Herbert Money (29 November 1899 - 9 January 1996) was a Christian educator. He was involved with the Evangelical church in Peru and throughout South America. He worked in Peru for 40 years and was known variously as 'The General' or 'The King'.
Biography
Early life in Australia and New Zealand
Herbert Money was the eldest son of Edwin and Mary Money, and was born in Queensland, Australia, on 29 November 1899. He moved with his family to Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1904.
Money's parents had been officers in The Salvation Army and he became a Christian early in his life. Around the age of eight he was enrolled as a junior soldier of The Salvation Army in the old barracks of the SA Christchurch City Corps. Between 1910 and 1918, the family worshipped at Oxford Terrace Baptist Church. In 1918, the family moved again, to worship at Richmond Mission.
After a year as a day student at the Christchurch Technical College, he left school at the age of 15 to contribute to the family income. He spent two years with Turnbull and Jones, a firm of electrical engineers, and then joined the staff of T H Green's wholesale grocers for two years. He was determined to pursue a higher education and, while continuing with daytime employment, successfully compressed a year of full-time study into a year of night study. In 1920, he matriculated and became a probation teacher at Christchurch East Primary School.
In 1921, Money entered Teachers' Training College and Canterbury University College. In 1924, he wrote the thesis for his MA degree. His mentor was Professor James Shelley. The following year he gained diplomas in education and social science.
From 1924 he served on the staff of Christchurch Technical College until his departure for Peru in 1927.
Early influences
In 1926, the renowned missionary Dr John R Mott visited university colleges in New Zealand under the auspices of the Student Christian Movement seeking missionaries for the continent of Asia. As Money wished to go to South America, Dr Mott put him in touch with Dr John A Mackay. In 1917, Mackay, supported by the Free Church of Scotland, had founded Colegio Anglo Peruano, a school for boys in Lima, Peru. In 1942, the school name was changed to Colegio San Andrés.
Money's interest in South America was inspired by the testimonies of Frederick B Glass, whom he met in 1925, and of George Allan, a New Zealander and founder of the Bolivian Indian Mission, whom he met in 1926. Both wrote in Money's personal autograph album. Glass completed his words of encouragement with a quote from Carlyle: ‘Choose well, your choice is brief but eternal [is brief and yet endless]'. Mackay, who had by then been appointed by the YMCA to be secretary-at-large for South America, passed on Money's name to the Free Church of Scotland. The church was looking for someone with his qualifications, and since none could be found in Scotland he was offered a position on the staff of the college.
Work in Peru
Netta Kemp
When Money arrived in Peru on 2 August 1927, he considered his chances of finding a life partner to be slim (his own words), but within a few days he was to meet Janet "Netta" Kemp, the only female teacher in Colegio Anglo Peruano. Within two months of their meeting the couple announced their engagement. Reverend J Calvin Mackay officiated their wedding on 11 January 1928 in Cajamarca. According to Spanish custom, she became known as Netta Kemp de Money. Both were fluent in Spanish and enjoyed their teaching ministry. Unfortunately they were unable to have children.
John Mackay
Mackay firmly believed that a missionary, particularly one engaged in educational work, should immerse himself in the life of the country and become as familiar as possible with its history, politics, sociology and culture. In the academic world of Peru a doctoral degree was expected of a person appointed to be the principal or vice-principal of a large school. Mackay had qualified for a doctorate in philosophy in 1918, the first Anglo-Saxon to do so from the University of San Marcos. Over the ensuing years six other members of the college staff followed his example.
Peruvian qualifications
In the 1920s, the bachelor's degree was, for most students, a prelude to law or medical studies. There was no master's degree. For a doctorate a subject could be chosen in the fields of history, letters or philosophy. The course required the study of a wide range of topics followed by the submission of a thesis in consultation with a professor. Money was determined to follow Mackey’s example and immerse himself in local study.