AJSAHistoryVol6Iss2 September 2021

Chapter 4 is the real meat of the book and accounts for two thirds of the pages. Here Huggins
comes into his own and tells the story with flair. Well researched local history follows a chronology,
interspersed with a large number of quotes from the Eastbourne gazette. These certainly give a
contemporary voice from the town’s leading newspaper. Huggins skilfully shows the town’s authority
anti-Army bias in the way those creating opposition were leniently dealt with and the supposed
rationale employed for creating anti-Army bye-laws (notably the effect on the tourist trade). He notes
that a meeting was held between representatives of towns in the south to look at coordinated political
anti-Army action, the result of which though was the decision “to deal with the matter individually
rather than collectively”.14 Huggins then presents a fascinating account of how the Eastbourne
Improvement Act of 1885 with its iniquitous Clause 169 was passed. This clause forbade non-military
processions on a Sunday. Interestingly Eastbourne was fairly quiet until 1889 when The Salvation
Army recommenced the struggle. Here again Huggins shows a flair for storytelling woven with clear
comments such as “the language Mayor Morrison used here was something less than judicious or
appropriate…..it would seem there was a culture and acceptance of such remarks on the Council”.15
Anti-Army legal cases are examined by Huggins as is the period following the Army’s decision to
hold visibly public Whit Sunday marches on 17 May 1891 and every Sunday thereafter. The
subsequent arrests and imprisonment of Salvationists became a national scandal but not before it was
clear just what a controlling interest Mayor Morrison had in various aspects of the town including a
financial interest in the Eastbourne standard.

Huggins really draws the reader in demonstrating just how the Eastbourne authorities took
Salvation Army oppression to new levels. Typically, the Army used released prisoners to further the
message although the welcome home events of Thursday 16 July 1891 turned particularly violent.
Further violence, imprisonment, assaults on individual Salvationists, and legal wrangling dominated
the local area and press and increasingly became of national concern. Huggins follows the twists and
turns in an engaging way with contemporary evidence quoted to reinforce the story. The local history
is well researched and as the story moves into 1892, the reader certainly wants to find out more. Mob
violence was much in evidence and clearly Mayor Morrison machinated behind the scenes so that
whatever was done nationally to protect the rights of Salvationists, Eastbourne would not be content.
Huggins stresses the constant stream of attacks on female Salvationists in particular, demonstrating
just how vicious the mob could be. He then gives a detailed account of the eventual repeal of Clause
169 in mid 1892 and despite unsuccessful attempts to appeal this and even to pass a byelaw on the
same line, the quietness that settled on the town. Mayor Morison died unexpectedly in 1895 and from
that time, “reconciliation and renewal blossom in Eastbourne.”16

The mob and the mayor is a well written account of the persecution faced in Eastbourne by the
Salvation Army and the role of Eastbourne’s mayor. Its central thesis that the violence was driven or
at least encouraged by the mayor throws new light on the events and the reader will enjoy the
narrative.

14 Huggins, The mob and the mayor, 41.
15 Huggins, The mob and the mayor, 49.
16Huggins, The mob and the mayor, 96.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 101

BOOK REVIEW
NOW YOU KNOW!

Reviewed by
Garth R. Hentzschel

Frank Duracher, Now you know the rest of the Army’s story, (Alexandria, USA: Crest Books,
The Salvation Army National Headquarters, USA, 2019), 129 pp. ISBN 978 1 946709 05 91

Cover of Now you know the rest of the Army’s story

Major Frank Duracher is no stranger to writing for Salvation Army media or publishing Army history.
He holds a Bachelor and Master of Arts, wrote many articles for Salvation Army periodicals in the
United States of America (USA) and Australia, and had published an historical biography, Smoky
mountain high - The consuming passion of Cecil Brown.2

Now you know the rest of the Army’s story contained 50 mini-chapters, none more than three
pages long, of historical and contemporary stories linked to The Salvation Army or the USA. Each
chapter was structured in the format of Paul Harvey’s, The rest of the story3 which outlined little-
known facts about a person, often with a moral or spiritual undertone. The layout of the book similarly
was based on the radio program, had little guiding structure with each chapter arranged in quite a
haphazard way. The everyday stories were often placed next to historically significant events and
local stories of lesser-known people placed beside internationally known Salvationists. The chapters
on Army history were drawn from all parts of The Salvation Army world and included narratives on
officers, soldiers, friends, donors and even Adolf Hitler.

Reference citation of this paper: Garth R. Hentzschel, “Book review, Now you know!”, The Australasian journal
of Salvation Army history, 6, 2, 2021, 102 – 103.
1 At the time of publication of the AJSAH, the book was available online or instore at Sydney Salvationist Supplies
(1800 634 209) or thetrade.salvos.org.au, and Melbourne Salvation Army Supplies, commerce.salvationarmy.org.au.
2 Frank Duracher, Smoky mountain high - The consuming passion of Cecil Brown, (Alexandria, USA: Crest Books, The
Salvation Army National Headquarters, USA, 2007).
3 The rest of the story was a weekday radio program that commenced during WWII as part of a news broadcast then
became its own series from 10 May 1976. The program consisted of stories of little-known or forgotten facts on
different well-known people, something of ‘true mysteries from history’. Each program would conclude with the
phrase, “And now you know...the rest of the story.” The program was cancelled on 28 February 2009, shortly after the
death of Paul Harvey.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 102

Duracher stated, Now you know the rest of the Army’s story, comprised “of nearly forgotten
anecdotes, is more a labor of love than an attempt to place a footnote on history,”4 yet he brought
history up to the present time and gave some anecdotes to explain interesting historical events.
Although the chapters are not footnoted, many included passing reference to some published books
and there was an extensive bibliography at the end of Now you know the rest of the Army’s story.
Some of the chapters were accompanied by photographs of the subjects. These were located in the
middle section of the book.

Each chapter focused on a different person and there were a large variety of topics woven into
the testimonies. Topics that placed Salvationists in international events included: the battle of Iwo
Jima (chapter 1); knitting clubs during WWII (chapter 16); and the sinking of the Titanic, Empress
of Ireland, and Lusitania (chapters 33, 34). Salvation Army centric chapters included: reopening the
Army in Taiwan (chapter 12); the Army’s 1929 High Council (chapter 20); Generals of the Army
(chapters 24, 27, 28, 29, 31, 34, 38); persecution of a Salvationist (chapter 35); fund raising or raising
awareness of the Army (chapters 8, 15, 38, 41); finding an Army treasure (chapter 13); music and the
Army (chapters 26, 32); a retired officer who became mayor (chapter 6); and social work of the Army
(chapters 37, 39, 40, 42).

A strength of the book was that it focused on the strategies God used in the lives of individual
people. This was clear in the chapters that highlighted individual personal relationships which were
formed with others, God, or the Army (chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 33,
36). There were also two chapters focused on Salvationists overcoming disability or health concerns
(chapters 11, 14).

Although Now you know the rest of the Army’s story was published in the USA, the chapters
centred on the Army’s work, listed above, had snapshots from around the world. The book included
information on Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Taiwan, United Kingdom as well
as the USA.

The concluding eight chapters (chapters 43 – 50) did not link to The Salvation Army but to
wider Christian history or the history of the USA. These chapters were still treated in the devotional
style shown throughout the book.

Each chapter was a testimony to the strategy of God unfurled in the life of individual people.
The anecdotes will be of interest to many, with constant surprises and the book will no doubt
encourage Salvationists and other Christians alike.

The book would be an enjoyable read for those who like uplifting short stories about people.
The chapters could be used as illustrations in sermons or devotions and as a starting point for deeper
research into historical events. Now you know the rest of the Army’s story is well written and moves
along at a quick pace.

4 Frank Duracher, Now you know the rest of the Army’s story, (Alexandria, USA: Crest Books, The Salvation Army
National Headquarters, USA, 2019), xi.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 103

BOOK REVIEW
THE SACRAMENTAL JOURNEY OF THE SALVATION ARMY

Reviewed by
Dean Smith

Rightmire, R. David. The Sacramental Journey of The Salvation Army: A Study of Holiness
Foundations. Alexandria, VA: Crest Books, 2016. ISBN-13: 978-1946709004.1

Cover of The Sacramental Journey of The Salvation Army

In an address to Salvation Army Officers in 1883 William Booth declared non-sacramental practice
the official position of the movement.2 This decision and the reasons behind it have been mired in
controversy ever since. In his most recent book, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army,
David Rightmire provides a comprehensive account of the theological and missional foundations
underpinning the movements non-sacramental stance while acknowledging the need for a re-
evaluation in light of certain pneumatological shifts within the Army.3 This recent publication is a
revised and expanded edition of Rightmire’s Sacraments and The Salvation Army: Pneumatalogical
foundations, first published in 1990. The new title better captures the sense of ongoing dialogue and
debate within The Salvation Army from its inception through to the present. The increased interest in
the sacramental journey of the movement is evidenced by the addition of final chapters that give
attention to material written on the topic since the book was first published.

The central thesis of the book, stated in the introduction, “is that The Salvation Army’s
abandonment of the sacraments is theologically grounded in its pneumatological priority and the
practical orientation of its missiology”.4 Now we should expect that a holiness movement would
understand the important connection between its central holiness doctrine and its sacramental
theology and practice. However, Rightmire argues that it is precisely this connection that has not been
recognised in the movement’s sacramental self-understanding.5 His study seeks to address this

Reference citation of this review: Dean Smith, “Book review: The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army”,
The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 2, 2021, 104 – 106.
1 This review was originally published in the Wesleyan Theological Journal 55:2 (Fall 2020) and is being reprinted with
permission.
2 R. David Rightmire, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army: A study of holiness foundations, (Alexandria,
VA: Crest Books, 2016), 39.
3 Rightmire, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army, xvii.
4 Rightmire, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army, xvii.
5 Rightmire, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army, xvii.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 104

oversight. Rejecting simplistic accounts, Rightmire shows that the decision to forego traditional
sacramental practice was not taken lightly by Booth or his movement. Rather, Booth’s understanding
of the sacraments as outward signs of inward grace would be reshaped by the experience and the
practical needs of the developing movement. Pivotal would be the crisis experience of entire
sanctification through which the believer enjoyed unmediated communion with Christ.6 The
institutionalization of holiness theology within the movement and its emphasis on a “spiritualized”
communion would ensure the demise of the traditional forms of grace. However, as Rightmire points
out, given the difficulties of maintaining a purely spiritualized religion, “certain forms, ceremonies
and practices within the Army took on significance as ‘sacramentals’ – understood as subjective
occasions for, not objective means of grace”.7 Most significantly, though, it came to be understood
that through the ongoing work of the Spirit, Christ was incarnated in the life of the believer so that
life, lived in service to God and others, was the outward sign and means of inward grace.8

In the introduction, Rightmire outlines his central thesis, defines terms and clarifies the scope
of the study. He also sets out his methodology indicating that it is not his intention to provide a
systematic or Biblical theology of the sacraments but rather, through historical investigation, to
reconstruct the theological rationale underpinning the Army’s non-sacramental position. The first five
chapters of the book provide the context for Rightmire’s central thesis. Chapter 1 provides an
important frame of reference for understanding the rise of the Salvation Army by considering its
Victorian milieu in the second half of the nineteenth century. In this chapter he addresses social,
economic, political and religious forces at work in Victorian England. Chapter 2 explores the
historical context of The Salvation Army’s developing sacramental position, with particular reference
to its Wesleyan heritage and its eventual deviation from traditional Wesleyan sacramental practices.
Chapter 3 explores Salvation Army ecclesiology and sacramental theology as practical response.
Chapters 4 and 5 look to the influence of sixteenth and seventeenth century spiritualist theology and
the nineteenth century holiness movement on the Salvation Army’s pneumatological emphasis.
Chapter 6 then addresses the central thesis of the book, bringing a focus to previous chapters, namely,
that Booth’s decision to discontinue sacramental practice was primarily shaped by his holiness
theology, not his missiological pragmatism. The focus of chapters 7 through 9 is the historical
development of the Army’s sacramental self-understanding from the 1890s to the present. In these
chapters Rightmire surveys the primary sources to present and an up to date literature review.
Rightmire shows that, in the intervening years since he carried out his research for the first edition in
1990, there has been a large number of writings on the sacramental position of The Salvation Army.
Finally, given the importance of the connection between the Army’s holiness doctrine and its
sacramental stance established in the first six chapters of the book, in the final chapter Rightmire
seeks to assess whether there has been doctrinal continuity in the Army’s theological stance. Given
the historical shift in emphasis away from crisis to process in the experience of entire sanctification,
it would appear not. Thus, Rightmire thinks regaining a truly Wesleyan understanding of entire
sanctification, emphasising both crisis and process, should lead to a re-evaluation of sacramental
theology within the movement.9

Given the lack of any systematic approach to Salvation Army theology, an important strength
of Rightmire’s book is that, by a thorough research of the movement’s early works, sermons and
correspondence, he has been able to reconstruct a theologic that links the Army’s holiness doctrine

6 Rightmire, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army, 140.
7 Rightmire, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army, 142.
8 Rightmire, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army, 145.
9 Rightmire, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army, 269.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 105

and the development of its non-sacramental stance. We have here, then, an important work of
historical theology that will underpin further developments in The Salvation Army’s self-
understanding of its sacramental position. Another strength is the important literature review
presented in chapters 7 through 9. As well as bringing readers up to date with the most recent writings
on the sacramental self-understanding of The Salvation Army, he provides a rich vein of material for
scholars to draw upon in the ongoing debate regarding the sacraments.

One perceived weakness in Rightmire’s account relates to the extent of his conclusions, in
particular his decision to focus on the implications of his own thesis for further research and
institutional assessment, rather than connecting his own findings with broader theological issues
identified throughout his study. To be fair to Rightmire, his study does focus on the historical
pneumatological foundations of The Salvation Army’s sacramental self-understanding, and so it is
right and proper that his conclusions bend in the direction of a reevaluation of that understanding in
light of a Wesleyan grasp of entire sanctification as both crisis and process. However, I think that this
offers but a partial response to significant imbalance in The Salvation Army’s foundational theology.
Rightmire does make the reader aware of this and in particular William Booth’s failure to give
attention to the doctrines of creation and incarnation in his theology.10 It is not surprising then that
this oversight would reveal itself in docetic and gnostic anti-materialist assumptions, that along with
pneumatological ones would shape the Army’s sacramental stance.11 It would seem to me that along
with Rightmire’s approach of raising the possibility of a reassessment of The Salvation Army’s
sacramental position in light of certain pneumatalogical shifts, an equally urgent task is a
reassessment of its position in light of the doctrines of creation and incarnation. Such a thoroughgoing
assessment may well help the movement in coming to a truly Wesleyan sacramental understanding.

