The Gloriavale Christian Community is a small and isolated Christian group which is located at Haupiri on the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand, and it has an estimated population of over 500. It has operated as a registered charity since 2008. News of controversial practices in the community led to the police making daily checks on the community in 2018.
History
The group was founded in 1969 by Neville Cooper, an Australian-born preacher who came to New Zealand as a priest, having earlier survived a near fatal 1965 plane crash in south-east Queensland. Cooper founded what became known as the Springbank Christian Community near Christchurch, moving to a larger property on the West Coast of New Zealand between 1991-1995 when the community grew too large for its existing home. This new settlement, located in the Haupiri Valley was named "Gloriavale", and established the existing Gloriavale Christian Community, roughly inland from Greymouth.
Overview
Known by some outsiders as the "Cooperites" after their leader Neville Cooper, the group rejects this name and members refer to themselves only as Christians. Members of the community live a fundamentalist Christian life in accordance with their interpretation of the teachings of the New Testament. The community attempts to uphold the example of the first Christian church in Jerusalem for its principles of sharing and holding all things in common. The group teaches that the only true way to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to the commands of God. The community earns its income from several ventures including dairying and the manufacture of gardening products made from sphagnum moss. They also run deer and sheep farms, as well as formerly running scenic and charter flights from Greymouth through their company Air West Coast. The community runs Gloriavale Christian Community School, a private coeducational composite school with a roll of 127. The school moved to the West Coast in 1990.
Controversies
In 1995, Neville Cooper was jailed for almost a year on sexual abuse charges. He was convicted based on the testimonies of his son and a young woman who had fled the compound. Cooper later changed his name to Hopeful Christian. Cooper died of cancer on 15 May 2018, aged 92. Those who leave the community are shunned and denied contact with family members who have not left Gloriavale; because most residents in Gloriavale are born into the community, this can often comprise a person's entire family. The Apologetics Index, a Christian cult-watching organisation, refers to Gloriavale as a "cult, both theologically and sociologically", stating that "theologically, this group is a cult of Christianity, as its theology - as well as its practices based on that theology - places it well outside the boundaries of the Christian faith." A wide-ranging government investigation into the community began in 2015. No charges yet brought against Gloriavale or members of its community. In 2016, a three-part documentary on TVNZ 2 extensively covered the community, with the documentary team being given unprecedented access to the community. The series is available online within New Zealand. An additional set of 8 mini-episodes, titled Gloriavale: The Return was released in 2018. Television channels made additional films about the cult community in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, Lilia Tarawa, the granddaughter of Gloriavale's founder, spoke at a TEDx Christchurch conference on her experiences as a member of the community and during the conference, she detailed how she had grown up within it. Tarawa described abusive practices as part of daily life for members of Gloriavale, including beatings, forced marriages, and psychological control, leading some of Gloriavale's members - including some of Tarawa's siblings - to run away and escape from it if they could. The video of Tarawa's talk became widely popular online following its upload to YouTube. Stories of child abuse, rape, and other forms of cruelty and subjugation also emerged from other former members. On March 29th, it was reported that members of the Gloriavale community were failing to comply with lockdown procedures amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, with reports that childcare at community-run daycare centres, lessons at community-run schools, and meetings were all continuing despite social distancing measures. Police forces within the area have since confirmed that they are working with Gloriavale in order to ensure that members of its community abide by lockdown restrictions.
