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 Army offering emergency assistance going back to 1887, when the Colliery at Bulli experienced a gas explosion resulting in the death of 81 miners. In his book With a Smile and a Cuppa, Garth R. Hentzschel writes: After the disaster ... The Salvation Army opened a more permanent work in Bulli to aid the families of the victims. Another explosion in 1902 at the Mt Kembla coal mine saw Salvationists at the forefront. Our Salvation Soldiers were among the first rescue party who volunteered to follow Major McCabe [of the Australian Military] to save others. Several Bulli soldiers also worked hard and incessantly to cary out dead bodies, The Salvation Army newspaper, War Cry reported.

Salvationists in Wollongong have always extended their generosity far beyond the city limits. In her book Booth’s Drum, The Salvation Army in Australia 1880-1980, Barbara Bolton writes that during the second world war thirty home-leaguers were traveling regularly from Wollongong Corps to mend clothes at the Ingleburn military camp. When nationwide strikes brought hardship to many families in 1949, Salvationists in centres such as Wollongong provided extra services like banding together to cut firewood and transport it to the city for distribution amongst needy families.

Today, Wollongong Salvation Army operates an active Salvation Army Emergency Services crew, welfare services and also continues to assist various Salvation Army ministries across Australia and overseas.