History on the Move

In 1896, Salvationist John Pattinson died following an explosion in the Brunner coal mine on the West Coast. The blast and subsequent release of toxic gases killed 65 miners and remains New Zealand’s worst industrial accident. When John Pattinson’s body was found, a scorched Bible was clasped in his hand. That Bible is part of The Salvation Army Heritage Centre and Archives’ collection.

For the past 20 years, the Army’s archives and museum has been Territorial Headquarters’ (THQ) best-kept secret. Its collection of documents, records, instruments, uniforms, recorded music and a wide range of other artefacts and memorabilia date back to the beginnings of New Zealand Salvationism in the 1880s. The THQ archives was the New Zealand Salvation Army’s first specifically-designed facility for the conservation and safe storage of items, featuring temperature-controlled repositories. But the facility has run out of storage space.

The archives are in the throes of moving from the ground floor of THQ to Booth College of Mission (BCM) in Upper Hutt. The BCM library and The Salvation Army Heritage Centre and Archives will be brought together and collectively known as the ‘Plowman Resource Centre’. The project has been funded with a generous legacy from the late Maureen Plowman. For more than 20 years, two generations of the Plowman family have backed the work of The Salvation Army with donations totalling millions of dollars.

Archivist Major Garry Mellsop says the move has major benefits. The THQ archives had run out of space and had no room for those wanting to research Salvation Army history. The new facility has 50 per cent more repository space as well as a dedicated reading and research room. ‘The value of archives is our ability to record our history and heritage,’ Gary explains, ‘because unless we know where we have been, it’s difficult to make effective decisions on our future. That’s another reason why it’s so important that we make our collection accessible into the future.’

In its new location, the Army’s historical treasures will be easily accessed by BCM students and the growing number of Salvation Army officers and staff who attend courses at the college. ‘Some people have suggested that moving the archives out to Upper Hutt will make researchers think twice about accessing our records, but our experience is that researchers are motivated—they will travel,’ Garry says. ‘We’ve never relied on pedestrian foot traffic.’

The Salvation Army’s archives began modestly in 1975. In planning for the territory’s centenary, the then territorial commander, Commissioner Ernest Elliot, suggested a history of The Salvation Army in New Zealand should be published. Cyril Bradwell, who took up the challenge, found the task of researching the history—which he titled Fight the Good Fight—a difficult one as many important records and correspondence had been dumped or were difficult to locate. ‘In the early days, The Salvation Army was too busy making history to keep record of it,’ Garry suggests.

The Salvation Army Historical Trust was established in 1975. The first centralised archive storage was at Bethany Hospital in Wellington, later moving to the Army’s new officer training college in Upper Hutt (since renamed ‘Booth College of Mission’). ‘So in a sense, we are going home,’ says Garry.

Today, the collection includes an impressive array of items, including brass instruments produced at The Salvation Army’s Campfield Musical Instrument Works in North London and a range of music transferred from 33 and 78 rpm phonographic records to CD. The collection is catalogued on a database, with its War Cry collection—some editions cut up by overzealous students—already indexed until 1920. One of the jewels of the collection is the korowai and piupiu presented to Majors Ernest and Agnes Holdaway by local Maori during their mission work among the Maori of the Whanganui River during the 1880s and 90s.

By Jon Hoyle (Adapted for web from War Cry magazine)

Official Opening

The Plowman Resource Centre, which includes The Salvation Army Heritage Centre and Archives and the expanded Booth College of Mission library, will be officially opened by Territorial Commander Commissioner Donald Bell on 11 December.

In preparation for its relocation to Booth College of Mission in Upper Hutt, the Heritage Centre and Archives is currently closed. It is expected to be fully operational in its new location by 7 February 2011.

• salvationarmy.org.nz/history