Freemason NEW ZEALAND
Issue 1 (Vol. 43), March 2015
www.freemasons.co.nz
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IN THIS ISSUE
Editorial 2
22
Hot news 3 From the Grand Master 4 2015 an Important Year
News clips 6 OPINION Communicate Cooperate Coordinate 8
The Grand Installation 22
Letters to the Editor 9
Daisy Readers for the Blind 23
FREEMASONS IN ACTION Ohaeawai Community Preschool 10
EDUCATION Anzac Day 24 The Ancient and Accepted Rite of Freemasonry 26
Community Engagement in Rangiora 11 Gastronomic funding for Ruth 11
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New IRB helping save lives at Piha Beach 12 Variety is the spice of life 12 Carterton organisations getting behind Plunket 13 Northland’s Project Promise 13 125TH ANNIVERSARY
Present and past 14 Call to action and some history
Installing Master’s address on the reasons for the formation of Grand Lodge in 1890 16
How many Freemasons does it take to change a lightbulb? 27 A Master Mason’s View of his Self Organised Discussion Group 27
In the great outdoors or scouting around! 30 Baden Powell Lodge installation
Freemasons Foundation 32 A rising star: Edward Laurenson 34
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The ‘New Zealandness’ of Heartland Bank 35 A Capital Home for Freemasonry 36 Wellington Freemasons Centre Masonic Villages Trust 38
Founding Lodges celebrating 125 years 17 HEALTH PILLARS
Communications 18 We are listening
Charity 19
The Good News Story: Participation is the key Freemasons Toolbox 20 Our Scottish Night with the Scots 21
Diabetes 40
New Zealand’s fastest growing health epidemic
The body of Masonry 42 REGULARS
Royal Arch 43 New initiates 46 The back page 48
Service Awards 49 Cover picture: Lake Wanaka Bay, by Chris Counsell / Flickr
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FREEMASONS NEW ZEALAND Level 6, Freemasons House 195–201 Willis Street Te Aro, Wellington 6011 PO Box 6439, Marion Square Wellington 6141 New Zealand Ph: +64 4 385 6622 Fax +64 4 385 5749 Email: secretary@freemasons.co.nz editor@freemasons.co.nz www.freemasons.co.nz
FROM THE EDITOR Outside the Square
The New Zealand Freemason is the official journal of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of New Zealand. Unless otherwise indicated, the opinions expressed and the advertising content are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy of Grand Lodge. Articles appearing in this journal may be reproduced without permission provided acknowledgement of the source is made and a copy of the publication is forwarded to the Grand Secretary. Queries or comments regarding subscription or distribution should be addressed to secretary@freemasons.co.nz or the Chief Executive PO Box 6439, Marion St. Wellington 6141. Queries and comments regarding content and advertising should be addressed to the Editor. Contributions to the magazine, preferably in electronic form (e.g. MS Word documents) are greatly appreciated and should be of interest to a wide audience. Photographs should be high quality, preferably in jpg or tiff format. Contributions may be edited in order to fit space available and to achieve overall balance. Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words. A guidance sheet for preparation of publishable material is available on request from the Editor. Contributions should be forwarded to editor@freemasons. co.nz Freemasons NZ contributions to Duane Williams, editor@freemasons.co.nz Royal Arch contributions to Geoff Davies, merlin81@xtra.co.nz Magazines are distributed in March, June, September and December. The deadlines for contributions are the first day of February, May, August and November Layout by Bartlett Projects, Wellington Printed by Wickliffe (NZ) Ltd. Copyright © 2015 Freemasons NZ
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015 will give us many opportunities to think and act ‘outside the square’, a term coined in the ’70s and ’80s by management consultants, but one which I always thought might or should have had masonic connotations. As Freemasons are we thinking outside that square which is the tessellated pavement, the Tracing Board, the Lodge rooms, the hectare (or part thereof) it sits on … thinking outside the Street or the Suburb and even outside our organisation? If not, then we should be! 125 years by any standard is a good measure of the longevity of an organisation in New Zealand, with Freemasonry itself going back nearly 300 years. We have had 125 years of good friendships, good stories, good works and a good contribution, more than likely unsung, to what has made New Zealand the country it is. We need to again get noticed as a worthwhile institution. It appears that we have fallen off the radar in New Zealand and that for the majority New Zealanders we are out of their collective memory. The 125th Anniversary is a possible springboard for us to correct that. Can we showcase a modern, forward thinking, fun and exciting proposition that is ‘Freemasons New Zealand’ to men and their partners in our local communities? We can, if each one of us takes up the challenge and takes a few good men along with us … enthusiasm will always overcome all adversities. If we really make the effort to get back to our roots and immerse ourselves in the communities from which we sprang, then there is the very real possibility that we can celebrate our 200th Anniversary as well. We need to engage with our communities or re-engage with them and in addition build on that engagement by thinking outside the square. What are you doing to celebrate 125 Years of Freemasons New Zealand and engaging your community in that celebration? Perhaps purchasing a Daisy Reader for the Blind and making contact with a Blind Group locally in a shared activity, celebrating your Lodges special Anniversary and that of the 125th with your community, an 125th Street Party with your families, friends and the community or partnering two likeminded organisations in a joint community project – the power of three, etc. This issue contains articles on the 125th Anniversary in 2015, the tradition of Anzac Day, other masonic orders, more useful resources and information from the Pillar Committees and the very first outdoor Installation, amongst an array of articles, which as Freemasons we need to share with ourselves and more importantly with our partners, our families and our friends. The magazine is more a way of lifting the public consciousness about Freemasonry in New Zealand and encouraging our brethren than it is a tool for possible membership. VWBro Duane Williams, MBE, JP, CLJ, P Dist GM Picture: Editor with the original and current Grand Lodge Coats of Arms.
