
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Wollongong Greats - Elizabeth Adlington
The Salvation Army in Wollongong has produced its fair share of outstanding Salvationists. Elizabeth Adlington (pictured right with son Raymond) was one of the Army’s first soldiers in Wollongong.
Elizabeth...
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Wollongong Greats - Jayne Wilson
Civic, business, religious and community leaders joined 800 mourners at the funeral service of Envoy Jayne Wilson at Wollongong Salvation Army centre.
A soldier of Wollongong Corps, manager of its First Floor (addiction...
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In times of need
It’s often said that The Salvation Army has a ministry of “presence” – of being there in times of need.
This has been the case in Wollongong, with the first recorded incident of The Salvation...
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Tarrawanna Salvation Army
In Tarrawanna, the Army began due to the fact that there were no facilities for children in the Fernhill area to attend Sunday school, so in 1950 Mr & Mrs Fred & Lela Read decided to hold an Open-Air Su...
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From the street to the cafe
While the Wollongong Salvation Army began on the city’s streets, with marches and open-air meetings, today’s Illawarra Salvos can be found running playgroups or working as baristas!
In Port Kembla, Th...
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