David Rightmire is a lifelong Salvationist recently retired from his position as professor of
biblical and theological studies at Asbury University in Kentucky. He has published a number of
books as well as articles and reviews and has lectured on Army theology and history nationally and
internationally. In The sacramental journey, David has made a significant contribution to Salvation
Army scholarship.

10 Rightmire, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army, 132.
11 Rightmire, The sacramental journey of The Salvation Army, 133.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 106

Cover of Christmas through the years1

1 Anon (ed). Christmas through the years: A War cry treasury, (Alexandria, USA: Crest Books, Salvation Army
National Publications, 1997).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 107

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SALVATION ARMY LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
1988 – PRESENT

ANON OR ‘AUTHORITY OF THE GENERAL’

Garth R. Hentzschel

Following on from R. G. Moyles, A bibliography of Salvation Army literature in English 1865-1987,2
some editions of the Australasian journal of Salvation Army history will have information of literature
by Salvationists or containing information on The Salvation Army to assist researchers and those
interested in more information on The Salvation Army. Both bibliographical information and a brief
outline of the work will be included. Please note that categories and the referencing style will be that
used by Moyles to be consistent with his work.

SECTION I – HISTORY, DESCRIPTION, AND PUBLIC REACTION

A. GENERAL HISTORIES

Anon. ARMY BEGINNINGS. Sydney, Australia: The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory,
c1995, 12 pp.

The booklet was published for the Australian territories’ Junior Soldier Program. It contained
pictures and information on the life of Catherine and William Booth.

Anon. EARLY ARMY VENTURES. Sydney, Australia: The Salvation Army Australia Eastern
Territory, c1995, 16 pp.

The booklet was published for the Australian territories’ Junior Soldier Program. It contained
pictures, information and activities related to The Salvation Army’s endeavour of making safety
matches, the Limelight department, and the Darkest England Scheme.

B. DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNTS OF ARMY METHODS AND ACTIVITIES

Anon. ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SALVATION ARMY, BUT COULD
BE TOO AFRAID TO ASK! England, UK: The Salvation Army THQ Literary Unit, n.d., 40
pp.

The book gave a brief history of The Salvation Army, followed by descriptions of practices and
beliefs of the Army, and the movement’s stand on Christian practices and moral matters. It also
included photographs and contact information.

Reference citation of this paper
Garth R. Hentzschel, “A bibliography of Salvation Army literature in English, 1988 - present, Anon or under
authority of ‘the general’”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 1, 2021, 107 – 122.
2 R.G. Moyles, A bibliography of Salvation Army literature in English (1865-1987), (Lewiston, USA: The Edwin
Mellen Press, 1988).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 108

Authority of the General of The Salvation Army and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian
Unity. CONVERSATIONS WITH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: A RECORD OF THE
INFORMAL CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE
SALVATION ARMY 2007 – 2012. London, UK: Salvation Books, The Salvation Army
International Headquarters, 2014, 276 pp.
The report outlined the schedules, reflections and papers presented at each meeting held
between The Salvation Army and Roman Catholic Church. Contributors included Catholic
representatives, David Crawford, Brendan Leahy, Patricia Murray and Salvationist
representatives, Linda Bond, William W. Francis, Michael Marvell, Richard Munn, and Karen
Shakespeare.

Cover of Conversations with The Catholic Church
C. ANNUAL REPORTS
Anon. THE PARADOX OF PROSPERITY. London, UK: The Henley Centre for The Salvation

Army UK Territory, 1999, 57 pp.
The report focused on the economy, crime, inequality, family breakdown, ageing population,
new spirituality, and issues impacting The Salvation Army.
Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. BUILDING A JUST WORLD. THE SALVATION
ARMY’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (2000 –
2015). New York, USA: The Salvation Army International Social Justice Commission, 2017,
74 pp.
The report highlighted The Salvation Army’s progress towards the eight Millennium
Development Goals.
F. THE SALVATION ARMY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

Australia
Anon. MELBOURNE’S SALVATION ARMY HERITAGE. Melbourne, Australia: The Salvation

Army, 1992, 1996, 51 pp.
The booklet gave historical information on Major James and Alice Barker, and properties used
by The Salvation Army in Melbourne which included headquarters, printing works, trade
departments, officer training, social work, film production, war service and inner-city corps.
The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 109

SECTION II – SOCIAL SERVICE
G. GENERAL HISTORY, DESCRIPTION, AND ANNUAL REPORTS
Anon, HARD TIMES: FAMILIES IN CRISIS. Burleigh Heads, Australia: The Salvation Army

Crossroads Network for the Australia Eastern and Australia Southern Territories of The
Salvation Army, 1992, 67 pp.
The report investigated the impact of the financial recession on families in the Australian
context.
H. SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF SOCIAL WORK
11. YOUTH SERVICES
Anon, BROKEN DREAMS – GETTING BACK ON TRACK. Australia: The Salvation Army, 1998,
38 pp.
The book was a study on youth homelessness in Australia.
SECTION III – PROMOTING THE WAR
M – PROMOTIONAL LITERATURE
Anon. BOUNDLESS THE WHOLE WORLD REDEEMING. OFFICIAL PROGRAMME. London,
UK: The Salvation Army, 2015, 64 pp.
The programme gave information and photographs relating to events and people connected with
the 2015 Boundless International Congress. It also included information on wider events and
places in London.

Cover of Boundless the whole world redeeming
N – INSTRUCTIONAL AND DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE
Anon. 50 DAYS OF PRAYER FROM EASTER TO PENTECOST. Sydney, Australia: The Salvation

Army Australia Eastern Territory, 2006, 48 pp.
The booklet gave instructions on several different types of prayers and included a calendar with
suggested prayer topics.
The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 110

Anon. 101 IDEAS ON PRAYER. London, UK: The Salvation Army Territorial Advisory Council,
n.d., 52 pp.

Including ideas collected from across the UK territory, the Advisory Council collated 101
different ways to pray. The book also included appendixes on books to read, praying the
scriptures, guidelines for a prayer chain, and personal devotions.

Anon. CARING FOR KIDS. GUIDELINES FOR CARE AND SAFETY IN SALVATION ARMY
YOUTH AND CHILDREN PROGRAMS. Sydney, Australia: The Salvation Army (New South
Wales) Property Trust, 1995, 64 pp.; 2000, 76 pp, revised 2001, 78 pp.; revised 2003, 80 pp.;
2006, 50 pp.

The manual gave procedures, information, policies, and worksheets for adults working with
children in The Salvation Army.

Anon. CARING FOR KIDS LEVEL 2. INFORMATION FOR CORPS OFFICERS, CENTRE
MANAGERS AND ALL LEADERS OF CHILDREN’S, YOUTH AND FAMILIES’
MINISTRIES. Sydney, Australia: The Salvation Army, Australia Eastern Territory, 2007, 52
pp.

The manual gave information on choosing a youth worker and information, on how to protect
children in Salvation Army youth activities.

Anon (ed). CHRISTMAS THROUGH THE YEARS: A WAR CRY TREASURY. Alexandria, USA:
Crest Books, Salvation Army National Publications, 1997, 96 pp.

The collection of articles and artwork had all appeared in the American War cry since 1947.
Contributors included June Alder, Evangeline Booth, Arnold Brown, Marlene Chase, Lesa
Davis, P. L. DeBevoise, Henry Gariepy, W. R. H. Goodier, John Gowans, Don Harris, Lillian
Hansen, Jerome Hines, Mary Ellan Holmes, Wilfred Kitching, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Albert
Orsborn, John Parris, J. C. Penney, Arthur Pitcher, Will Pratt, Paul A. Rader, Bramwell Tripp,
Ivy Waterworth, and Erick Wickberg, etc.

Anon. DANGERS OF DRUGS. INFORMATION, WARNINGS, HEALTHY ATTITUDES.
Sydney, Australia: Public Relations Department, The Salvation Army Eastern Territory, 2002,
34 pp.

The booklet presented facts, statistics, and medical advice about illegal drugs and alcohol. It
also contained information for support and organisations to contact.

Anon. GOD’S COMPANIONS. Melbourne, Australia: Territorial Secretary for Companion Clubs,
Australia Southern Territory, 1997, 16 pp.

The short bible study focused on people of advanced aged in the scriptures. Each study included
an introduction, the scripture to read, questions, and a Salvation Army song.

Anon, GUIDELINES ON MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE. Sydney, Australia: The
Salvation Army Australia Eastern and Papua New Guinea Territory, 1990, 17 pp.

The booklet gave a guideline for Salvationists who have been divorced and intend to remarry.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 111

Anon. HELLO MY NAME IS GOD. Sydney, Australia: The Salvation Army, n.d., 20 pp.
The booklet was designed for evangelical purposes, to introduce the names and character of
God to the non-Christian.

Anon. INTERNATIONAL SPIRITUAL LIFE COMMISSION – REPORT. London, UK: Spiritual
Life Commission and International Headquarters of The Salvation Army, n.d., 16 pp.
The commission was convened to examine what matters were “essential or integral to the
spiritual growth of individual Salvationists and the movement itself.” The report discussed areas
of sacraments, swearing-in of soldiers, study, worship, and discipline.

Anon. LIGHT FOR TODAY. DAILY READINGS FOR THE YEAR. Challenge Books. London,
UK: International Headquarters of The Salvation Army, 1968, revised 1989, 238 pp.
The year-long devotional book was made up of a section for each day. Each included a scripture
reference, a short devotional note, and a short prayer.

Anon. RED SHIELD APPEAL HANDBOOK. Sydney, Australia: The Salvation Army Australia
Eastern Territory, 2000, 119 pp.
The handbook gave instructions and forms to run the Red Shield Appeal in Australia.

Anon. SAFESALVOS MANUAL. CARING FOR KIDS, YOUTH AND OTHER VULNERABLE
PEOPLE. Sydney South, Australia: The Salvation Army, Professional Standards Office,
Australia Eastern Territory, 2013, 59 pp.
The manual gave information on Salvation Army standards and procedures for working safely
with children, youth and vulnerable people in a ministry setting.

Cover of SafeSalvos Manual
Anon. STILL HUNGRY? Sydney, Australia: The Salvation Army, n.d., 16 pp.

The booklet was designed for evangelical purposes, to show that Christ can satisfy the human
need.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 112

Anon. THE BIBLE AND ASYLUM SEEKERS. Meadowbank, Australia: The Salvation Army
Humanitarian Mission Services, The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory, n.d., 16 pp.

The booklet contained versus of scripture and photographs connected with refugees. An account
by Major Paul Moulds’ work on Nauru and Manus Islands with The Salvation Army was also
included.

Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. AIDS CARE. PRACTICAL & PASTORAL
GUIDELINES. St Albans, UK: The Salvation Army, 1987, 1988, 34 pp.

The book included information on HIV and AIDS, best practice for working with people who
had contracted the disease, and a Salvationist’s attitude to people suffering from the illness.

Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. DOCTRINE FOR TODAY: A CLEAR AND
CONCISE EXAMINATION OF THE SALVATION ARMY’S ELEVEN ARTICLES OF
FAITH. London, UK: Salvation Books, 2017, 54 pp.

Eleven sections, each contained a discussion on a separate Salvation Army doctrine and were
written by members of the International Theological Council (formerly the International
Doctrine Council). The contributors included Gabriel Adepoju, Ian Barr, William Francis,
Johnny Kleman, Richard Munn, Elas Oalang, James E. Read, Amy Reardon, Karen
Shakespeare, Robert Street, Wendy Swan and Geoff Webb.

Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. HEY GOD … WOT U UP 2? London, UK: The
Salvation Army Children’s Ministry Unit, 2006, 111 pp.

The book contained a collection of prayers written by and drawings created by children.

Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. JOURNEY OF RENEWAL: THE
ACCOUNTABILITY MOVEMENT OF THE SALVATION ARMY. London, UK: Salvation
Books, 2016, 96 pp.

The book outlined a model for growth and cultural change withing The Salvation Army.

Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. ONE FAITH, ONE CHURCH. AN INSIGHT INTO
THE SALVATION ARMY’S RESPONSE TO WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES FAITH
AND ORDER PAPER NO.111: BAPTISM, EUCHARIST AND MINISTRY. London, UK:
The Salvation Army International Headquarters, 1990, 90 pp.

The book was The Salvation Army’s response to The World Council of Churches’ Commission
on Faith and Order that met in Lima, Peru in 1982.

Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. SALVATION STORY. SALVATIONIST
HANDBOOK OF DOCTRINE. London, UK: The Salvation Army International Headquarters,
1998, 156 pp.

The book unpacked the doctrines of The Salvation Army. Each description linked to verses of
scripture and many topics included further information in the appendix.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 113

Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. … TEACHING THEM: FESTSCHRIFT IN
HONOUR OF GENERAL EVA BURROWS (RET.). Norway: Prinfo Unique, c2009, 99 pp.
The collection of papers was published to commemorate the 80th birthday of Eva Burrows. The
contributors were the original members of the International Doctrine Council, a group
established by Burrows during her time as general of The Salvation Army. The authors
included, Ray Caddy, Roger J. Green, David Guy, Gudrun Lyholm, Phil Needham, Christine
Parkin, and Earl Robinson. A foreword was given by John Larsson.

Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. THE SALVATION ARMY IN THE BODY OF
CHRIST. AN ECCLESIOLOGICAL STATEMENT. L’ARMÉE DU SALUT DANS LE
CORPS DE CHRIST. UNE DÉCLARATION ECCLESIOLOGIQUE. EL EJÉRCITO DE
SALVACION EN EL CUERPO DE CRISTO. UNA DECLARACIÓN ECLESIOLÓGCA.
London, UK: Salvation Books, The Salvation Army International Headquarters, 2008, 92 pp.
The book gave several statements on Salvation Army beliefs and practices. Included as
appendixes were The Salvation Army’s Articles of Faith, the Junior Soldier’s Promise, the
Soldier’s Covenant, and the Officer’s Covenant. The book appeared as a trilingual publication
with English, French and Spanish versions of all information.

Cover of The Salvation Army in the body of Christ
Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. THE SALVATION ARMY IN THE BODY OF

CHRIST. STUDY GUIDE. London, UK: Salvation Books, The Salvation Army International
Headquarters, 2010, 86 pp.
The study guide consisted of twelve sessions based on the ecclesiological statements outlined
by The Salvation Army. Each session included activities and discussion questions.
Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH. PREPARATION
FOR MARRIAGE. A SALVATION ARMY HANDBOOK FOR COUNSELLORS. St Albans,
UK: International Headquarters of The Salvation Army, 1990, 44 pp.
The booklet gave 5 sessions that included notes for the ‘counsellor’ and activities for the
participants.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 114

SECTION V – SALVATIONIST BIOGRAPHY

Arthur T. Brewer

Anon. ODDS AGAINST HIM. Chicago, USA: The Salvation Army Chicago Editorial Department,
Central Territory, 1989, 53 pp.