HOT NEWS Serving a local need
Lodge Te Puni organises a variety show to fund bladder scanners On Wednesday 5th March members of Lodge Te Puni presented two bladder scanners to theDivisional CEO of the Hutt Valley District Health Board. 2015 Conferences Can you come up This withwas a the result of a fundraising effort by the combined Lodges of the Huttmasonic Valley. caption? different Promotional adverts for your Divisional Conference can be found in this magazine with details for each. The conferences will be an enjoyable, fun and fruitful time for you and your partner. The Southern Division Conference has had a change of date from 5–6th June to 26–27th June 2015. Elsewhere, the Grand Master has challenged his Divisional Grand Masters and their respective District Grand Masters to get at least 50% of participants as Master Masons at this year’s Divisional Conferences. Lodges can help them with this challenge by providing more than a Lodge delegate.
Entries to editor@freemasons.co.nz. The first ten picked will receive a small prize.
W. Bro TR McKenzie, Master of Lodge Te Puni, with W. Bro Ray Keenan presenting Graham Dyer, Hutt Valley DHB CEO with one of the two portable bladder scanners, looking on is Pete Chandler Hutt Valley DHB COO. BELOW A bladder scanner.
Freemasons Travelling Museum
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couple of Lodge members’ immediate family, who work for the DHB, had indicated that staff were fund raising for equipment that was in short supply for their Patients. The nurses of Mapu Unit and the Community Health Services had started selling cakes and undertaking other fundraising efforts to 125th Anniversary Cups purchase a bladder scanner. These 125th Cups The special members then Anniversary brought the Units’ are still available for $22 for a set of plight to the Lodges and a numbertwo of cups. Orders be placed through the Brethren alsocan indicated that they had Freemasons New Zealand been hospitalised recently website. and hadThe to offer to hasbecome been wait for the only scanner extended to 30th available for their treatment. April 2015 only.a Lodge Te Puni decided to hold of Variety Show to raise Get fundsato piece complete history and have the purchase of at least one bladdera cuppa too! scanner. WBro Ray Keenan approached many talented artists both within the
Craft and outside, including his very own successful singing son and his Group, ‘The Auzzie Boys.’ A plethora of acts was assembled, from juggling, dancingfor (ballroom, New name one of rock-n-roll, traditional major masonic charities Polish), musical acts and One ofthe ourpiping major in masonic charitieswith The even of a Haggis Freemasons Roskill Foundation has the traditional address. Audience changed its name the Freemasons participation was toencouraged and, Foundation. See details on about the during intermission, food and drink was Freemasons Foundation on their pages available for purchase. 32 Along & 33 inwith this magazine. some very sought after prizes for raffles, the support for the show was outstanding. The money raised on the night was, with the help of The Freemasons Charity, able to purchase two bladder scanners valued at over $13,000.00 each.
Lodges may want to use the Travelling Museum to promote the 125th Anniversary and freemasonry in their local area. They should liaise with their local museum to ascertain if they want to feature the display during this significant milestone of freemasonry in New Zealand for the general public. We Asaalways it curator was a tight knit liaises team, have museum who then encompassing members of the Lodges with the local museum itself. Contact from the Hutt Valley, wives and partners, secretary@freemasons.co.nz. and the nurses from the DHB that made this occasion the success it was. Thanks Snippets are due for the support of local businesses, individuals andthetheGrand performers along Diana Litton, with Thewife, Freemasons Charity for help Masters writes these in providing necessary snippets on a such regular basis equipment for the health and wellbeing wives and partners (and of the wider community. the men too!) so to get onto McKenzie the contact list sendWBro yourMac email address to diana.litton@freemasons.co.nz.
Seize good photo opportunities, concentrate on ‘action’ not ‘satisfaction’, get names for captions, make notes. If media comes ensure that they are looked after and opportunities set up.
