AFTER 130 years of service spread all across the Southern Highlands, the Salvation Army will soon open doors to a complex that brings all its services under one roof.
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Salvation Army Major Graham Longbottom said the purpose of the move had many facets, but the main one was that the community would have better access to the Salvos.
"Now there'll be the store, the community assistance program and church activities at the one place," he said.
Mr Longbottom's wife and fellow Major, Christine, said the site had been under construction for 12 months, and had been in the works for four years.
"By putting what we do together, in one place, when people need to go to the Salvation Army they'll have everything they need right here."
The Salvation Army and its 'Salvationists' have had a strong presence in the Southern Highlands since it began in Moss Vale in 1885, when Captain Harry Stephens opened a church.
Meetings began in Bowral soon after, undertaken by the first officers Captain Maggie Doland and Cadet Emma Piper.
The Salvos presence spread to surrounding suburbs of Kangaloon, Kangaroo Valley, Burrawang and Meryla before being consolidated to Bowral in the early 1900s.
Today, the Southern Highlands branch of the Salvation Army, still based in Bowral, takes in the whole of the region, with meetings soon to be held at the new building.
"We just want to welcome everybody," Mrs Longbottom said.
"I'd love to put a sign out the front that says 'Come in and say hi,' because it's so nice to be here in the middle of the community, and we just want to get involved as much as we can."
"We would love to invite people to our worship service on Sunday mornings at 10am," she said.
"The Church is at the front of the new building and there's parking at the back."
The Salvation Army is moving
To facilitate the move into its new premises at 418 - 420 Bong Bong Street, the existing shop on Kirkham Road will be closed from Monday, November 16.
It will reopen in the new building on November 21 to coincide with the Salvation Army Southern Highlands community open day.
The day will start from 10.30am, with the official opening to being just before 11am.
There will be a two-hour sale in the Family Store from 12.30pm to 2.30pm and a range of activities for guests and families, including free tea and coffee, a free sausage sizzle and face painting for children.
