Inside Gloriavale: Judge's visit offers rare glimpse into life for women inside religious community
Friday, 24 February 2023
In a windowless kitchen with concrete floors and walls, stands a young woman on a step holding a large paddle with both hands, stirring a stainless steel vat of macaroni-and-cheese – enough to feed 600 people.
There’s another, smaller, vat for gluten-free meals.
In the same room, four other young women wash fruit in steel drums filled with water, before drying them with tea towels.
In a side room, two others are making cheese, using buckets and cheese cloths.
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Another girl feeds homemade bread into a slicing machine. Two girls bake chocolate muffins, while another opens biscuit packets.
“Sorry, I’m not used to doing this in front of so many people,” says the woman with the paddle, nervous to have a contingent of media, lawyers, a judge and court staff visiting her community.
The visitors are at Gloriavale as part of an Employment Court case centred around six women who argue they should have been recognised as employees, not volunteers, for the domestic work they did for years at the Christian community on the West Coast.
The case, which began in August and reconvened in February, is in its seventh week. Plaintiffs Virginia Courage, Pearl Valor, Serenity Pilgrim, Rose Standtrue, Anna Courage and Crystal Loyal say women in Gloriavale were made to work long hours in “slave-like” conditions from as young as 6 or 7, and several witnesses have told the court about inappropriate sexual behaviour by men living in Gloriavale.
Several current members have given evidence saying the complainants exaggerated the long working hours and alleged harsh working conditions.
An Employment Court case last year ruled that three former Gloriavale male workers were employees, who should be paid at least minimum wage, instead of being treated as volunteers while working at the community’s commercial businesses.
Chief Judge Christina Inglis and media visited the community on Friday to get a first-hand glimpse of the evidence presented in the women’s court case so far.
Guiding the tour was Purity Valor, who works in the sewing room and her husband, Samuel Valor, who is a shepherd (leader).
As well as the young women at work, the kitchen has rows of ovens, deep fryers, a commercial dishwasher and large plastic drying racks.
In the laundry, a young woman is emptying one dryer while five others hum loudly.
And in the small, hot and windowless ironing room, about four young women are ironing shirts before hanging them on racks, or adding them to boxes labelled with the names of community members.
These are women who might, in another context, be studying at university, going on dates or backpacking around the world.
Instead, they are on a four-day roster of cooking, cleaning, food preparation and laundry.
But this is not a commercial operation, according to Gloriavale. Rather, it says it is voluntary work to serve the community according to their religious beliefs.
The bright sewing room, with views of the valley, is more pleasant. It has 27 sewing machines, patterns on the walls, large tables for cutting fabric and instructions including “standards” for baby attire, shirts and more. The only woman sewing on Friday is a white-haired woman who says: “I’m enjoying myself.”
In the dining room, news articles about the Employment Court case, Cyclone Gabrielle and the Kaipara mayor who banned a karakia are hanging up.
Then it’s off the school, where the teachers are unpaid. Dove Love, who featured in a Gloriavale-endorsed documentary, is in a room doing art with some children.
Three of the six plaintiffs – Pearl Valor, Anna Courage and Virginia Courage – have returned to their former home for the visit. Valor’s shorts and blazer, and Anna Courage’s shaved pink hair, are a stark contrast to the Gloriavale women’s flowing blue dresses and headscarves.
The property itself is stunning, with huge lawn, children on playgrounds, views over the lake. But the buildings are dated and somewhat rundown, except for the recently-constructed school, where boys and girls are learning how to make muffins.
The delegation is offered fizzy apple drink as well as gluten-free brownie and fruit cake.
As the tour ends, after more than two hours, Samuel Valor offers to “talk shop” with the judge, but she declines, so he simply thanks the delegation for coming.
“I hope you enjoyed yourselves,” he says.