Originally prepared for Colonel Arthur Brewer’s retirement in 1933, the biography covered his
childhood, conversion and early antagonism against The Salvation Army. The book also
covered him joining the Army, Brewer’s experience in London, his early officer career in the
UK and his appointments in the USA. The book included letters from General Edward Higgins,
Commander Evangeline Booth and Commissioner Samuel Brengle.

Eva Burrows

Anon. GENERAL EVA BURROWS COMMEMORATIVE TRIBUTE 1929-2015. Melbourne,
Australia: The Salvation Army Australia Southern Territory and Australia Eastern Territory,
2015, 20 pp.

The booklet was published to commemorate the promotion to Glory of retired General Eva
Burrows. The publication included photographs of Burrows, memorials from leading Salvation
Army officers and community representatives, a brief biography, and a small article written by
Burrows.

SECTION VI – AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND MEMOIRS

Anon. REFLECT & WRITE. MY JOURNAL. Melbourne, Australia: The Salvation Army Australia
Southern Territory, n.d., 140 pp.

The personal journal included information on resources for women and pages to write private
reflections, some pages included verses of scripture.

SECTION IX – PORTRAITS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND CARTOONS

Authority of the General of The Salvation Army. PORTRAITS. A MONTH IN THE LIFE OF THE
SALVATION ARMY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM TERRITORY WITH THE REPUBLIC
OF IRELAND. London, UK: The Salvation Army United Kingdom Territory with the Republic
of Ireland, 2012, 160 pp.

A collection of photographs, with some descriptions were used to show the breadth of ministry
of The Salvation Army in the UK Territory with the Republic of Ireland during 2011. The book
was published in part to commemorate the final speech of William Booth in Royal Albert Hall
in 1912.

Cover of Portraits
The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 115

Cookbooks
Anon. CHRISTMAS IN WINTER, CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK BY AUSTRALIA’S TOP CHEFS.

Melbourne, Australia: Information Australia, 1999, 64 pp.
The book was a collection of recipes from Australian chefs, to raise funds for The Salvation
Army. The project was directed by Carolyn Alexander from the Herald Sun and Colonel Brian
Morgan of The Salvation Army. Chefs who contributed to the project were; Andrew Blake,
David Braim, Robert Castellani, Brad French, Simon Humble, Ken James, Marco Lori,
Anthony Lui, Kate McGhie, Greg Malouf, Richard Millar, Marcus Moore, Philippe Mouchel,
Valerio Nucci, Mietta O’Donnell, Craig Penglase, Andrew Roscouet, Debra & Tony Ryan,
Loretta Sartori, Jimmy Shu, Arni Sleeman, Jeremy Strode, Tony Tan, and Jake Ward.

BOOKS DISCOVERED OR PUBLISHED SINCE
THE PREVIOUS ISSUE OF AJSAHISTORY

Cameron, Helen, and Hedge, Janet (eds). DRAWN TOGETHER. RESOURCES FOR BROADLY
CHRISTIAN ACTS OF WORSHIP. UNDER ELEVENS. Derby, UK: Christian Education
Movement and The Salvation Army, n.d., 116 pp.
The book was a collection of ten themed lessons for schools. Each lesson included songs,
prayers, stories, and dramas. The themes for the lessons were; love, thankfulness, humility,
opposition to evil and injustice, our community, the world-wide family, the world around us,
the life of Jesus, Christmas and Easter.

Chung, Carolynne, Roberts, Jayne, Welch, Sandra, Voltz, Dawn and Mortlock, Paul (eds.). CALLED
TO PREACH: SERMONS BY SALVATIONIST WOMEN. London, UK: Salvation Books,
The Salvation Army International Headquarters, 2011, 199 pp.
The collection of short sermons by women officers represented an international cohort.

Bennett, David Malcolm. CATHERINE BOOTH: FROM TIMIDITY TO BOLDNESS, 1829-1865.
Sydney, Australia: Morning Star Publishing, 2020, 308 pp.
The biography outlined the early influences and work of Catherine Mumford/Booth.

Cover of Catherine Booth: From timidity to boldness

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 116

Bennett, David [Malcolm]. THE ALTAR CALL. ITS ORIGINS AND PRESENT USAGE. Lanham,
USA: University Press of America, 2000, 261 pp.
The book outlined the commencement and development of the altar call, critically analysed
biblical claims of its usage, results, and problems. As The Salvation Army used this method,
the movement was briefly discussed and included in a small survey.

Chase, Marlene, Dobb, Jennifer Davis and Griffin, Kristin (eds). EASTER THROUGH THE
YEARS: A WAR CRY TREASURY. Alexandria, USA: Crest Books, Salvation Army National
Publications, 1999, 96 pp.
The collection of articles and artwork had all appeared in the American War cry. Contributors
included Ella Brooks Bolkcom, Eva Burrows, Marlene Chase, Sallie Chesham, Frederick
Coutts, Hal Curtis, William W. DeBolt, W. R. H. Goodier, Dennis E. Hensley, Isa Mae Kempel,
R. P. Marshall, Owen L. Miller, Albert Orsborn, Paul A. Rader, Chris Simmons, Robert T.
Sutherland, George Taylor, Bramwell Tripp, Jarl Wahlström, Walter Wangerin, Leslie E.
Weatherhead, Erick Wickberg, and Check Yee, etc.

Duracher, Frank. NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE ARMY’S STORY. Alexandria, USA:
Crest Books, The Salvation Army National Headquarters, USA, 2019, 129 pp.
The 50 mini-chapters contained historical and contemporary stories linked to The Salvation
Army or the United States of America. The chapters on Army history were drawn from all parts
of The Salvation Army world and included information on officers, soldiers, friends, and
donors.

Cover of Now you know the rest of the Army’s story
Edwards, Andrew and Thornton, Fleur. WILLIAM BOOTH. THE TROUBLESOME TEENAGER

WHO CHANGED THE LIVES OF PEOPLE NO-ONE ELSE WOULD TOUCH.
FOOTSTEPS OF THE PAST, NO 2. Leaminster, UK: Day One Publication, 2005, 32 pp.
The book was an introduction to William Booth for children. It consisted of small narratives on
portions of Booth’s life, supported with activities, puzzles and games.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 117

Evans, Robert. MATTHEW BURNETT: THE YORKSHIRE EVANGELIST. AUSTRALIA’S
GREATEST EVANGELIST & SOCIAL REFORMER. Hazelbrook, Australia: Research in
Evangelical Revivals, 2010, 468 pp.

The in-depth biography of Matthew Burnett compared some of his methodology to the early
Salvation Army. It also outlined Burnett’s link to the commencement of the Army in Adelaide
and cooperation with The Salvation Army in his later ministry.

Forster, Ed. HOW I MET THE SALVATION ARMY: TRUE STORIES OF CHRISTIAN
TRANSFORMATION. Alexandria, USA: Crest Books, The Salvation Army National
Publication, 2011, 231 pp.

The collection of memoirs contained 96 stories of how people met The Salvation Army and
became Salvationists.

Gittins, Barry. INSPIRATION FOR THESE TIMES. FOOD FOR THE SOUL. MYSTERY,
METAPHYSICS, MORALITY AND MESSIANIC MUSINGS. Melbourne, Australia:
Wilkinson Publishing, 2020, 48 pp.

The magazine was a collection of poems with moralistic and social justice themes. The sale of
the publication went to assist The Salvation Army Melbourne Project 614.

Gittins, Barry and Davis, Olso (illustrator). INSPIRATION FOR THESE TIMES. FOOD FOR
THOUGHT, SERVED WITH DIGNITY. Melbourne, Australia: Wilkinson Publishing, 2020,
52 pp.

The magazine was a collection of short stories, historical, reflective, and contemporary, about
the people and events linked with The Salvation Army’s Melbourne Project 614. The sale of
the publication went to assist The Salvation Army Melbourne Project 614.

Gluyas, Miriam and Foster, Fay. 50 WAYS TO DO JUSTICE, VOLUME 1. Sydney South, Australia:
Carpenter Media, 2010, 145 pp.

The book included 50 practical ideas to act in a socially just manner. Contributors to the ideas
were, Robyn Evans, Luke Geary, Adrian Kistan, Paul Moulds, Casey O’Brien, Sonya Pell,
Campbell Roberts, Vince Ross, and Danielle Strickland.

Gluyas, Miriam and Foster, Fay. 50 WAYS TO GROW A HEALTHY CORPS, VOLUME 1. Sydney
South, Australia: Carpenter Media, 2010, 103 pp.

The book included 50 practical ideas to engage Salvationists and the wider community in the
ministries of the corps to encourage ownership and belonging.

Gluyas, Miriam and Foster, Fay (eds). SALVATION STORIES, VOLUME 1. Sydney South,
Australia: Carpenter Media, The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory, 2009, 122 pp.

The book contained a collection of narratives of individual Australian Salvationists’ spiritual
experiences. The contributors included, Betty Alley, Mark Ansons, Gary Baker, Shandri
Brown, James Condon, Jill Gillespie, Claire Hill, Caroline Knight, Paul Kurth, Dennis
McGuigan, Pauline Macintosh, Margaret Martin, and Maree Strong.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 118

Gluyas, Miriam and Foster, Fay (eds). SALVATION STORIES, VOLUME 2. Sydney South,
Australia: Carpenter Media, The Salvation Army Australia Eastern Territory, 2013, 129 pp.

The book contained a collection of narratives of individual Australian Salvationists’ spiritual
experiences. The contributors included, Phillip Cairns, Kathy Crombie, Mavis Dalton, Stuart
Evans, Ruth Gluyas, Liz Hannon, Ray Hollings, Karyn Kingston, Cheryl Kistan, Nesan Kistan,
Ian Minnett, Robbin Moulds, David Northcott, Linda Pierpoint, Gary Raymond, Colin
Robinson, Pam Robinson, Vince Ross, Leanne Stevens, Lincoln Stevens, and Robert Strong.

Gluyas, Miriam; Foster, Fay; Hill, Claire and Worthing, Simone (eds). 50 WAYS TO GROW A
HEALTHY YOUTH MINISTRY, VOLUME 1. Sydney South, Australia: Carpenter Media,
2012, 112 pp.

The book included 50 practical ideas to use in youth ministry as well as ideas of selfcare and
teamwork for youth leaders. Contributors of ideas were Nathaniel Brown, Shandri Brown, Wes
Bust, Angela Cairns, Matthew Gluyas, Claire Hill, and Jarrod Newton.

Graham, Lydia (ed.) compiled Robinson, Alex. COPING IN TIMES OF CRISIS OR DISASTER.
Sydney, Australia: Information & Research, Public Relations Department, The Salvation Army,
Australia Eastern Territory, August 2004, 17 pp.

The booklet outlined what disasters are, human reactions to disasters, managing stress through
disasters, and areas to receive assistance. A list of Salvation Army counselling services was
also included.

Hansen, H[erbert]. J[ames]. and P[aul]. J. Hansen. SERVED IN TWO ARMIES. HERBERT (BERT)
REGINALD HANSEN, KING’S ARMY NZEF, 2ND BATTALION, CQMS; SALVATION
ARMY, LIEUTENANT. A BIOGRAPHY, INCLUDING HIS OWN ACCOUNT OF HIS
EXPERIENCES AS A GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR. Auckland, New Zealand: Jim
Hansen, 2010, 88pp.

The biography commenced with an overview of Herbert (Bert) Reginald Hansen’s childhood
and engagement with The Salvation Army. This section included Hansen’s candidate’s form
and photograph of him in Salvation Army uniform. The largest section of the book included his
own account of his time on the western front during World War One and his capture and escape
as a prisoner of war. The remainder included images and memories of the family about
Hansen’s later life away from The Salvation Army and military.

Himes, William. CAUTION: EMBOUCHURE UNDER CONSTRUCTION. BRASS WORKSHOP.
Melbourne, Australia: Territorial Creative Ministries Department, The Salvation Army
Australia Southern Territory, 1999, 15 pp. Video (VHS) and workbook.

The video (VHS) and workbook included information and music for training brass players to
build their embouchure.

Huggins, Stephen. THE MOB AND THE MAYOR: PERSECUTION OF THE SALVATION
ARMY AT THE VICTORIAN SEASIDE. Eastbourne, UK: Sussex Academic Press, 2020, 107
pp.

The context and events of the riots against The Salvation Army in Eastbourne were outlined in
this book.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 119

Kinnon-Brettle, Rob. THE SALVATION ARMY AT THE MOVIES. Manchester, UK: Kinnon
Publishing, 2020, 178 pp.
The book was a chronological list of movies made by The Salvation Army or movies in which
The Salvation Army or Salvationists appeared. It also contained indexes categorising the
movies into different themes.

Cover of The Salvation Army at the movies
Laing, Beverley and Small, Anna (eds) with Mackintosh, Michelle (illustrations). HOMEMADE.

THE HANDMADE HELP RECIPE BOOK. Australia: Handmade Help, 2009, 144 pp.
The book of recipes was published to raise funds for The Salvation Army. Each recipe was
contributed by individuals throughout Australia.
Larsson, John. THIRTEEN ASTONISHING YEARS THAT SHAPED THE SALVATION ARMY
1878-1890. London, UK: Salvation Books, The Salvation Army International Headquarters,
2019, 160 pp.
The 36 individual stories showed the history and development of The Salvation Army from
1878 to 1890 and included some mini biographies of early Salvationists. Each story included
an historical image.
Le Feuvre, Cathy. THE ARMSTRONG GIRL. A CHILD FOR SALE: THE BATTLE AGAINST
THE VICTORIAN SEX TRADE. Oxford, UK: Lion Books, 2015, 283 pp.
The book was an in-depth study on the events of the Maiden Tribute and its key players.
Mitchell, Peace; Garner, Kathy; Partelli, Karen and Provians, Liz (eds). CYCLONE LARRY: TALES
OF SURVIVAL FROM THE CHILDREN OF NORTH QUEENSLAND, Queensland,
Australia: Mothers Helping Others, 2006, 88 pp.
A collection of images, drawings, short stories, and poems by children who experienced
Cyclone Larry in March 2006. The ‘Salvos’ were listed as an organisation to contact in times
of emergency.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 120

Pallant, Dean. KEEPING FAITH IN FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS: A PRACTICAL
THEOLOGY OF SALVATION ARMY HEALTH MINISTRY. Eugene, USA: Wipf & Stock,
2012, 203 pp.
Using a practical theological model of enquiry, Pollant investigated faith-based health services
in more than 40 countries and reflected on the practices through the works of people such as
John Wesley and William Booth.

Podjie, Kem (ed.). GOD’S ARMY, GOD’S MISSION: TOWARD HEALTH AND GROWTH IN
THE SALVATION ARMY. Sydney South, Australia: Carpenter Media, The Salvation Army
Australia Eastern Territory, 2010, 63 pp.
The book was a study on the essence of The Salvation Army, it contains information as well as
questions for discussions. The contributors included; Linda Bond, Peter Farthing, Miriam
Gluyas, and Peter McGuigan.

