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Organisation Blue Ribbon Gospel Army (c. 1882 - ?)

From
c. 1882
Categories
Baptist, Care Provider and Non-denominational
Alternative Names
  • Blue Ribbon Temperance Gospel Union

Summary

The Blue Ribbon Gospel Army was established by Sydney philanthropist and evangelist George Edward Ardill in 1882. It provided a range of services to the destitute of the city, including the Open All Night Refuge, the Jubilee Home for Domestic Servants and the Home of Hope for Friendless and Fallen Women.

The emphasis of the Blue Ribbon Gospel Army was campaigning for temperance and the reform of alcoholics, as well as protecting women and children from domestic violence and rehabilitating prostitutes. Members campaigned on city streets and across the state. The personal drive of George Ardill and his wife Louisa were essential elements of the organisation, but it did have a committee of management, drawn from the NSW Government, Sydney City Council, the Baptist ministry and various philanthropic circles.

The institutional work of the Blue Ribbon Gospel Army was taken over by the Sydney Rescue Work Society, which was founded by Ardill in 1890.

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Timeline

 c. 1882 - ? Blue Ribbon Gospel Army
       1890 - c. 2000 Sydney Rescue Work Society
             c. 2000 - 2011 Communicare Sydney
                   2011 - Integricare

Related Organisations

  • Communicare Sydney (c. 2000 - 2011)

    Communicare Sydney is the successor of the Sydney Rescue Work Society and holds some records relating to the Blue Ribbon Gospel Army.

    Date: 2000 - 2011

  • Integricare (2011 - )

    Integricare is the successor of Communicare Sydney, which took over the Sydney Rescue Work Society's activities

    Date: 2000 -

  • Woman's Christian Temperance Union, WCTU (1882 - )

    The Blue Ribbon Gospel Army and the Women's Christian Temperance Union were temperance campaigners and Louisa Ardill was a member of both organisations.

    Date: 1882 - c. 1890

Related People

Publications

Books

  • Thornton, Bruce, George Edward Ardill and the Sydney Rescue Work Society (now Communicare Sydney) [also titled "Haste to the Rescue"], Baptist Historical Society of New South Wales, Sydney, 2008, 118 pp. Details

Reports

  • Annual Report of the Home of Hope for Friendless and Fallen, Discharged Prisoners' Mission, and Open All Night Refuge; together with the general agencies of the Blue Ribbon Gospel Army, Blue Ribbon Gospel Army, 1884-1887. Details

Online Resources

Sources used to compile this entry: Annual Report of the Home of Hope for Friendless and Fallen, Discharged Prisoners' Mission, and Open All Night Refuge; together with the general agencies of the Blue Ribbon Gospel Army, Blue Ribbon Gospel Army, 1884-1887; Radi, Heather, ''Ardill, George Edward (1857-1945)'', in Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, Melbourne University Press, 1979, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ardill-george-edward-5048; Thornton, Bruce, George Edward Ardill and the Sydney Rescue Work Society (now Communicare Sydney) [also titled "Haste to the Rescue"], Baptist Historical Society of New South Wales, Sydney, 2008, 118 pp.

Prepared by: Naomi Parry

Created: 22 March 2011, Last modified: 7 March 2012