I very well remember April 1st, 1883. It was a beautiful sunny day. The Army's first appearance was on the Sunday morning at 6am when three Salvationists in uniform marched down Filleul St, one man playing a concertina.
As they marched down the street they played and sang We're Bound for the Pure and Holy. Being April Fool's Day, many of the residents took no further notice.
Others, more curious, got out of bed, pulled the blinds aside and had their first glimpse of a Salvation Army march. The march consisted of Capt Pollard, who was sent by the General to open the Army in New Zealand, and Captain and Mrs Burfoot.
The usual four inside meetings were held that day, and three open airs. The meetings were held in the Temperance Hall, in Moray Pl, and were attended by approximately 1000 to 1500 people.
There was a little rowdyism, but not sufficient to prevent the holding of the meetings. I had the great pleasure of attending the meeting on the first Sunday afternoon.
On the Monday night, 2nd April, the first week night open air meeting was held at the noted place The Fountain. [Cargill's monument, at the Exchange, Princes St.] After the open air, they marched to the hall with music played on the concertina, with a more or less rowdy following.
Those attending the open air were Capts Pollard and Burfoot, Dyson, a Mr Symon and myself.
When we arrived at the hall, so dense was the crowd that it was with difficulty we were able to get inside. The meeting lasted for about two and a half hours, with a number of souls at the Mercy Seat.
Keeping the door was a very trying job, as the hall was full and thousands outside [were] trying to get in.
Capt Pollard, Dominion Commanding Officer, was a young man in his early 20s. He was a tall, fair, well-educated young gentleman, possessing great ability; a fluent speaker and good singer, with a splendid knowledge of the Scriptures.
Captain Burfoot, his assistant, was of medium height, striking personality, and able to move the great crowds who thronged to the meetings.
When he told the people about the great Salvation he had found, lifting him out of himself and sin, tears would flow down his cheeks and his testimony always carried weight.
Mrs Burfoot was a woman possessing a very sympathetic nature, and she was a good singer. One of her favourites which captivated the crowd was She Only Touched the Hem of His Garment.
One of the songs which caused the most stir was Oh, Ye Must be a Lover of the Lord.
This caught on wonderfully well with both the saved and the unsaved. The ‘‘roughs'' were not long in making a parody on this song, so they used to sing Oh you must wear a collar and a tie, or you won't go to Heaven when you die.
During those weeks, hundreds of converts were gained and it was not long before there were hundreds in the marches and open air meetings, with the result that the devil's ire was raised and he soon gathered forces of his army, who used to treat us very liberally to rotten eggs, clods, stones, brick bats, flour, soot, yellow ochre, etc.
We had to turn our coats inside out while were in the open air meetings and on the march, and also going home.
The larrikins formed a skeleton army and had their flag with the skull and cross bones on. They had a Captain of their own and marched in a body. . . They would be singing parodies of our hymns, such as Hold the forks, the knives are coming, Dinners on the way, Wave the answer to the kitchen, fetch the pies this way.
When we were standing in the open air, they would sing Safe in the arms of a policeman, Safe in Dunedin gaol, With 16 months' hard labour, For pulling out a donkey's tail.
There was a good deal of adverse criticism in the papers regarding our methods of preaching, and we used to cheer our spirits up the march by singing We're marching on to war, We are, we are we are; We care not what the people think, Or what they put in the Star.
On 24th May, 1883, the first Corps was formed [Dunedin Fortress] and, if I remember rightly, about 500 soldiers were enrolled. Among these that I can remember were Bro J Roberts, Bro William Manley, Bro Dwight, Bro Nicoll, Bro Cowper, Adj H Coombs, my [future] wife Elizabeth Westlake, and me.
For nine months I worked in the corps as a soldier. . . Then I applied for officership and was accepted. The first congress was held in Dunedin in December, 1883, the Caledonian Grounds being taken for the occasion. During these meetings I was commissioned as a Cadet and sent to Oamaru to assist Capt Geo Wedge.
Oamaru was one of the most hostile places in the Dominion. We proceeded to the hall for our first meeting, which was a watch-night service. After the service was over, on our way home we were pelted most drastically with rotten eggs, and the police, in trying to protect us, got their share.
There was not a whole pane of glass left in the building, and it used to take several persons to keep door. The roughs inside used to have squeakers in their waist coat pockets, and also some on the floor under their toes, and they would make these squeak the whole meeting through.
They repeatedly burnt cayenne pepper in the doorway and so suffocated folk that they had to leave, and no meeting could be held.
Those of us who went to the Open Air Meetings had to wear mackintosh coats and tie handkerchiefs tightly round their necks and over our ears, to prevent stuff from going inside.
We would go to the hall singing We shall stand the storm. . . Then we would go round the back of the hall where we had a tap, and we would hose each other off.