Poxon, Stephen J. THROUGH THE YEAR WITH CHARLES WESLEY: 365 DAILY READINGS
FROM CHARLES. Oxford, UK: Monarch Books, 2019, 383 pp.
The daily readings gave a verse of scripture followed by one of Charles Wesley’s hymns and a
short prayer. Many entries included a footnote with publication information or interesting notes
on the hymn.

Quinn, Malcolm. ISB 120 THE STORY: A BEHIND-THE-SCENES PHOTOGRAPHIC
REFLECTION ON THIS ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EVENT, WITH ADDED PERSONAL
ACCOUNTS FROM PARTICIPANTS AND AUDIENCE ALIKE. London, UK: Salvationist
Publishing and Supplies, 2012, 256 pp.
The pictorial representation of the 120th anniversary celebrations of the International Staff Band
included memories of bandspersons from the contributing Salvation Army Staff Bands.
Reflections were also given from members of the audience and others who assisted with the
events.

Cover of ISB 120 The story

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 121

Ritson, Alan H. SOMEONE CARES. Maitland, FL, USA: Xulon Press Elite, 2020, 110 pp.

The memoir was written in two parts. Part one included the story of how the family arrived in
the USA and commenced working with the emergency services of The Salvation Army. Part
two outlined experiences of Alan Ritson while working with The Salvation Army at Ground
Zero, New York, in the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Robinson, Stephen. MINISTRY IN DISASTER SETTINGS. LESSONS FROM THE EDGE.
Rossmore, Australia: Stephen Robinson, 2007, 221 pp.

The research and biblical study investigated many areas of chaplaincy and other Christian work
through times of emergency and disaster in the Australian setting. Salvation Army officers,
Major Ron Anderson, Majors Kevin and Glenda Hentzschel, Majors Brian and Christine
Unicomb, Major Frank Wilson, and Major Don Woodland were interviewed for the research
and quoted throughout the book.

Senior, James and GCI London, THE RESPONSIBILITY GAP: INDIVIDUALISM, COMMUNITY
AND RESPONSIBILITY IN BRITAIN TODAY. London, UK: The Henley Centre / The
Salvation Army, 2004, 104 pp.

The report outlined the culture and social issues of decreasing individual and corporate
responsibility in the UK.

Trickett, Gordon H.. NED TRICKETT: CHAMPION SCULLER OF THE WORLD.
AUSTRALIA’S FIRST SPORTING WORLD CHAMPION. Local Studies Monograph, No.
17, Sydney, Australis: Lane Cove Library, 2000, 2001, 176 pp.

The book focused on Ned Trickett’s sporting rise and fall, but also touched on Trickett’s
conversion to The Salvation Army and his subsequent evangelical work.

Twells, Daniel Templeman. INSIDE OUT. A CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE OF
HOLINESS. Victoria, Australia: Salvo Publishing, Australia Territory, 2019, 142 pp.

Thoughts on holiness were framed in anecdotes from the language and culture of Japan.

Worth, Jennifer. FAREWELL TO THE EAST END. London, UK: Weidenfield & Nicolson, 2009;
London, UK: Phoenix, 2013, 322 pp.

Worth, Jennifer. SHADOWS OF THE WORKHOUSE. London, UK: Merton Books, 2009; London,
UK: Phoenix, 2013, 294 pp.

Two of a total of four books in Call the Midwife series (the other two being In the midst of life
and Call the Midwife) included reference to some of William Booth’s writings on the social
conditions of the poor. The books are set in the East End of London so also give context of
work of The Salvation Army.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 122

SALUTING ‘GLORYFLAG’:
ON THE AVAILABILITY OF WESLEY HARRIS

Stephen Court

I have a confession to make. A generation ago, I conducted a little research study in which people
involved were to maintain anonymity. And so, following a Christian tradition that reached back past
William Booth to John Bunyan (think Sergeant-major do-your-best1 to A pilgrim’s progress2), I made
up names for the characters that highlighted an aspect of their personality without betraying
confidentialities.

Commissioner Wesley Harris, now promoted to Glory,3 was one of the objects of study. But in
my report, he was represented as “Commissioner Gloryflag”! (the confession is that I’ve herewith
divulged his secret identity! Don’t worry; it was pre-internet!).

Those on three continents who knew Harris in his days of active officership will remember that
he was quick, during rousing worship or prophetic warfighting in song, to yank out his personal
‘Glory Flag’, waving it enthusiastically to assist in celebration.

He epitomized the institutional definition of ‘armybarmy’. By his own description, he was “an
incurable Salvationist”. Completely “by the book”, in proper uniform with cap, he was imbued with
the spirit of Salvationism, saturated with all things “Army”.

He also epitomized Salvation Army officership. Harris understood and taught that the
difference between officers and other soldiers was not ability but availability.4 He walked out his
understanding of the ramifications of that in his life along with his wife Margaret. The current
Salvation Army song book song 603 is by Harris, and it outlines his understanding of availability in
mission. Verse one of the song stated,

Lord, I would be available to serve
Where there is need;

Despite the cost to reach the lost
And match my creed with deed;
Not just by word of mouth alone
Would make your glorious message known!

Available I’d ever be,
To serve you is my destiny!5

In his youth, Harris had no idea “where there is need” would include for him, half a dozen
countries spread out around the world. In his ‘retirement’, Harris recollected:

During an appeal for candidates the wife of the divisional youth secretary whispered, “What about

Reference citation of this paper; Stephen Court, “Saluting ‘Gloryflag’: On the availability of Wesley Harris”,
The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 2, 2021, 123 – 129.
1 William Booth, Sergeant-major do-your-best of Darkington no 1, (London, UK: Salvationist Publishing and Supplies,
n.d.).
2 John Bunyan, A pilgrim’s progress, (London, UK: Dover Publications, 2003).
3 For an official tribute see “Commissioner Wesley Harris promoted to Glory”, Salvationist, (Canada, 21 May 2021),
https://salvationist.ca/articles/commissioner-wesley-harris-promoted-to-glory/, accessed 25 June 2021.
4 There are significant theological convictions behind this maxim and significant consequences flowing from it.
5 Wesley Harris, Lord, I would be available to serve where there is need, in General of The Salvation Army (ed), Song
book of The Salvation Army, (London: International Headquarters of The Salvation Army, 2015), no 603,
https://mobileapps.usawest.org/SongBookPlusSongDetails.aspx?searchmode=true&ID=1851, accessed 25 June 2021.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 123

Commissioner Bramwell Wesley Harris6

6 Image of Commissioner Wesley Harris, courtesy of The Salvation Army.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 124

you, Wesley?” That was all she said, but it was enough. In that moment, life came into focus for
me as the image though a telescope may become clear when an adjustment is made. I knew that I
was really destined to be a Salvation Army officer and well over sixty years later that conviction
remains undiminished. “What might have been” appears fair enough but paltry compared with
the rich experience which has been mine, far better than I could ever have dreamt possible.7

His popularity saw a page devoted to Harris’ life on SAWiki. His early life and career were
briefly described,

Commissioner (Bramwell) Wesley Harris, born in 1928, entered training in London from Cardiff
Stuart Hall in 1947 as a member of the King’s Messengers session and was commissioned a
Salvation Army officer on 14 May 1948.

The first 25 years of his officership service were spent in corps ministry, in appointments
including Linton, West Norwood, Maidenhead, Twickenham, Margate, Croydon Citadel, Exeter
Temple (where he was also the Area Commander) and Regent Hall. It was whilst stationed at
Twickenham that he married Captain Margaret Sansom in October 1955. Margaret entered
training from Barking, UK, and was commissioned in 1949.8

Eight corps in 25 years! It was during this season that Harris cemented some convictions about how
to operate in this world. He developed three principles, in his words…

As a youth I chose three life principles to keep in mind through life.
The first principle was to think positively. Some tend to think negatively and seem to live

enveloped in a blue haze of pessimism, rather than rising on wings of hope. But for me life has
turned out with much in the positive for God and His Kingdom.

The second principle selected in my youth was to act decisively. I decided to give
everything to service as a Salvation Army officer and I could not imagine anything could have
been more rewarding in a wide variety of ways, especially spiritual as well as practical. I wish I
could have given another 60-odd years.

The third principle I decided on as a young man was to live creatively. This can happen in
various ways – spiritual as well as practical – ‘marvelous in our eyes’. Praise God!9

His positivity was however no delusion, Harris was aware that sometimes the way may be
rough. This was shown in verse 2 of his previously referenced song,

Lord, I would be available to do Your holy will,
Not seeking ease if I may please
The one who calls me still.

The going may sometimes be rough
But then Your grace will be enough.

Available I’d ever be,
To serve You is my destiny!10

Harris’ availability led him to leadership positions within the Army he loved, Again, we turn
to the facts outline on his SAWiki page,

In June 1973, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he was appointed General Secretary in the
former Scotland Territory – now [part of] the United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of

7 Wesley Harris, “What might have been?” Journal of aggressive Christianity, 81, (October – November 2012), 49,
http://www.armybarmy.com/pdf/JAC_Issue_081.pdf, accessed 25 June 2021.
8 “Wesley Harris”, SAWIKI.net, (20 May 2021), ¶ 1 – 2, http://sawiki.net/index.php/Wesley_Harris, accessed 25 June
2021.
9 Wesley Harris, Facebook, private group, https://www.facebook.com/wesley.harris.7545/posts/10154799517640837.
10 Harris, Lord, I would be available.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 125

Ireland. He served in this appointment for three years before moving to International Headquarters
where he served firstly as Assistant Editor in Chief and then Editor in Chief.11

Three appointments in five years. Was “the going… sometimes… rough”?12 Harris was also
aware of the problems of human pride that may come with promotions. He composed other words
that are now part of The Salvation Army song book (658) which displayed the inner plight of
humanity:

Lord, save me from myself,
From foolish fear and pride;
Reveal Yourself that I may walk

Forever by Your side.

At times it’s dark outside
And darker still within;
Lord, take my hand and guide my feet,
So prone to walk in sin.

Sometimes I falter, Lord,
Be then forever near;

Your saving arm, your perfect love
Will banish ev'ry fear.

In step with Christ my God
I find a holy zest;

In fellowship with You, my Lord,
My heart is truly blest.13

His testimony proved his prophetic hope, “But then Your grace will be enough.”14 The Lord’s
grace helped Harris be available to “share the load” and his desire was outlined in verse 3 of his song,

Lord, I would be available with all that I possess
To walk the road and share the load
With those I seek to bless.
Your love incarnate in my life
Will overcome where there is strife.

Available I'd ever be,
To serve You is my destiny!15

During this season of life, Harris did indeed “share the load”. Again, we turn to his SAWiki
tribute page to see Harris’ career path,

In August 1978, now with the rank of Colonel, Wesley took up his first overseas appointment, as
Chief Secretary in the then Australia Southern Territory, which appointment he held for just over
four years. This was followed by a return to the United Kingdom where he took up leadership
responsibility as Territorial Commander of the former Scotland Territory on 1 October 1982.16

11 “Wesley Harris”, SAWIKI.net, (20 May 2021), ¶ 3.
12 Harris, Lord, I would be available.
13 Wesley Harris, Lord, Save me from myself, in General of The Salvation Army (ed), Song book of The Salvation Army,
(London: International Headquarters of The Salvation Army, 2015), no 658,
https://mobileapps.usawest.org/SongBookPlusSongDetails.aspx?searchmode=true&ID=1906, accessed 25 June 2021.
14 Harris, Lord, I would be available.
15 Harris, Lord, I would be available.
16 “Wesley Harris”, SAWIKI.net, (20 May 2021), ¶ 4.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 126

His inspired craftsmanship was evident in memorable teaching turns-of-phrase, such as this: “Our
uniform makes us visible, our music makes us audible, but our holiness makes us credible.” And he
himself offered a visible, audible, credible witness to the Lord Jesus Christ.

During this season that carte blanche availability was tested. Colonel Wesley Harris was a
delegate of the 1986 High Council, the sole purpose of which was to choose the next general of The
Salvation Army. In the midst of the eight-day gathering, headed by President Commission Norman
S. Marshall and Vice-President Commissioner Anna Hannevik, Harris found himself, near the end of
April, nominated for the position! This was unprecedented. Never before had a colonel been
nominated for general. Harris’ first inclination was to decline, but having consulted with his wife
Margaret was reminded of his principle of availability and determined to accept the nomination and
allow God to ‘overrule and undertake’, as he used to say.

It turned out that Commissioner Eva Burrows was elected the 13th General of The Salvation
Army on 2 May 1986, and Harris’s test of availability was passed! “Further territorial leadership
appointments followed, firstly in the then New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory in August 1986,
with the rank of Commissioner, then in Canada and Bermuda in June 1990.”17

Harris also had a significant role in the April 1993 High Council, being elected its Vice-
President (the High Council ultimately elected Bramwell Tillsley General). Harris continued to be
available, “‘where’ and ‘when’” through his “residue of days” and outlined in verse 4 of one of his
songs,

Lord, I would be available to follow in Your ways.
For You I'll live and gladly give
My residue of days.

The “where” and “when” I leave to You
And dare to claim Your promise true.

Available I'd ever be,
To serve You is my destiny!18

The “residue of days” following ‘retirement’ in June 1993, turned out to be nearly 28 years. While he
left the “where” and “when” to God, Harris plunged into the opportunities wherever God offered
them.

And changes concomitant with ‘retirement’ were notable. What could project as strait-laced in
epaulets and cap softened into grandfatherly kindness in a cardigan.

The “where” and “when” included children and authors, groups and blogs (the ‘Wesley Harris
Blog’ and the ‘History Is His Story Blog’, each running half a decade between 2007 – 2012).19 They
included regular teaching at the officer training college and the Administrative Leadership Course in
Melbourne, Australia as well as specialling as far away as The War College in Vancouver, Canada.

Did you notice “children” snuck in there? In 2008, Harris blogged, “For fifteen years in
retirement I have been sharing the story of Christianity with a couple of classes in a state school week
by week.”20 700 children came under his Jesus-flavoured influence over that decade-and-a-half!

