Book Review: Going to College? Then & Now by Major Peter Collins
BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE
In his reflection on his and his ancestors’ involvement in The Salvation Army Training College in Melbourne, Major Peter Collins depicts shifts in Salvation Army culture and training study programs and the rise and fall of broader theological and societal movements.
As a third-generation officer, Peter entered training college as part of the 1975 Overcomers session. He details his, at times, amusing, often meaningful and heartfelt memories from his years at the training centre at 68 Victoria Parade and then 303 Royal Parade, Parkville.
This included his experience of evangelistic doorknocking in the Carlton Housing Commission flats, a task that he hadn’t initially wanted to undertake.
“This seemed to me an invasion of the privacy of the … tenants,” he wrote. “I complained about this incursion, but the good Captain asked me to comply with the training requirement. I was allocated the top floor, and so I bypassed the lift and reluctantly and slowly climbed the stairs. When I knocked on the first of the twenty doors, a dear pensioner lady opened the door and, seeing the uniform, exclaimed, ‘Oh, Salvation Army – I am so pleased to see you! No one comes to visit here anymore. Please come in’… Half an hour later, after tea and refreshments and a prayer, it was time to leave and return to the bus via the lift, and in a thoughtful and thankful frame of mind!”
Peter also highlights the changes in college life using letters and notes from across the decades, including, in the beginning, a rather harsh letter from then Commissioner Thomas McKie to Peter’s maternal grandmother, Ruby Spiller. In this letter, Thomas reminds Ruby that should she “be found unsuitable for the position of a field officer”, she should be prepared to go back to her corps “and be a good and true soldier of Jesus in The Salvation Army” and “not consider the Army responsible in any way for any pecuniary loss … sustained”.
This stern introduction is later contrasted with accounts of practical jokes, game-based learning and budding relationships between officers at the training colleges.
Peter’s account will appeal to those who have also attended Salvation Army training colleges or have had family members attend, as it captures the nostalgia and camaraderie of college life well. It will be an exceptionally sentimental read for anyone who attended alongside Peter.
This self-published book by Balranald Books is available by contacting Peter at margpedro@gmail.com.
