1. THE FIRST FLEET, 1788

At this time, the Grand Lodge of Ireland issued travelling warrants to certain men-o-war and Army Regiments going overseas.Undoubtedly among the members of the First Fleet and accompanying NSW Corps there would have been Freemasons. In 1797 Bros. George Black, Peter Farrell and George Kerr (Privates)wrote to the G.L. of Ireland asking for a lodge warrant to be held within the NSW Corps. The G. L. of Ireland deferred any action and the matter does not seem to have been raised again.

2. LODGE ST.JOHN No.1 NORFOLK ISLAND

This lodge had been in existence before 1800. On August 16, 1801 Bro. Geo. Hales was buried in Norfolk Island. His tombstone indicates he was a member of Lodge St. John. This is the oldest headstone containing Masonic emblems known in Australia.In December 1807, authorities in England directed that the Norfolk Island settlement be transferred to Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania). We have no record of whether this lodge was able to continue in its new location or not.

3. FIRST MASONIC CERTIFICATE

In 1802, A French ship, “Le Naturalist” was anchored in Port Jackson, apparently holding a travelling warrant from the Grand Orient. In a shipboard ceremony the lodge received into Freemasonry Captain Anthony Fenn Kemp, of Sydney. His certificate dated September 17, 1802 is still extant.

It is worthy of note that at this point of time in history Great Britain and France were actually at war !!!

7. IRISH LODGES

On August 12, 1820, under the auspices of Lodge 218. The Australian Social Lodge, 260, Irish Constitution, was consecrated with Matthew Bacon installed as W.M. This was Australia’s first lodge, meeting in the Golden Lion Tavern, next to King’s Wharf. Some contend that Lodge 227 may have instituted negotiations for this as early as 1816. Lodge 260 was responsible for forming, besides other lodges in N.S.W., two in Hobart and one in Auckland. It is now Lodge Antiquity, No.1 United Grand Lodge of N.S.W. & A.C.T.

8. ENGLISH LODGES

In 1828 the Lodge of Australia, 820 English Constitution, was opened in Sydney. It is now Lodge Australia. No.3, United Grand Lodge of N.S.W. & A.C.T.

9. SCOTTISH LODGES

Although a Scottish Lodge had been established in Port Phillip (Melbourne) in 1844, it was not until 1851 that a Scottish Lodge, St. Andrews 358, was formed in Sydney. Besides being responsible for forming other lodges in N.S.W. it established lodges in Brisbane, Launceston, Auckland and Melbourne. It is now No.7 on the register of the United Grand Lodge of N.S.W. & A.C.T.

10. ADMINISTRATION

Provincial Grand Masters were appointed as follows: English 1839; Scottish 1856 and Irish 1857. Later, the English and Scottish designated their officers as “District Grand Master.”

13. FREEMASONRY IN THE NEW ENGLAND

The minutes of the Lodge of Australia (see para 8) of Tuesday, April 9, 1850, record that “the Worshipful Master directed a. meeting of emergency to be called for this day week to install the Worshipful Master and Officers of the new lodge to be formed at Armidale.”

The new Lodge of Unity (now No.6 on the register of the U.G.L. of N.S.W.) held its first meeting on November 13, 1850.

Twenty-five years later it sponsored the Glen Innes Lodge, no. 1569 in the English Constitution, and Glen Innes brethren in turn sponsored the formation of the Inverell Lodge in 1876 (1652 Eng. Const.) and the Tenterfield Lodge in 1877 (1727 Eng. Const.)

"THE GENESIS OF AUSTRALIAN FREEMASONRY"

The above article was published in a historic booklet pruduced by Lodge Glen Innes No.44 in 1975. The article was written by R.W.Bro. E.L.Green (Tamworth). Lodge Inverell No.48 was established in 1876 soon after Lodge Glen Innes.

WHAT IS FREEMASONRY ?

Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest and largest fraternal societies. It provides a code of living in today’s society based on moral and ethical standards.

Freemasonry is an organisation of men who strive to live by the fundamental principles of integrity, goodwill and charity. It is a non-profit organisation that is heavily involved in supporting charity and community service.

Freemasonry is an organisation that unifies men of high ideals, regardless of colour, creed or worldly status.

The first Grand Lodge was established in England in 1717 and thereafter Freemasonry spread rapidly throughout the world. Freemasonry has been practiced in Australia since the early 19th Century and it is thought that the first Freemason to set foot on Australia soil was Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist on Cook’s voyage of discovery.

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Pdf: Thomas Carlyle

HENRY FORD (1863 - 1947)

Henry Ford was an American industrialist and business magnate. Founder of the Ford Motor Company he is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class.The introduction of the Ford Model T automobile in 1908 is credited with having revolutionized transportation and American industry. As the sole owner of the Ford Motor Company, Ford became one of the wealthiest persons in the world.He was also among the pioneers of the five-day work-week. Ford believed that consumerism could help to bring about world peace.

Pdf: The Henry Ford Story

Pdf: Henry Ford inventor, business man and Freemason

4. 1st MASONIC MEETING ON AUSTRALIAN SOIL

In 1802, Sir Henry Browne Hayes arrived here after an Irish court found him guilty of abduction and sentenced him to deportation to Botany Bay. Moreover his conduct aboard ship had been such that on arrival, he was sentenced to six months in gaol.