17 “Wesley Harris”, SAWIKI.net, (20 May 2021).
18 Harris, Lord, I would be available.
19 Wesley Harris, “Wesley Harris”, harrismandw.blogspot.com, accessed 25 June 2021.; Wesley Harris, “History is His
story”, wesleyharris.blogspot.com, accessed 25 June 2021.
20 Wesley Harris, “Wesley Harris”, “Something to share?”, (2 December 2008), ¶ 1,
https://harrismandw.blogspot.com/2008/12/something-to-share.html, accessed 25 June 2021.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 127

His blogs attempted to balance Salvo-themed and evangelistic content. Here’s a taste of his

gentle Christ-seasoned blogging:

Get a life!
It might be said that a person’s bare individuality is like the bit of grit which gets into an oyster
shell. The pearl of our lives is made by the relationships we gather around us. Some people find
relationships difficult and resist them even as they long for them. But it is only by being open to
others that we can help them to overcome their inhibitions and be open to us. That is the way to
get a life. I would add that we should be open to God also. He is not remote or removed from us
but only a prayer away. He has revealed what He is like through Jesus. Incredible as it may sound,
He really loves us.21

While Harris had wielded a prolific pen through his life – writing for Salvation Army periodicals
since 1949 – it wasn’t until his official ‘retirement’ approached that he published his first book, Battle
lines – Personal perspectives on Salvationism.22

What followed was fascinating. While there were a handful more Christian-targeted titles,
including From a real Major Barbara,23 My dear general,24 Dear Paul,25 and Writing the vision,26
the majority of his books were aimed at readers who weren’t yet followers of Jesus. That list includes
the following titles: Proverbial leadership,27 Life is a tightrope,28 Nice guys can win,29 Success is in
giving,30 Truth stranger than fiction,31 and You’ve got what it takes.32 And those outward-focused

books reached scores of thousands of readers, extending a Jesus-seasoned encouragement and

exhortation to multitudes of folk looking for motivation and inspiration.
Harris’ wordsmithing played out in the pages of War crys in various countries around the world,

many territorial periodicals, and The officer magazine, and on screen in Journal of aggressive

Christianity (to which Harris was the longest-serving and most consistent contributor, and in which
he was feted by “The Harris issue” back in 201133).

An indefatigable optimist when it came to mission, Harris exhorted, in 2011, but with persisting

pertinence:

It is sometimes felt that if we changed our structures and altered our systems our problems would
be at an end. Certainly, our structures and systems should facilitate not obstruct our essential
mission and as an Army leader I have played a small part in some fairly big administrative
changes. But my dreams now would transcend these things. I would hope that in some ways we
may go back in order to go forward!

21 Wesley Harris, “Wesley Harris”, “Get a life!”, (12 July 2010), ¶ 1, https://harrismandw.blogspot.com/2010/07/get-
life.html, accessed 25 June 2021.
22 Wesley Harris, Battle lines – Personal perspectives on Salvationism, (Oakville, Canada: The Salvation Army, Canada
and Bermuda, 1992).
23 Wesley Harris, From a real Major Barbara, A selection of the writings of Barbara Bolton, (Melbourne, Australia:
The Salvation Army, n.d.).
24 Wesley Harris, My dear general, Letters to William Booth from the 21st century, (Melbourne, Australia: Salvo
Publishing, 2012). The book was also available as audio and eBook publications.
25 Wesley Harris, Dear Paul, (London, UK: The Salvation Army, 2008).
26 Wesley Harris, Writing the vision, Collected writings, (Melbourne, Australia: Salvo Publishing, 2011).
27 Wesley Harris and Stephen Court, Proverbial leadership, Ancient wisdom for tomorrow’s endeavours, (Canada:
Credo Press, 2004).
28 Wesley Harris, Life is a tightrope, (Elsternwick, Australia: Wrightbooks, 1999).
29 Wesley Harris, Nice guys can win, (Elsternwick, Australia: Wrightbooks, 1995).
30 Wesley Harris, Success is in giving, (Elsternwick, Australia: Wrightbooks, 1998).
31 Wesley Harris, Truth stranger than fiction, (Elsternwick, Australia: Wrightbooks, 1998).
32 Wesley Harris, You’ve got what it takes, (Elsternwick, Australia: Wrightbooks, 1997).
33 Journal of aggressive Christianity, 71, (February – March 2011),
http://www.armybarmy.com/pdf/JAC_Issue_071.pdf, accessed 25 June 2021.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 128

Of course, we cannot relive our past either personally or corporately. Nor can we ignore
the fact that times are changing. But my dream would be that more of our people might rediscover
some of the timeless principles which characterised primitive Salvationism. Our forebears in the
faith had tremendous conviction, compassion and commitment which is why, under God, a lot of
quite ordinary folk helped to make an extraordinary branch of the Christian Church.

The late Commissioner Catherine Bramwell-Booth said to me, “The things which made the
Army will go on making the Army”. She was right. Fervent prayer, boundless love, holy joy and
an entrepreneurial spirit cannot fail to be effective. Numerically, the Army in the world is larger
than ever but to employ an Americanism, ‘We ’aint seen nothing yet!’ The best is yet to be. The
dreams of God’s people will surely come true – in God’s time and in His way.34
What Harris believed for The Salvation Army, he was able to testify for himself. His
availability, a long life lived on the altar, left no great regrets. Harris wrote,
In my youth we used to sing a chorus containing the lines, “I’ve never been sorry I answered the
call, I’ve never been sorry I yielded my all!” – and that, in a nutshell, is the story of my life.35
We salute that life, one of availability and ‘gloryflags’, of idiomatic expression and personal
encouragement, of spiritual buoyancy and kingdom impact! Hallelujah.

34 Wesley Harris, “My dreams for the Army”, Journal of aggressive Christianity, 100, (December 2015 – January
2016), 141 – 143, 143, http://www.armybarmy.com/pdf/JAC_Issue_100.pdf, accessed 25 June 2021.
35 Harris, “What might have been?”, 49.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 129

A newspaper report announcing Dr Patricia Cruickshank’ acceptance to Chikankata1

1 Auckland Congress Hall history book for 1968 which appeared in a carol service programme, 15 December 1968.
Courtesy of New Zealand Salvation Army Heritage Centre & Archives, Upper Hutt.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 130

A SALVATION ARMY MISSIONARY OFFICER’S EXPERIENCE IN
AFRICA

A MEMOIR OF ZAMBIA 1969 – 1970

Patricia Hill2

Editorial introduction

The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history aims to bring to its readers insight into the history
of The Salvation Army, mainly through research, but from time-to-time other types of papers are
included to introduce different genres, sources, and perspectives. Following is the first historical
memoir published in the journal. It is hoped this document will bring to light other sources for
historical investigation. Historical memoirs are, as Chang Woo Jung wrote,

… one form of autobiographic writing in which the importance of factual accuracy and
chronology is [a] little heavier than personal opinion. However, there is also the possibility of
historical hindsight, considering the narrator actually depicts [a] certain event after it happened.
… The historical memoir is written not only to tell the subject’s own story, but also to document
the story of author’s time.3

For research purposes, historical memories are but one source, and as Jung stated, when memoirs are
supported by “newspapers, letters and other verifiable, external records” the memoir is made
“authentic”. The following memoir is an unaltered document, except for the inclusion of footnotes,
written by Major Dr Patricia Hill (nee Cruickshank) about her time in Zambia.

As an historic context, at the age of eight, Patricia Cruickshank was converted at Auckland
Congress Hall, New Zealand. She engaged in many activities of the corps and after school trained in
medicine as she felt called to be a medical Salvation Army missionary officer. In 1967, she graduated
from the University of Otago Medical School, then the only medical school in New Zealand. Upon
graduation, Cruickshank did a housewoman’s year in Auckland, that is practice under supervision in
a hospital. She had been accepted to train as an officer in London but before training decided to go to
Zambia to investigate what to expect as a medical missionary.

Zambia was declared an independent republic on 24 October 1964. Despite the country’s
considerable mineral wealth, Zambia faced major challenges with few locally trained professionals.
The country adopted a presidential system and the Prime Minster, Kenneth Kaunda was elected as
President. Kaunda adopted the ideological political form of African Socialism, moving to a one-party
rule for the country. In 1972, all political parties except The United National Independence Party were
banned.

Cruickshank left New Zealand for the first time and arrived in Zambia in 1969 at the age of 27
years. This is her story.

I went to Africa by ship, the Southern Cross. In the queue going on board, I met Ann Hunt and her
husband and children. I had gone to school with Hunt. In Sydney, Major and Mrs Neil and Dorothy
Young, Australian Salvation Army officers joined the ship with their four daughters Jennifer, Denise,

Reference citation of this paper; Patricia Hill, “A Salvation Army missionary officer’s experience in Africa: A
memoir of Zambia, 1969 – 1970”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 2, 2021, 130 – 137.
2 During the time the memoir covers Pat was Pat Cruickshank.
3 Chang Woo Jung, “Memoirs as historical sources, (Korean Minjok Leadership Academy, international program,
Seminar History of Historiography, December 2010), ¶ 16, https://www.zum.de/whkmla/sp/1112/jcw/jcw1.html
accessed 18 July 2021.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 131

Merril and Sandra, en route to Rhodesia.4 The Youngs have been friends to us ever since – we (Harold
and I) served with them at the Howard Institute in Rhodesia.

On board were a white South African officer couple who had been greeted at Auckland
Congress Hall (my home corps) with great adulation as missionaries and I said to them that I supposed
they must have many black African people as friends. He replied, “Definitely not, you would never
have them in your house – they smell”.

We stopped in Durban, South Africa and stayed at The Salvation Army maternity hospital there.
The heat and humidity were so terrible I thought if this is Africa I will never survive. I suggested a
photo on the steps of the hospital with the white and black staff – this did not go down well. To see
the seats in the park ‘for whites only’, and separate entrances to train and bus stations for whites and
blacks, was terrible.

We travelled by train to Johannesburg, South Africa and were met by Colonels Milne and King
and then put onto the Rhodesian train at midday – mine dumps, ant hills, vultures, weaver birds, thorn
bushes, goats and kraals went past. The train was pulled by a steam engine so very dirty from smoke.
At any stop people came along side selling curios and I bought some. At Bulawayo,
(Rhodesia/Zimbabwe) we were met by McNabbs, New Zealand officers, and taken to Rhodes
memorial in the Matopos. From Bulawayo the Youngs carried on with the train to Salisbury (now
Harare) and I took the train to Zambia via Victoria Falls. I have never been so frightened in my life.
Liquor was readily available, people got drunk and a number of young men wanted to come into my
cabin. The lock of the door was broken so I tied the door with my camera strap. Thank God the
Business Manager at Chikankata had let me know how many stops Mazabuka was from Victoria
Falls. I counted them and eventually got off safe and sound. When I told the authorities at the hospital
about my experience, other women came forward and said they had had similar experiences and from
then on single women were driven to and from Rhodesia by car.

I was to assist at The Salvation Army hospital at Chikankata amongst the Tonga people in the
Southern province of Zambia. The mission had started in the Zambesi Valley at Ibbwe Munyama but
because of the tsetse fly and malaria the mission moved up onto the plateau. Later I would go down
into the valley to conduct clinics – the first morning I had to drive a Land Rover down there I vomited.
It was a poorer area. Nurses who would come with me, observing the village women bare-breasted
and with goats but no cattle because of the tsetse fly, would say that their people did not live like that.

Road down into the Zambezi Valley5 Woman on side of road in Valley6

4 For memoirs of the Young’s time in Africa see Neil Young and Dorothy Young, “….. But this is Africa”, (Gympie,
Australia: Neil & Dorothy Young, n.d.).
5 Photograph courtesy of the author.
6 Photograph courtesy of the author.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 132

There were at least nine tribes in Zambia and Kenneth Kaunda was President. The country was
dependent on copper. When the rains didn’t come or the copper price fell the President would order
a day of prayer.

The colours in the flag of Zambia were gold for copper, black for the people, red for the blood,
green for the fields and the eagle for freedom. There had been a smooth transition from British control
to Zambian control in 1964.

Zambian flag7
Before this Dr Sidney Gauntlett, who had been in charge of Chikankata in the years before
Independence, was woken in the night by the nurse on duty saying that someone had come in injured.
Gauntlett told them he would see the man in the morning. The police rang the next day asking if a
patient with the initials KK had been admitted and when Gauntlett said yes, they sent a policeman to
be admitted as a patient to keep an eye on Kenneth Kaunda. Kaunda and the government
representative shared the same hymn book in the chapel. Years later the president never forgot
Gauntlett and Kaunda and other members of the Government came out in their limos for treatment at
Chikankata until Gauntlett told them it was not a good look to waste money like that.

The author (middle) with a nurse (right), a mother (left) and baby “Patricia”8

7 Photograph courtesy of the author.
8 Photograph courtesy of the author.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 133

Chikankata had a hospital and a secondary school. There was a large leprosy colony with huts
for men and women and married couples – 500 people in the colony. The saddest were the school
children who had the disease and came from all over Zambia to get an education but away from their
families. At first new-born babies were taken from their mothers but this stopped and a BCG [the
Bacillus Calmette–Guérin vaccine] given for another acid fast disease Tuberculosis also gave
protection against Leprosy so the children were vaccinated with that and they were able to stay with
their mothers. We had two wards for leprosy patients in the hospital – so many got infections and
burns because they could not feel the hot pots when cooking or the sharp stones when walking and
there were many ulcers that had to be treated. I will always remember once feeling I was going to be
sick when treating a man who had infection in his wrist joint and every time the wrist moved pus
poured out. Shoes made out of car tyres were popular. Many stayed in the colony because they were
not wanted at home. We were responsible for the follow up work for leprosy and tuberculosis in the
Southern Province of Zambia and we did huge outpatient clinics in the province – hundreds of people
lining up to get their supplies of medication. Thank God the leprosy work now is all done by
medication being available at people’s homes after they are stabilised.

The Principal of the Secondary School was another New Zealander, Laura Dutton.
The hospital was run by Gordon Carter, a Canadian Christian who had come to Zambia from
the Chad and Captain Dr Paul du Plessis, a South African officer. I was the junior doctor and looked
after the men’s, women’s and children’s wards, and helped in the outpatients, antenatal clinic and
theatre. I had never seen tropical diseases before. I had to learn fast. Du Plessis was the only physician
in the Southern Province so anyone with an abnormal chest x ray was sent to us as Tuberculosis. They
would come by the truckful. He said for me to admit them to my wards, sort them out and if they
were TB to send them to his TB ward. So I did. There were two wards of people with tuberculosis
and 500 people in the leprosy village.
Malaria was rampant and any child brought in unconscious was treated for cerebral malaria
immediately. Diarrhoea was prevalent and if a child on a drip for rehydration died, the mothers would
take out all the drips in the ward, take their children and leave.
The Africans hated having surgery; they believed when they went unconscious the spirit left
the body. One day at antenatal clinic a woman came in with the baby lying across her abdomen and
there was a scar in the lower abdomen. There was no bleeding. I asked had she had Caesarean sections
before for her babies and she said no. She had, but went into labour in the village – it was obstructed
and she arrived at the hospital infected, the baby dead and she also died.
I had never lived alone and found it very lonely. Eventually, on 15 December 1969, I moved in
with Captain Ruth Schoch, a Swiss nurse, which was better. Margaret and Laurence Hay were at the
secondary school and I loved to go to see them when off duty. Other New Zealanders were Captains
Moira and Alan Tong who were maintenance officers and when they moved to Mazabuka to become
regional officers, they were replaced by Val and Brian Smith from the Hamilton Corps. All the wards
were run by missionaries – there were no African sisters. There was an African nurses’ training
school.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 134

Ruth Schoch9 Mr Mulonga10

Because I was on my own I was asked to go to Macha to cover for an American doctor, Dave
Byer, so he could have a holiday from 12 June to 9 August 1969. That was a huge responsibility to
put on me, with my knowing so little about African medicine. It was a Brethren in Christ mission and
I had to do many clinics out in the bush. I remember seeing the nurses preparing the tea putting cups
of sugar in the vessel. I thought I could never drink that but under a baobab tree in the heat it was
delicious nectar. The missionary nurses were great. At one time I was driving the Land Rover and
having to keep to the sand heaps that made the road and got stuck. Pupils from the local school pulled
us out.

