Historical information

The Pentecostalism movement in Sunshine was established in 1916 by Charles Lewis Greenwood, a young 25 year old Sunshine resident and employee of the H.V. McKay Sunshine Harvester Works. He and his wife Frances held the first cottage meetings in their Devonshire Road home. For nine years these meetings continued to be held there, including people being baptised in their bath.

The Sunshine Gospel Hall in Martin Street, Sunshine was the third Pentecostal meeting place to be established in Melbourne. Its construction was completed in February 1925. The small hall was described as a timber hall of weatherboard construction with a small brick room at the back. The hall was simply named as the Sunshine Gospel Hall.

In 1925, Adolfo C. Valdez arrived from America, he joined the Sunshine group and became its leader that year.

Shortly afterwards, the church's congregation outgrew the Sunshine Gospel Hall, and in 1926, the congregation moved to the Richmond Theatre on Bridge Road. This theatre was later to become known as the 'Richmond Temple'.

The Martin Street Hall then became the 1st Sunshine Scout Hall. In 1994, the site was sold for private development, and a residential house was built on the site.

In 1926, W. J. Nankervis, an enthusiastic Pentecostal poet wrote an unpublished song about the brick prayer room, but unfortunately only part of the words are known.

'There's a little brick room in Sunshine Hall, whose walls give forth no sound, you can shout as you will with never a fear of troubling the folks around'.

Significance

These documents record the early established of the Pentecostalism movement in Sunshine.

The documents also describes the character of Charles Lewis Greenwood as being 25 years old and married for one year. although small in stature, he was a lively, effervescent young man, with abundant energy and drive. When he preached, it was with obvious joy and with infectious enthusiasm. His simple, literal approach to the Word of God gave an authority to this message that caused people to respond. He spoke the language of the working man, and he made clear what he said.

Physical description

Collection of documents of the establishment of the Pentecostalism movement in Sunshine.

It contains an extract from the book by Barry Chant 'Heart of Fire' Chapter 7 and an extract by Eugene H. Peterson 'The Message Remix The Bible in Contemporary Language.

Inscriptions & markings

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