Act quickly to spread the word, send press release and captioned high resolution photo, focussing on a newsworthy aspect to local media, district and divisional newsletter and NZ Freemason.
AFTER
Ensure someone is responsible for publicity, arrange for a photographer, plan photographs, involve recipients and find a hook that would interest local media.
DURING
BEFORE
Publicity for your community events – 3 steps
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THE GRAND MASTER
2015: A TIME FOR CELEBRATION
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iana and I do hope you have all enjoyed the Festive Season, the summer weather and holidays. For us it has been really special with many family birthdays in January. This year was exceptional as we held one big birthday party at which all of our children, their partners and grandchildren attended. I have always been fascinated by history and particularly anniversaries. 2015 will see many anniversaries celebrated. Some of those occurring are: • 180th anniversary of Charles Darwin leaving New Zealand after a nineday visit • 175th anniversary of the first European settlers arriving in Wellington • 160th anniversary of New Zealand’s first postage stamps going on sale • 100th anniversary of New Zealand troops landing at Gallipoli • And of course our own 125th anniversary of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand. Our anniversary is an opportunity for all Lodges to organise ways to celebrate
this achievement and engage with their communities. At the Grand Installation I announced that The Freemasons Charity had agreed to make available $5000 to each District towards a community project. I am delighted to congratulate Northland, Auckland West, Pegasus and Canterbury and the Westland Districts who have all completed valuable community projects and raised
GRAND MASTER’S VISITS Mar 2
Blind Foundation 125th Anniversary, Government House, Wellington
Mar 6-8
Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of NZ, Napier. Annual Convocation and Installation of RE Companion Geoffrey Davies
Apr 8
Anzac Ceremony at United Forces Lodge No. 245, Wigram, Christchurch
Apr 15–21
Grand Lodge of South Australia & Northern Territory, Adelaide. Grand Installation of RWBro Stephen Eugene-Paul Michalak GM Elect
May 2
Northern Division Conference, Hamilton
May 17
Central Division Conference, Masterton
May 24
Meeting with Northern Division District GM’s and Divisional GM, Auckland
May 25
3rd Degree for Distinguished Professor Richard Faull at Lodge of the Liberal Arts No. 500, Auckland
Jun 13–14
Freemasons University Scholarships at Cardboard Cathedral, Christchurch and 125th Anniversary Celebrations, Christchurch
Jun 27
Southern Division Conference, Christchurch (Revised date)
Aug 6–10
Grand Lodge of New South Wales & Australian Capital Territory, Sydney. Grand Installation & Associated Activities
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considerable additional funds to add to the $5000 from The Freemason Charity. Other Districts have advised that they will be utilising the $5000 in community projects during 2015, (some are well advanced in their projects), which is great news. Can I just add a reminder in that the $5000 should be kept intact for one major project and my expectation was and is that the District (or Lodges) will raise additional funds to match or exceed the $5000. Do not let this opportunity pass by and do nothing! The Freemasons Charity is organising a National Project to tie in with the Blind Foundation (which is also celebrating its 125th anniversary), the goal is to provide 125 ‘Daisy’ players as part of our respective 125th Anniversaries. The Blind Foundation holds a library of CDs containing books, stories and articles. A ‘Daisy’ player enables a blind or visually impaired person to ‘read’ a book and is required in order for the CDs to be properly used. Currently there are only a limited number of Daisy players available. Each ‘Daisy’ player costs $500 and we are requesting Lodges to make a donation of $500 to The Freemasons Charity as a special one-off collection designed specifically for the Daisy player project. The cut-off date for donations will be June this year. (More information
on this project is contained in this issue.) Christchurch has been selected for Grand Lodge to hold its 125 year celebrations during the weekend of 13 and 14 June. Planning is under way with Christchurch being selected because the first Grand Master was resident in this area and in fact was at one stage a Mayor of Christchurch. More will be published as details are finalised. I would like to draw to your attention to the value of attending your Divisional Conference. The dates for these have been fixed and are: Northern Division 2 May at Hamilton, Central Division 16 May at Masterton and Southern Division 26 June at Christchurch. The Conferences provide an opportunity to hear and talk to the Craft leaders. Partners are also encouraged to attend and I know Diana has forged many new friendships by attending the Conferences and the functions organised for the ladies. Much
of the discussions that take place guide the future direction of Freemasonry and it is very important for Lodge Masters and Wardens to be present. During my travels around the country last year many brethren expressed ideas and opinions about the Craft and I urge these brethren to attend their respective Conferences so that their ideas and views can be heard and discussed. I have also issued a challenge to the Divisional and District Grand Masters and Lodges that I want to see at least fifty percent of those attending Conferences to be Master Masons. The future guardians of the Craft will be the responsibility of many of these brethren and hence the importance of them giving input and taking part in the Conferences. If you have never attended a Conference before make sure you do so in our 125th year as I am sure you will find it a rewarding experience.