I was glad to get back to Chikankata. I went to an African congress, driving 13 people there in
September. The Africans loved the timbrels, drumming and dancing involved in the services.

I was supposed to leave for the UK at the end of January 1970 to do tropical medicine before
going into the Salvation Army International Training College in London but that did not happen.
Being a New Zealander and our country being against the apartheid regime in South Africa, it was
always difficult to get a visa for a Kiwi to travel through South Africa. The visa did not come. On 10
January, Gordon Carter asked me to stay on and help du Plessis, since he himself was leaving to go
back to Canada and another doctor was not coming until later in the year. I was happy to stay.

On 13 March 1970, I was sent in to Mazabuka to relieve a doctor at a Catholic mission to give
him a weekend off. I asked if I could go in before sunset but we did not finish in theatre till late and
in the darkness on the way a cow came rushing out of the long grass that lined the dirt road and
crashed into the Land Rover. I got out, pulled the dented mudguard off the tyre and landed up at
Mazabuka shaken and terrified. Especially so when a sister said the only thing I had to do would be
caesarean sections. I said I had never done one and she said not to worry – they would send any into
Lusaka. Alan and Moira Tong helped with the vehicle.

9 Photograph courtesy of the author.
10 Photograph courtesy of the author.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 135

An African village11 Pounding mealies (maize) to make flour12

The 1st of May 1970, started normally – I went into the children’s ward and saw children
including a boy named Bignall and then went to the outpatient department. I was only there a short
time when a nurse came and said would I come to the children’s ward as Bignall was not well. I said
I had just seen him running around – did she want me to come now or after outpatients – she said
now! Poison had been put into the electrolyte mixture given to children with diarrhoea and within 30
minutes four children were dead. Du Plessis took blood off one child and realised the red of the blood
had been changed to brown by a poison. We injected Methylene blue, used to stain slides in the
laboratory, intravenously and saved thirteen children.

There was a riot and people said that because I was in charge of the ward, it was my fault. That
night we heard the families crying as they took their dead children home to bury. Schoch and I stayed
at the Hays and for many weeks I was frightened about who was behind me in case I was killed. The
only way I could process this tragedy was to say that no one had asked me to come to Africa; I had
volunteered and I was not the Africans’ big sister, or even a sister. I was a servant and if my motives
had been misunderstood in coming, so be it. No one from the police came out for some days – they
thought it was a case about African medicine as children’s spirits could be used in that society. The
police did not want to be involved in investigating anything to do with witchcraft.

It was not something you could write home about and I did not talk about it with Harold (my
husband) for many years. It was not until Beverley McInnes wrote a history of The Salvation Army
in Zambia that I learnt the truth about what had happened.13 Pharmacy assistants had been helping
themselves to drugs and under their influence made the fatal mistake of putting the wrong powder
into the electrolyte mixture. This was thirty years after the event and I was so angry that I had never
been told. I was eventually able to email Paul du Plessis and he apologised for not telling me what
had happened. It was great to be able to hug him in London when we were there in October 2012,
and feel that wound had healed. This incident marked my service for the rest of my life – I was always
conscious that people had not asked me to be a Salvation Army officer – I had chosen to be one and
I hope my service was as a servant leader.

On the day of the tragedy I also learned that Grandma Cruickshank had died.

11 Photograph courtesy of the author.
12 Photograph courtesy of the author.
13 See Beverly McInnes, Flag across the Zambezi: A history of The Salvation Army in the Zambia and Malawi Territory
1922 – 1997, Celebrating 75 years, (Lusaka, Zambia: Zambia and Malawi Territory of The Salvation Army, 1997), 112
– 113.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 136

The tragedy happened on 1 May 1970 and on the 11th I left with Marguretta Erlandssen, the
sister in charge of the children’s ward, for a break to Rhodesia to stay with the Rives. I just arrived
on their door step – they never asked what had happened and I never spoke of it. When I think back,
what an imposition it was, my just turning up – they had three young children and were planning a
weekend off in Salisbury. They arranged for me to stay with someone in Salisbury. We went back to
Chikankata on 18 May and Carters left on the 30th. I was now in charge of wards C, E, F, G. and I,
and outpatients, antenatal clinic and X rays, so it was very busy.

On 5 August I left for London. I flew into Rome and had a few days there staying at The
Salvation Army hostel and then onto Switzerland to stay with Brigadier Haussler, Ruth Schoch’s
mentor.

Editorial conclusion

Cruickshank arrived in London in 1970. In London she completed a Diploma in Tropical Medicine,
Diploma of Obstetrics, and Midwifery Studies at The Salvation Army’s Mother’s hospital in Clapton.
Her time in Zambia helped her focus on areas of her studies needed for further missionary work. After
her medical studies and officer training she married Harrold Hill.14 Pat Hill served as a Salvation Army
missionary medical officer, Howard Hospital, Zimbabwe. In 1979, she returned to New Zealand and was
appointed to corps work that included: Mosgiel Corps, Dunedin, 1979 – 1980; Invercargill Corps,
1983 – 1987; and Wellington City Corps, 1988 – 1994. Hill worked part-time as a schools’ medical
officer, and for The Salvation Army Wellington Bridge Addictions Programme and from 1992 as a
General Practitioner with Te Aro Health Centre. Te Aro Health Centre is a not-for-profit charitable
trust providing affordable, high quality and accessible health and medical services to people
predominantly with special needs, on low incomes, living in assisted housing or homeless within the
Wellington Area. Hill was made a Distinguished Fellow by the Royal New Zealand College of
General Practitioners and on 2 September 2008 Dr Patricia Hill was awarded the Queen’s Service
Medal.15

14 See Harold Hill, “Meet the author – Harold Hill”, The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 3, 1, (March
2018), 45 – 49.
15 “Dr Pat’s ‘big heart’” The southern times, (NZ, 7 September 2007).; “Patricia Hill”, Government House, (New
Zealand, 2021), https://gg.govt.nz/images/patricia-hill accessed 18 July 2021.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 137

Katoomba Unsealed Roads
Escarpment
Golden Stairs

Key
Sealed Roads
Waterways
Walking track

Maps (large) area around the Golden Stairs; (small) location of Katoomba1

1 Map developed from Bushingwalking NSW, https://bushwalkingnsw.com/walk/788/mt_solitary_return01.pdf

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 138

THE GOLDEN STAIRS
FOLKLORE OR HISTORICAL FACT?

Garth R. Hentzschel

My Grandparents, Envoys Bramwell Daniel and Lily Hoepper would take my sisters and I on a day
trip from Sydney to Katoomba, Australia. From the Katoomba railway station, we would catch the
bus down to Echo Point. There we would view the world-famous rock formation of The Three Sisters.
My grandfather would then point to the right and describe how on the Narrow Neck, a peninsula
jutting out into the Valley, there is a path called the Golden Stairs, which was named in honour of
The Salvation Army for its open-air work with the miners in the Jamison Valley. After his promotion
to Glory, I found many of my grandfather’s stories were supported by historic sources. However,
what of the Golden Stairs? Years later, 1995 and 2002, I was able to walk these stairs yet there was
no notification of the link the stairs had with The Salvation Army.2 I had contacted the local corps to
see if they had any information on the story. Sadly, they had very few sources on the corps’ history.3
My grandparents had soldiered at the neighbouring corps in Lithgow throughout World War II, so
was my grandfather’s story historical fact or was he repeating some folk tale?

Noted local writers, historians and bushwalker leaders, Brian Fox, Michael Keats and John Fox
clearly and succinctly described the location of the Golden Stairs,

The top of the stairs is accessed via Glenraphael Drive, 2km from the intersection of Cliff Drive,
Narrow Neck Plateau. The stairs descend to join the Federal Pass and/or the Ruined Castle
Walking Tracks, Katoomba.4

Investigating contemporary literature on the story of how the Golden Stairs received its name revealed
three ways in which they represented the narrative. Observation of the current information showed it
tended to lead towards the idea that the narrative was a folk tale. For this reason, it was first planned
that this paper would investigate this narrative as a folk tale; however as more research took place,
evidence emerged. This paper investigates the elements of the narrative to identify the facts from the
folklore. It will be argued that, although there are elements that have been distorted by time, the
historical sources show that it is likely the Golden Stairs were named in honour of The Salvation
Army’s ministry to the shale miners in the Jamison Valley.

Folklore

Academics Galit Hasan-Rokem and Haim Weiss, when researching history written in antiquity, found
that folklore had existed for a long time and that early historians understood the use of and differences
in folk tales. Hasan-Rokem and Weiss wrote,

Folklore exists in all human groups, small and big. Since early modernity, scholars have provided
various definitions of the phenomenon … Verbal forms of folklore are dependent on languages,

Reference citation of this paper; Garth R. Hentzschel, “The Golden Stairs: Folklore or historical fact?”, The
Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 6, 2, 2021, 138 – 162.
2 I had however remembered seeing a display of The Salvation Army’s work and its link to the Golden Stairs at the base
of the Scenic Railway. This was confirmed by several people. See email from David and Enid Nelson to author (8 August
2021); Email from Alison Briggs to author (7 August 2021); Email from Robyn Edge to author (8 August 2021).
3 Letter between author and Neryl Beckett, (Katoomba, 17 January 1995).
4 Brian Fox, Michael Keats and John Fox, Blue Mountains geographical encyclopaedia, (St Ives, Australia: Keats
Holding, 2018), 230. Brian Fox also contributed information on the Golden stairs which appeared in Philip Pells and
Philip Hammon, The burning mists of time: A technological and social history of mining at Katoomba, (Blackheath,
Australia: WriteLight, 2009).

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 139

The sign at the commencement of the Golden Stairs, Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia5

5 Image courtesy of the author.

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 140

as well as on the situational contexts and the social frameworks in which they are performed. …
Since ancient times, humans have created proverbs and used them…6

While folklore often consists of local traditional beliefs, customs, and stories, orally passed through
the generations, the stories or folk tales do not sit in a void. Folk tales have context, that is where and
when the story began, and meaning, that is why the story began and continues to be told. There have
been a variety of meanings derived from local stories. They reinforce belief systems, impart wisdom,
promote certain characteristics of individuals or groups, explain the creation or development of
elements in folklore and support collective community memory. Negatively, they remind people of
the power structures, become canon and unquestionable, and could enforce the status quo.7

Two people, Peter Medbury and Brian Fox assisted in the search for literature on the Golden
Stairs. Medbury has written extensively on the Blue Mountains area, is president of the Upper Blue
Mountains Bushwalking Club, local history specialist, and a webmaster. Fox, was a cartographer for
40 years; is an author, bushwalking leader, and local history specialist.8

Literature related to the narrative of the Golden Stairs can be placed into three categories: a
possible factual story, as a folk tale, or non-narrative. How the narrative is told, or not told, may
mirror the changing need for the meaning that arises from the folk tale. In the literature cited, only
Fox, Keats and Fox used historic sources to give information of the narrative;9 therefore, the
remaining literature, due to the lack of support from or reference to historical sources, treated the
narrative as a whole, or in part, as a folk tale.

“Oh, I’m climbing up the golden stair to Glory”

Current literature showed a variety of different elements within the narrative but the overall claim
was that Salvationists from Katoomba walked down the ‘stairs’, to minister to the shale miners
working in the Jamison and Megalong Valleys. The stair was in fact a bush track at the side of a cliff
face made of dirt tracks, bush ladders and spikes or chains affixed to the rock face to assist the
movement of people, animals, and goods. While Salvationists climbed the stairs, so the narrative
continued, they sang a hymn, or in Salvation Army terms a ‘song’, with the phrase ‘golden stair(s)’
within its verse or chorus.

While Fox, Keats and Fox identified the earlier history of the track and used historic sources,
none of the literature proved the link between the name Golden Stairs and The Salvation Army.10
Each retelling of the narrative also included differences in each element of the story.

A possible factual story

None of the current narratives cited for this paper pushed the idea that the link between the name and
the movement was factual. Although several authors stated the idea as fact, this was not unpacked or

6 Galit Hasan-Rokem and Haim Weiss, “Folklore in antiquity”, Humanities, 7, iss. 2, (May 2018), 1, 3.
7 Hasan-Rokem & Weiss, “Folklore in antiquity”, 12.; Heather Burke, Lynley A. Wallis, Bryce Barker, Megan Tutty,
Noelene Cole, Iain Davidson, Elizabeth Hatte and Kelsey Lowe, “The homestead as fortress: Fact or folklore?” Aboriginal
history, 41, (2017), 168, 170.; Amy G. Remensnyder, Remembering kings past: Monastic foundation, Legends in
Medieval Southern France, (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995), 89.
8 Emails and telephone conversations between author and Peter Medbury, also between author and Brian Fox (9 – 12
July 2021).
9 Fox, Keats & Fox, Blue Mountains geographical encyclopaedia.
10 Fox, Keats & Fox, Blue Mountains geographical encyclopaedia, 230.

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given support. This is common practice in local folklore.11 Two authors; Medbury and ‘Dayna’, a
bushwalker blogger, included the narrative; however they did so with the questioning term of
“apparently” when they stated a link with the Army existed.12

While the lack of links to historic sources can raise questions to the reliability of claims, there
is also the problem that these narratives show differences in elements of the story. These are discussed
in the following paragraphs.

Who built the staircase?

Few authors included information on the actual building or history of the Golden Stairs. In his history
of coal fields, a local historian Jim W. Brown wrote, “the miners cut a series of steps on the steep
slopes to facilitate access to their little village at Ruined Castle.”13 Medbury and ‘The Jamison
Project’, did not include who built the track, only that it was “used by miners”.14 More specifically,
John Cardy identified the track was built in the year 1889, but did not include information on the
builders.15 Fox, Keats and Fox were the only ones to identified the earlier history of the track by using
historic sources. They showed that the track was completed in 1889 by a man named Parker.16 Don
Morison, however wrote the work of the Army was conducted in the “1880s”, when lonely single
men camped at the foot of the Ruined Castle to mine kerosene shale. For the track to be used
throughout the 1880s, it would have meant that the stairs would have needed to be completed earlier
than 1889.17

Identifying who built the track and when it was first called the Golden Stairs could identify if
there are sources to suggest it is historical fact or the context of the commencement of the folk tale.