In 1803, H.M. Ships “Glatton” and “Buffalo” were in Port Jackson and apparently one of them possessed a travelling warrant. Hayes who had been initiated in Lodge Cork, 71 Irish Constitution on November 8, 1796 applied on May 6. 1803 as the representative of all Masons concerned for permission to hold a Masonic meeting on shore. Governor King refused, but the meeting was held in the O’Connell Street home of Sgt Thomas Whittle (also a: first fleeter”). However, the Governor learned that his orders had been disregarded, and ordered that the meeting be raided, so that it did not actually end in Peace, Love and Harmony!. Those who did not escape (incl. Hayes) spent the night in gaol.

5. MILITARY LODGES

The 46th and 48th Regiments each possessed travelling warrants, being respectively numbers 227 and 228 Irish Constitution. The 46th was in Sydney from 1814-1817 and the 48th from 1817-1823 and would have held lodge meetings.

6. THE FIRST PUBLIC MASONIC CEREMONY IN AUSTRALIA

On November 2, 1816, Lodge 227 organised the laying of a foundation stone in due and ancient form of Capt. John Piper’s (see para 2) house at Elizabeth Point. Thirty-two Masons, including Bro. John Oxley, participated.

11. GRAND LODGE OF N.S.W.

Following two abortive attempts (1847 and 1872) to form a Grand Lodge, eleven lodges (7 Scottish and 4 Irish) formed themselves in to the Grand Lodge of New South Wales and on December 3 1877, the Hon. James Squire Farnell, formerly Provisional Grand Master of the Irish lodges of N.S.W. and one-time Premier of N.S.W. was installed as G.M. The move was ill-received by the lodges of the Mother-land, all of whom withheld recognition, although most other Grand Lodges of the world recognised it. By 1884 the remaining N.S.W. Irish lodges has either joined the N.S.W. G.L. or had surrendered their charters, so Irish Freemasonry here ceased to exist. However, the Grand Lodges of England and Scotland still continued to refer to the new body as the “unrecognised and so-called Grand Lodge of N.S.W.” Any English or Scottish Mason found guilty of visiting a lodge chartered by the new grand lodge was expelled from the Craft and in 1885 a local newspaper reported that “the Freemasons of N.S.W. have been kicking up a bit of bobbery amongst themselves lately. They may be divided into two parties, and they abuse each other like ordinary Christians.”

12. THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF N.S.W.

On December 12, 1885, Lord Carrington, Past Grand Warden of of the Grand Lodge of England took up his appointment as Governor of N.S.W. Beginning within the English lodges, there grew a movement to establish a united grand lodge, which was consummated on September 18, 1888, when the Grand Master of South Australia installed Lord Carrington as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales. In the presence of 4,417 brethren.

This United Grand Lodge comprised of some 180 lodges (reduced by amalgamations to 176), (English 76, Scottish 54 and N.S.W. 49); the total membership was about 6,000.

HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY IN GREAT BRITAIN

It is well known, that from very early times guilds or companies of craftsmen such as carpenters, builders, blacksmiths, etc., existed in the community. In the middle-ages these merchants guilds became very well organised. They admitted apprentices, and gave charters of proficiency to their members. Each year on Corpus Christi day each guild used to parade and present a teaching play in the streets.

The Guild of Masons (or builders) differed from all the others: whereas, for example, the blacksmith would ply his trade in his own town, the mason frequently had to travel long distances, even to the other end of the country, to engage in his work. Arrived at his destination, the mason had to prove to his employer that he was a mason and, he also had to prove how proficient he was, i.e., he had to prove his rank in the guild from which he came. This he did by showing that he was in possession of certain secrets which he learned from his guild. Naturally the Guild, or Craft, at first contained only Operative Masons (i.e. builders), but from the sixteenth century, Speculative Masons (i.e. non-builders), were admitted, and as time progressed Masonry became entirely Speculative.

A party foreign masons is believed to have come from Italy for the purpose of building the Monastery of Kilwinning and to have founded there the first regularly constituted Lodge in Scotland. The date commonly assigned to the building of the Abbey is 1140. At about this period the Pope created corporations and fraternities of masons, endowing them with certain privileges and immunities, his object being to encourage the emigration of Italian artists capable of erecting structures in the Gothic style.

According to the Halliwell Manuscript, or Regius Poem, probably written in the second quarter of the fifteenth century, the birth of organised English masonry occurred when King Athelstan convened a grand council of the mason's trade. Later manuscripts added detail, and by the time of Queen Elizabeth I the assembly was acknowledged to have occurred in York in 926. It was convened by Athelstan's youngest son, Edwin. This is referred to as the York Legend, or the Legend of the Guild.

FREEMASONS WORKING TOOLS

A box containing Fremasonry working tools, was presented to Lodge Inverell No 48 in 1898.

The symbolism of a Freemasons working tools evolved in ages past when, in the absence of written language, lessons were taught and transferred by relating important messages to the elementary tools used in everyday life. The 24-inch gauge, the common gavel and chisel were such tools from which teachings of conduct and morality are believed to have evolved.

The 24-inch gauge or two foot rule was the earliest instrument of measurement from which both distance and time were determined the 12 hours of the day and the 12 hours of the night. The lesson from this division of time is that it must not be wasted, it cannot be evaded and it must be used to best advantage in achieving the ultimate purposes of Life. Thus the 24-inch gauge symbolises the objective use of our time and how we appropriate and apportion time between our daily duties of work, prayer, meditation and rest. The Working Tools within the symbolism of the working tools of the Entered Apprentice lays the intellectual and spiritual foundation of our Craft. The 24-inch gauge is the first of three working tools that are explained to the Entered Apprentice Freemason.

Pdf: Working Tools - AD1898