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Granddaughter defends Gloriavale leader’s reputation

Marine Lourens

The granddaughter of Gloriavale leader Howard Temple has come out in support of him, saying he does not have a reputation in the community for acting inappropriately.

Joanna Courage, 23, gave evidence about life in the West Coast Christian community in the Employment Court yesterday.

The case centres on six former Gloriavale residents who argue they should have been recognised as employees, not volunteers, for the domestic work they did for years at the religious sect.

Courge spoke at length about how much she enjoyed living at Gloriavale and how everything she did was by choice, not because she was forced to do so. She said communal living and sharing of material things was fundamental to their way of living.

‘‘The Bible says you need to put down what you want and share, and give everything if you are going to live for Christ. It is not the leaders who say this, it is the Bible.’’

Courage took aim at several allegations made by the plaintiffs in the case, saying they were untrue, or at least not her experience.

This included claims that single girls were often the target of unwanted attention or affection from older men in the community, including Temple.

Plaintiff Crystal Loyal earlier told the court she recalled being between 8 and 10 years old and serving Temple’s table. ‘‘When you served his table in the morning, he’d put his arm around your waist, kiss your neck, and touch your bum. A lot of the older men thought this was their right with the young girls,’’ she said.

Another plaintiff, Rose Standtrue, earlier said she had experienced and had seen other girls being touched inappropriately by men while they were working.

‘‘Even as a little girl we were told by other girls and older women to keep our distance from Howard Temple so he wouldn’t grope our legs when we were serving at the table. He still tried to pull me closer to him by my dress and I couldn’t always avoid him.’’

Courage denied this was the case. ‘‘We were not told by older ladies to keep our distance from Howard Temple and he would not grope our legs,’’ she said.

‘‘He may have put his arm around your shoulder or waist and say thank you when you served him or gave him something. He would often ask [the girls] if they cared about him doing it. On a few occasions, girls had told him they didn’t like it, so he stopped. He was always respectful of girls. Howard is well respected. He does not have a reputation in the community for acting inappropriately.’’

Courage said some people who left Gloriavale might think she was given preferential treatment because she is Temple’s granddaughter, but she did not believe that was the case. ‘‘I would say that my granddad was tougher on me than any other girl because he expected more of me.’’

Courage became emotional several times during her testimony and was given breaks to compose herself.

‘‘The men in our community are a blessing and do everything they can to make sure we have what we need, to make sure the work isn’t overwhelming, the machinery is fixed and that we aren’t getting too tired.’’

Meanwhile, another Gloriavale resident, Compassion Standtrue, 20, admitted under crossexamination earlier yesterday that there were men in the community who ‘‘don’t behave in a proper Christian manner’’ but she did not think there were many.

The hearing continues.

News

en-nz

2022-09-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282278144210533

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