How did the track receive the name Golden Stairs?

The understanding that the name Golden Stairs came from a song is prevalent in the current narrative.
What differs is who sang the song, and if it was a song or a hymn. That is, was it of Salvation Army,
popular musical, or traditional ecclesiastical origin? Medbury, the book Old Leura and Katoomba,
and Felix believed the stairs were named after a hymn/song of Salvation Army origin.18 Brown
however believed the name was inspired by a song, but was not clear of its origin.19 Paul Ma, Dan

11 Hasan-Rokem and Weiss, “Folklore in antiquity”.; Burke, et al., “The homestead as fortress: Fact or folklore?”;
Remensnyder, Remembering kings past.
12 Peter Medbury, “Golden Stairs”, (Dingo Gap, 2007 - 2021), ¶ 4, https://dingogap.net.au/places/golden-stairs accessed
9 July 2021. Medbury’s website has wonderful photographs of the Golden Stairs.; ‘Dayna’, “Ruined Castle, Blue
Mountains – 9 September 2014”, (Dayna’s Blog, 11 October 2014), ¶ 8,
https://daynaa2000.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/ruined-castle-blue-mountains-9-september-2014/ accessed 11 July 2021.
13 Jim W. Brown, Bent backs: An illustrated social and technological history of the western coalfields, (Australia:
Industrial Print, 1989), 124.
14 Medbury, “Golden Stairs”, ¶ 2.; The Jamison Project, “Passes – Golden Stairs”, (Solitary IT Solutions, 27 December
2019), ¶ 2, http://www.jamisonproject.org/passes/golden-stairs, accessed 9 July 2021.
15 John Cardy, “Our March walk: Golden Stairs, Ruined Castle, Giant Landslide and Furber Steps at Katoomba”, Mt
Wilson Mt Irvine bushwalking group, 26, iss 4, (April 2016), 1.
16 Fox, Keats and Fox, Blue Mountains geographical encyclopaedia, 230.
17 Don Morison, “The golden history of Blue Mountains evangelism”, Hut news, Blue Mountains Conservation Society
Newsletter, 121, (August 1997), 2.
18 Felix, “Nine passes on Narrow Neck”, (The Fat Canyoners, 13 September 2015), ¶ 42,
https://fatcanyoners.org/2015/09/13/nine-passes-on-narrow-neck/ cited 9 July 2021.; Old Leura and Katoomba: A
collection of historical background articles, (Katoomba, Australia: The Rotary Club of Katoomba, 1982).; Medbury,
“Golden Stairs”, ¶ 4.
19 Brown, Bent backs, 124.

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Lewis, Morison, ‘Dayna’, and Cardy claimed the song was sung by Salvationists, but did not state
the origin of the song.20 The Ruined Castle in the Jamison Valley - Katoomba, stated that both the
miners and Salvationists sang the song, and it was not the miners but the Salvationists who “named
the stairs.”21 Jim Barrett did not link the stairs with The Salvation Army as he believed the stairs were
named from a song sung by the miners as they climbed the pass.22

What song influenced the name of the stairs?

The literature cited gave a few suggested titles of the song that influenced the naming of the Golden
Stairs. Brown listed that it was named “with reference to a popular hymn of this pioneering era
‘Walking up the Golden Stairs.’”23 Like Brown, the book The Ruined Castle in the Jamison Valley,

Medbury, and the book Old Leura and Katoomba, all stated the song was Walking up the golden
stairs.24 In addition to these, Barrett, similar to Brown declared it was a popular song linked to the
name, however gave the extended title of, Walking up the golden stairs to Glory.25

There was another set of authors who used an equivalent title; however then replaced the word
‘walking’ with the term ‘climbing’. The word ‘climbing’ not only better described the action needed

when ascending the bush track; it had stronger links with a Salvation Army song. Both Ma and Fox,

Keats and Fox, specifically linked the song to a Salvation Army published song, Climbing up the
golden stair. Ma used the song writer’s maiden name Emma Booth and correctly identified that she
“was the daughter of Salvation Army founders, William and Catherine Booth”. Ma used the first line
of the chorus as the title, O I’m climbing up the golden stairs to Glory.26 Fox, Keats and Fox, after
searching The Salvation Army song book used the song writer’s married name, Emma Booth-Tucker
and the Army’s title, Climbing up the golden stair.27 Three other authors had a similar title; however

without the use of references, Cardy stated Climbing up the golden stairs, Morison wrote Climbing
up the golden stair (to glory), and Lewis as Ma listed, Oh, I’m climbing up the golden stairs to
Glory.28

While it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that these titles referred to the same song, it

may not be the case. Garth R. Hentzschel, Salvation Army historian and Richard Vance, a researcher

in the history of songs wrote that The Salvation Army used secular tunes for their lyrics. Therefore,

Salvationists and miners could sing different songs to the same tune. In addition to this, Vance showed
there were other popular songs sung around the 1880s with the words ‘golden stair(s)’; one was
Climbing up de golden stairs by F. Heiser.29 It should be noted that while Ma, Fox, Keats and Fox,

20 Paul Ma, “Rennies Tunnel, NSW Blue Mts, Australia”, (Mountains, 29 August 2015),
http://mntviews.blogspot.com/2015/08/rennies-tunnel-nsw-blue-mts-australia.html; Cardy, “Our March walk”, 1.;
‘Dayna’, “Ruined Castle, Blue Mountains”, ¶ 8.; Morison, “The golden history of Blue Mountains evangelism”, 2.; Dan
Lewis, “Ultra-Trail Australia 2017 kicks off next month”, Blue Mountains gazette, (10 April 2017), ¶ 7.
21 Anon, The Ruined Castle in the Jamison Valley – Katoomba, (Mt Wilson Bushwalking Group, 17 March 2006), ¶ 4,
https://mtwilson.com.au/documentation/bushwalking-group/newsletters-1/2006/303-ruined-castle-march-2006/file
accessed 15 July 2021.
22 Jim Barrett, Place names of the Blue Mountains and Burragorang Valley, (Glenbrook, Australia: J. Barrett, 1994).
23 Brown, Bent backs, 124.
24 Old Leura and Katoomba.; Medbury, “Golden Stairs”, ¶ 4.; Anon, The Ruined Castle in the Jamison Valley, ¶ 4.
25 Barrett, Place names of the Blue Mountains and Burragorang Valley.
26 Ma, “Rennies Tunnel”.
27 Fox, Keats & Fox, Blue Mountains geographical encyclopaedia, 230.
28 Cardy, “Our March walk”, 1.; Morison, “The golden history of Blue Mountains evangelism”, 2.; Lewis, “Ultra-Trail
Australia 2017 kicks off next month”, ¶ 7.
29 Garth R. Hentzschel, “Why should the devil have all the good music? The Christian use of contrafactum and parody”,
The Australasian journal of Salvation Army history, 1, 2, (September 2016), 155 – 181.; Richard Vance, “‘Climbing up

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 143

Medbury, Felix, and the book Old Leura and Katoomba specifically linked the “song” or “hymn” to
being of Salvation Army origin, or sung by a Salvationist, others did not.30

The song alone would not necessarily be enough to endear the name of the track to the miners
or convince others to continue to use the name. Many of the authors therefore also included some
element of action The Salvation Army was alleged to have performed in relation to people living in
the Jamison Valley.

What other ways were The Salvation Army and the stairs linked?

Looking for stronger ties between the stairs, the song, and The Salvation Army, the literature used a
variety of actions to strengthen their claim. There needed to be a reason why Salvationists would risk
their lives to use the pass. Again, there is variety in the telling of the story in relation to this element.
An observation can also be made on how the story was told. The change from the religious to
entertainment may give some indication of the movement away from a Judeo-Christian base in the
local folk tale.

Brown wrote from a more traditional view, that The Salvation Army had a spiritual motivation
to hold “services”, that is religious services to engage the listeners in Christian song, scripture, and
teaching. He wrote, the Golden Stairs,

received this name in the days when the Salvation Army held services at the bark hut village. The
wags amongst the small mining community were not long in christening their local staircase.

Similarly, Barrett, ‘Dayna’, Morison, the book The Ruined Castle in the Jamison Valley, Lewis, Ma,
and Medbury also stated the Salvation Army visited the shale miners to conduct religious services or
“a message of comfort.”31

What may be a sign of the move away from an emphasis on Christian heritage, Fox, Keats and
Fox and Cardy stated Salvation Army officers visited the miners at the Ruined Castle shale mine
village but did not list the reason for this.32 Even further removing the idea of The Salvation Army’s
Christian motivation, ‘The Jamison Project’ claimed the Army went to the valley “to entertain the
mining camp”.33 Whatever the reason for the Army’s journey into the valley, the authors included
these to help support and give context to their narrative.

Who performed the actions?

There were also differences in the literature as to whom performed the actions that led to the name
being given to the Golden Stairs. While there were large disparities between authors’ claims of miners
or Salvationists, there were also differences less obvious that needed deeper discernment.

the golden stairs’ & Salvation Army”, Mechanical Music Digest Archives, (17 August),
https://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/200208/2002.08.17.02.html accessed 12 July 2021.
30 Ma, “Rennies Tunnel”.; Fox, Keats & Fox, Blue Mountains geographical encyclopaedia, 230.; Medbury, “Golden
Stairs”; Felix, “Nine passes on Narrow Neck”; Old Leura and Katoomba.
31 Lewis, “Ultra-Trail Australia 2017 kicks off next month”, ¶ 7.; Morison, “The golden history of Blue Mountains
evangelism”, 2.; Anon, The Ruined Castle in the Jamison Valley, ¶ 4.; Barrett, Place names of the Blue Mountains and
Burragorang Valley.; Ma, “Rennies Tunnel”.; Medbury, “Golden Stairs”, ¶ 4.; ‘Dayna’, “Ruined Castle, Blue
Mountains”, ¶ 8.
32 Cardy, “Our March walk”, 1.; Fox, Keats and Fox, Blue Mountains geographical encyclopaedia, 230.
33 ‘The Jamison Project’, ¶ 2.

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Three authors, Brown, Barrett, and Morison were very general in describing who performed
the action that led to the naming of the stairs; they just stated, “the Salvation Army”.34 A different

three publications Medbury, Lewis, and the anonymous author of The Ruined Castle in the Jamison
Valley, were slightly less general as they suggested “members of the Salvation Army”.35 Then ‘The
Jamison Project’ was even more specific as it stated it was “a Salvation Army band” that engaged in
the actions that led to the naming of the Golden Stairs.36 These, while on the whole were

nondescriptive, instantly included both Salvation Army officers, similar but not equivalent to church

clergy, and soldiers, similar but not equivalent to church laity.
Fox, Keats and Fox, Cardy, ‘Dayna’, and Ma however claimed the people who performed the

action were Salvation Army officers or a Salvation Army officer.37 While such listings appear
valueless, Heather Burke et al. argued movements in folklore “could be used to demonstrate the
superiority of one group over another”.38 Such an idea is seen in this narrative as the action is moved

from the soldiers to the officers, or the laity to the leadership of The Salvation Army.

There could be an argument that non-Salvationist authors do not understand the difference

between Salvation Army soldiers and officers. They may also think that as people were engaged in

preaching and praying, they must have been clergy, therefore officers. Yet, in the Army, especially

in its early years, there was no theological difference in the movement between the two membership
types in Salvationism. However, as world history has often turned to focus on leadership of ‘great
men’, The Salvation Army has focused its history through the lens of officership.39 The only mention

of the naming of the Golden Stairs found in Salvation Army literature is indeed officer-centric. Lauren

Martin, a journalist for a Salvation Army publication wrote,

Then there was The Salvation Army officer in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, who inspired
the naming of the arduous “Golden Staircase” (which climbs steeply up from the valley floor). It
is said that the stairway got its name by way of the officer who would walk down the stairway to
hold services for the shale miners in the Jamieson Valley. On the way back, the officer would
sing the song, written by Emma Booth, O’ I’m Climbing up the Golden Stairs to Glory. Such was
the mettle of those early Salvationists!40

As these authors all stated their claims as fact, they need to be investigated. The majority of the
authors did not reference the claims they made, and those who did, except Fox, Keats and Fox,41 only
referenced secondary sources: for example, Morison referenced Jim Smith.42 Burke et al. stated, such
writing “can be assumed to reflect a locally accepted version of history only,” and therefore “cannot
currently be considered anything other than ‘folklore’”43

34 Brown, Bent backs, 124; Barrett, Place names of the Blue Mountains and Burragorang Valley.; Morison, “The
golden history of Blue Mountains evangelism”, 2.
35 Medbury, “Golden Stairs”, ¶ 4.; Anon, The Ruined Castle in the Jamison Valley, ¶ 4.; Lewis, “Ultra-Trail Australia
2017 kicks off next month”, ¶ 7.
36 ‘The Jamison Project, ¶ 2.
37 Ma, “Rennies Tunnel”.; Fox, Keats & Fox, Blue Mountains geographical encyclopaedia, 230.; Cardy, “Our March
walk”, 1.; ‘Dayna’, “Ruined Castle, Blue Mountains”, ¶ 8.
38 Burke, et al., “The homestead as fortress”, 167.
39 Garth R. Hentzschel and Rachel Hentzschel, “Officer stories, the dots of Salvation Army history, it’s time to get the
full picture: A critical examination for inclusive Salvation Army historical research”, (Tri-Territorial Heritage Centre
and Archives Conference, Theme: Making Connections: Joining the Dots, The Salvation Army Booth College of
Mission, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga Territory, 9 – 13 April 2013).
40 Lauren Martin, “History records 'Hard Yakka' of officership”, Others online, (2021), ¶ 5, https://others.org.au/army-
archives/his/ accessed 12 July 2021.
41 Fox, Keats and Fox, Blue Mountains geographical encyclopaedia, 230.
42 Morison, “The golden history of Blue Mountains evangelism”, 2.
43 Burke, et al., “The homestead as fortress”, 154, 155.

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Only a folk tale

Sally Ann Coppard wrote from the viewpoint that the story of the Golden Stairs was a folk tale. Her
underpinning idea for her doctoral thesis on mapping in Australia was that,

Focusing on a selection of maps of ‘Australia’, the following attributes are found in some of these
maps: myth and imagination, memory, power and the evolution of a people’s relationship with a
place.44

Coppard’s thesis gave a discussion on the Golden Stairs under the heading of “Walking up the
Golden Stairs to Glory”, yet only used two of Jim Barrett’s books to investigate the narrative. The
two books were Barrett’s Shack Country and the Old Burragorang, and Barrett’s Place names of the
Blue Mountains and Burragorang Valley.45 As with many of the previous authors, Coppard failed to
investigate historic sources in relation to this story. It would appear that Coppard held a similar view
to Burke et al., that finding what is true, “perhaps, in the end, [is] not all that useful.”46 To such
authors meaning of a narrative is more important than facts of the story. Of the Golden Stairs, Coppard
wrote,

Miners, living in a village near the Ruined Castle, a pile of rocks that looks just like its namesake
from a distance, used a pass off Narrow Neck to climb up to the township of Katoomba. As they
climbed they often sang a favourite hymn Walking up the Golden Steps to Glory, learned at
Salvation Army services. The pass became known as ‘the Golden Stairs’. ... Perhaps the evocative
name stirs cultural associations that may not be consciously remembered, such as the idea of a
stairway to Heaven, which in itself may hark back to the Old Testament Jacob’s ladder.

These are names on maps that may appear to have come forth from drunken nights and
Salvation Army songs but their origins are ancient. These names on chorographical maps are not
the precious stuff of history, selectively culled to reflect a glorious past, rather a glorious reflection
of the difficulties and humour it takes to live on this land. They help to create a place that is
familiar and local but allude to past connections such as the idea of Heaven and Hell, concepts
known by anyone brought up in a European tradition.47

Coppard is in line with Hasan-Rokem and Weiss. Coppard stated the Golden Stairs narrative is
“not the precious stuff of history” and only told to give a sense of “place”, and Hasan-Rokem and
Weiss stated that such folk tales are proverbs to give meaning of the phenomenon.48

Ignoring any narrative

With authors like Coppard and Burke et al. no longer concerned with truth and questioning historical
narratives that relate to Judeo-Christian and European tradition, there comes a shift towards a non-
narrative, then further to the creation of a new narrative.

The idea of a non-narrative, that is not telling or not having the form of a story or narrative was
applied by several authors to the Golden Stairs. These publications listed the Golden Stairs, however

44 Sally Ann Coppard, “The dance between cosmography and chorography: Mapping Australia”, (PhD Thesis,
University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury Campus, August 2005).
45 Jim Barrett, Shack country and the old Burragorang, (Glenbrook, Australia: Guntawang Catholic Youth Centres,
1990).; Barrett, Placenames of the Blue Mountains and Burragorang Valley.
46 Burke et al., “The homestead as fortress”, 168.
47 Coppard, “The dance between cosmography and chorography”, 101 – 102.
48 Coppard, “The dance between cosmography and chorography”, 102.; Hasan-Rokem and Weiss, “Folklore in
antiquity”, 1, 3.

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gave no indication that there was or may have been a connection between the name of the stairs and
The Salvation Army.49

If the narrative is removed, it could open a way for another folk lore. One example can be seen
in Barrett, Narrow Neck and the birth of Katoomba where he did not include a connection with The
Salvation Army. Barrett had the miners singing Walking up the golden stairs to Glory as they climbed
through the cliff on their way from the mining camps to Katoomba.50 If the non-narrative continues,
other folk tales could be created to describe the name, such as a link to Botting’s Lookout that is about
halfway down the stairs, or the miners and gold,51 or even with the rise of environmentalism links
with the treasure of flora and fauna of the area. However, before the narrative of The Salvation Army
and the Golden Stairs is given up, it needs to be investigated as history and researched to identify if
any sources reveal facts.

Construction and history of the Golden Stairs

Rebecca Parkes et al. gave a succinct overview of the development and importance of oil shale and
the subsequential rise of mining the rock. In 1880, John Britty North identified oil shale around the
area of Ruined Castle, Katoomba. In 1885, North formed the Katoomba Coal and Shale Co. and 10
tunnels were opened. During 1891, the Australian Kerosene Oil and Mineral Company purchased
North’s company. Parkes et al. noted that in 1893, 50 miners worked at Ruined Castle and many
others lived nearby. E. J. R. stated “a respectable little village had arisen in the wilderness of bush
around the Ruined Castle Mines. Complete with school, hotel, stores etc.” The mine closed in 1897
but briefly opened again in 1903. The settlement near Ruined Castle was abandoned by 1905.52

Although the village near Ruined Castle Mines had some facilities, Katoomba, situated on top
of the escarpment grew more rapidly around the railway and housed more services. Miners were
drawn to the larger area of population and amenities, thus the reason for the Golden Stairs to be
constructed.

In a report during October 1894, a local Katoomba newspaper, The Mountaineer identified that
the Golden Stairs was also known as Parker’s Track.53 Although Parker could be identified as a miner
who worked at the Glen Shale mine, organised a ball at the miners’ barracks in 1888, and injured his
thumb at Ruined Castle in 1892, nothing else could be found about the person.54 Using the name

49 See for example Ted Wnorowski and Alex Wnorowski, Australian good birding guide: NSW – ACT, (Gladstone,
Australia: Ted and Alex Wnorowski, 2017).; Anthony Ham and Andrew Bain, Best of Australia, (Australia: Lonely
Planet, 2019).; Andy Symington,and Kate Armstrong, East Coast Australia, (Australia: Lonely Planet, 2017).; Jeffery
Pike and Brian Bell, Insight guides, Australia, (Australia: Discovery Channel, 2002).; Brett Atkinson and Kate
Armstrong, Australia, (Australia: Lonely Planet, 2017).; Margo Daly, The rough guide to Sydney, (Australia: Rough
Guides, 2009).
50 Jim Barrett, Narrow Neck and the birth of Katoomba, (Glenbrook, Australia: H.H. Stephenson, 1996), 55.
51 A hint of this already appeared in 1919. “The Ruined Castle,” The Blue Mountain echo, (NSW, 12 September 1919),
8.
52 Rebecca Parkes; Shawn Ross; Adela Sobotkova; Tanya Evans; Penny Crook; Susan Lupack; Grace Karskens; Fiona
Leslie and John Merson, Ruined Castle Shale Mining Settlement, Katoomba NSW: Report on a Pilot Survey (NSW,
Australia: Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, 2018), 3 – 4,
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59d6cf25be42d6c4c599565d/t/5ebcc08fae2e1d5c397d28a0/1589428395955/Ruin
ed-Castle-Survey-Preliminary-Report.pdf accessed 10 July 2021.; E.J.R. “Before Katoomba Existed”, The Katoomba
daily, (NSW, 10 December 1932), 3.
53 “A night on Mount Solitary”, The Mountaineer, (Katoomba, 19 October 1894), 4. The link between the Parker’s
Track and the Golden Stairs was also identified by Fox, Keats and Fox, Blue Mountains geographical encyclopaedia.
54 See “Katoomba”, Nepean Times, (Penrith, 7 April 1888), 4.; “Mountain Mixtures”, The Katoomba times, (NSW, 9
September 1892), 2. Brian Fox had also attempted to locate information on Parker and could not find Parker’s first

The Australasian Journal of Salvation Army History, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2021. Page 147

Early map of Katoomba showing the Golden Stairs, January 191055

name although found information on his association with the ball. Telephone conversation between the author and Fox
(12 July 2021) and email (1 August 2021).
55 Images courtesy of Brian Fox.

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Parker however located sources to prove that he had been the builder of the track and gave an opening
date.

In May 1889 it was announced, Mr Parker completed the horse track which was named in his
honour, “Parker’s Track”. The completion of the track was described in The Katoomba times in the
following manner,

Mr. Parker has completed the horse track known as “Parker’s Track,” leading from Narrow Neck
to the shale mine, which will prove of great advantage not only to the workmen employed at the
mine, but also to visitors who are anxious to view the beauties of the mountains. This track has
opened up some of the grandest scenery ever beheld. Up to this time the views could not be seen,
as there was no access to them.56

The track, including the stairs, was built to connect the Pitts Amphitheatre in the Jamison Valley to
the Narrow Neck Plateau. Medbury noted the original track “negotiated some small cliff faces by a
series of ladders and chains.”57

When a miner fell to his death in June 1893, a report outlined the difficulties of reaching the
shale mines in the Kedumba Valley and became the first identified publication of the name Golden
Stairs. In part it stated,

The mines are reached from the Narrow Neck by a scratch in the side of the mountains known as
the Golden Stairs. It is in some places scarcely more than twelves inches in width, in others as
much as three feet. Half way down the path it is thrilling to look up at cliffs 1000 feet above you,
and then over your toes to the bottom, 600 feet or 700 feet below. The path is nowhere very level,
and it requires a cool head to traverse it at any time.58

A description of the area in September 1893 stated that the only way from the “Narrow Neck”
to the “Kedumba Valley” was “by a mere groove in the side of Megalong, known as ‘Golden Stairs.’”
This report also argued that the difficulty in traversing the Golden Stairs meant that it kept visitors
away from the miners’ village. The report outlined the difficulty and danger of the track,

The way down the cliff face into the Kedumba Valley is not to be recommended to persons of
weak nerves, but we trod it in safety with our swags on our backs and gun in hand. The miners
employed in the shale mines below negotiate this difficult pass with a good deal of levity,
particularly on pay nights. A few months since one of their number was killed by a fall over the
cliffs, but that in no way affects the recklessness of the remainder. In the valley they have a
lilliputian village all to themselves, for, as may be guessed, few people care to intrude upon their
isolation. The “Golden Stairs” guarantee that.59

No newspaper reports on the track could be located from its opening as Parker’s Track in May
1889 until the miner fell to his death in June 1893, by which time it had changed name to the Golden
Stairs. The exact time when the track changed its name from Parker’s Track to Golden Stairs has been
lost to history and may have been a gradual process. This process was indeed not complete until after
October 1894, as a report at that time included both names, “the Golden Stairs (or Parker’s Track).”60

56 “Local jottings”, Katoomba times, (NSW, 25 May 1889), 2. This source was identified by Fox, Keats and Fox, Blue
Mountains geographical encyclopaedia. Cardy identified the year but not the builder, Cardy, “Our March walk", 1.
57 Medbury, “Golden Stairs”, ¶ 3. The remaining spikes from the chains and as climbing aids were also observed by
Maryanne Quinn in an interview with Grace Bayley (Blue Mountains Library, 30 May & 11 July 1984), 37:20 – 41:40
https://library.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/client/en_AU/search/stream/1016380/true/0 accessed 11 July 2021.
58 The illustrated Sydney news, (NSW, 3 June 1893), 19.
59 “The heart of the mountains”, The daily telegraph, (Sydney, 16 September 1893), 13.
60 “A night on Mount Solitary”, The Mountaineer, (Katoomba, 19 October 1894), 4.

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The reason for the change of name was very early lost, as although there was just over four

years between the notification of names in the newspaper, in September 1893, The Katoomba times
did not know how the track had received the name Golden Stairs. The newspaper took an idea similar
to Coppard, that the name came from the ancient links to the Old Testament, and stated,

“The Golden Stairs” leading to the Ruined Castle shale mine is akin to “Jacob’s Ladder” leading
to Bartley Vale. We suppose the Golden Stairs derived their name from the fact that they bear so
strong an affinity to the stairs leading from Hades to Heaven. Ever so much easier to take the
downward track than to do the ascent. It is better to sing about “Climbing up the Golden Stairs”
than it is to do it.61

The name Golden Stairs must have been affixed to the track soon after its completion, although some
were still using its former name into 1894.

There may have been several reasons for the early loss of knowledge pertaining to the change
of name. Firstly, the miners may have used the name the Golden Stairs while the Katoomba residents
may have used Parker’s Track. Secondly, newspapers seldom carry stories about streets, lanes, and
tracks unless there was something noteworthy linked to the location. Thirdly, local newspapers

needed to carry colonial, intercolonial and international news, as well as local content to be
economically viable, therefore some local content would have not been included. Finally, there were
only a few years when more than one local newspaper operated so there was little competition to print
local news.62

Although mining in the Ruined Castle area did not completely conclude until 1903, from 1894,
the sources linked the Golden Stairs with the leisure activity of hiking rather than the mines or the
miners. Reports on the Golden Stairs covered topics that included the beautiful scenery from the
stairs,63 hiking clubs and Scouts,64 and bushwalkers in trouble.65

In October 1894, a report appeared written about a group of five young men who hiked from
Katoomba to Mount Solitary. They walked along Narrow Neck, “down Parker’s Track” and spent the
night in the valley. After breakfast they walked back. The report stated, “[h]aving arrived at the
bottom of the Golden Stairs (or Parker’s Track) we took a well-earned rest.” They ascended the stairs
to arrive back to Katoomba.66

61 “Mountain mixtures”, Katoomba times, (NSW, 22 September 1893), 2.
62 Following is a list of the local Katoomba newspapers and the years in which each was published. The Katoomba
times (1889 – 1894), The Mountaineer (1894 – 1908), The Blue Mountain gazette (1903 – 1904), The Blue Mountain
echo (1909 – 1928), The Mountain daily (1919 – 1920), The Katoomba daily (1920 – 1939), The record of the Blue
Mountains (1924), The Blue Mountain star (1929 – 1931), The chronicle (1929), The independent (1930 – 1931), The
Blue Mountains times (1931 – 1937), The Blue Mountains daily (1939), The Blue Mountains advertiser (1940 – 1945).
63 “Katoomba”, Australian town and country journal, (Sydney, 26 November 1898), 34.; I.K., “Narrow Neck,
Katoomba”, The Bathurst times, (NSW, 20 June 1910), 1.; “Katoomba’s beauty spots”, The Blue Mountains echo,
(NSW, 13 August 1910), 11.; “Before Katoomba existed”, The Katoomba daily, (NSW, 10 December 1932), 3.; “Capt.
Hurley’s hunt is over”, The Katoomba daily, (NSW, 4 June 1936), 2.; Allan McF. Hardie, “Narroneck [sic] Peninsula”,
The Blue Mountains advertiser, (NSW, 28 October 1949), 10.
64 “Mt Solitary this time”, The Blue Mountain star, (Katoomba, 14 June 1930), 5.; “Blue Mountain guide service”, The
Katoomba daily, (NSW, 20 August 1932), 3.; “B.M. guide service”, The Katoomba daily, (NSW, 25 August 1932), 2.;
“Blue Mountain guide service”, The Katoomba daily, (NSW, 18 October 1932), 1.; “Scouts cubs attend big sports,” The
Catholic weekly, (Sydney, 16 October 1952), 9.
65 “An unpleasant experience”, The mountaineer, (Katoomba, 12 May 1905), 3.; “Katoomba”, The Sydney morning
herald, (NSW, 13 March 1907), 10.; “Climbin’ up de Golden Stairs,” The Blue Mountain echo, (NSW, 19 July 1912),
7.; “Out all night”, The Blue Mountain echo, (NSW, 5 May 1922), 4.; “Our neighbours”, South Coast times and
Wollongong argus, (NSW, 27 January 1928), 28.
66 “A night on Mount Solitary”, The Mountaineer, (Katoomba, 19 October 1894), 4.

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