Don’t forget to also bring your partner. I am excited by the events that will be happening in 2015 but it will require everyone to get involved. So come and join me by being a participant and not a spectator! John Litton, Grand Master
From Diana — Greetings
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s John has said, the year definitely started on a high for us with all our family gathered together during and after Christmas. It was just great seeing all the little cousins getting to know each other and playing together. This year will be so special with so many anniversaries to commemorate in different ways and what a wonderful start we’ve had with such amazing weather in January! Even though the weather has been warmer the knitting hasn’t stopped and I have been fortunate to receive many more knitted items. I must make special mention of some gorgeous little dolls Barbara Jefferies has made. These are so cute, with removable
beanies which I am sure will be very valued by children suffering from cancer. Barbara has been very generous in sharing the pattern for these dolls so if anyone would like it, please email me at diana.litton@freemasons.co.nz. A Patriotic Call to Yarn: The National Army Museum is asking the general public to knit or crochet poppies to honour the NZ troops who fought for the country in WWI. They would like to have 18,166 poppies to form a cascading waterfall of poppies in the Museum’s memorial area, one poppy for each person lost in WWI. So far 5,500 poppies have been made but the organiser would like to reach the 18,166 target by the end of May. I have two simple knitting patterns available and another very attractive one with petals, all made using DK red wool and size 3¼ (10) needles, and two crochet patterns.. Please email me at the address above for the patterns. If everyone could knit just a few we would be able to provide a really good quantity to give to the Army Museum on behalf of the Freemasons of New Zealand. I will be delighted to
personally collect all the poppies at the Northern and Central Divisional Conferences in May and for those in the South Island, receive any my mail. So, please, ladies, get those needles clacking – and maybe, a few gentlemen might like to have a go, too! Otago Ladies have already started knitting poppies for their Settlers Museum which is featured elsewhere in the magazine. Last year was most enjoyable for me. I feel particularly grateful for the opportunity I had in being able to support John. His first year of office enabled me to meet many amazing people from all walks of life. Both of us have made some wonderful friends. There is wonderful feeling of companionship within the Freemason fraternity, of belonging to a large family and so many people have been outstanding in their warmth and friendship. I am very much looking forward to the next two years and meeting more amazing Freemasons and their partners and renewing friendships already made. Warm regards, Diana. 5
NEWS CLIPS
The New Zealand Freemason magazine is available electronically to all members and can be download by scanning the QR on front cover, or from the Freemasons New Zealand Website or by going to Issuu with this link issuu. com/fmnz they also have several mobile App options. Issuu carry a vast array of magazines and publications from around the world including other Freemasons jurisdictions. www.issuu.com Visit to get the mobile app.
Anzac Day We know that some Lodges (especially those with a defence background or a tradition for the same) incorporate an Anzac Ceremony into their meeting closest to Anzac Day and that other Lodges participate in the Wreath Laying Ceremony at local Anzac Day Services and yet another has produced a special WW100 Anzac Masonic pin. What is your Lodge doing?
2015 provides us with a unique opportunity to engage with our local communities during our 125th Anniversary and the 100th Anniversary of Anzac. Perhaps an ongoing commitment to the day is the way for us as Freemasons to go.
The Wellington Masonic Youth Trust Inc. (WMYT) Supporting, in conjunction with Lodges, young people in the greater Wellington Region. Lodges should contact the Secretary WBro Bob Lancaster on 04 577 2019 or email bobln@xtra.co.nz for more information and an application.
A partnership between Lodges, Youth and the Trust 6
What could your Lodge do?
• Arrange to buy an Anzac Poppy for every member of your Lodge (or their children or grand-children) and thereby make a contribution to the charitable aspects of the RSA. • Lay a Wreath on behalf of Freemasons at your local Anzac Day Service. • Support the Morning Tea/Social Function afterwards with a financial contribution or with people power as a way of getting partners, family and friends involved in a masonic activity for Anzac Day.
Correction to article of WW100 VCs It has been brought to our attention that a fifth Freemason was awarded a Victoria Cross (VC) during World War I. Like three of the others he got his VC first then became a Freemason. Namely, Brigadier Leslie Wilton Andrew VC, DSO — Master Mason as presented in a paper by WBro G J Davies PGD PM at The Research Lodge of Wellington No. 194 on September 11 2003.
• Conduct a joint charitable project with your local RSA, along the basis suggested in the Freemasons Toolbox, in the last issue of the magazine. • Revisit your Lodge accommodation – would the local RSA Premises make a good place for your Lodge to meet or vice versa! The New Zealand Freemason magazine would like to feature some reports on special activities associated with Anzac Day or WW100 in subsequent issues of the magazine in 2015.
A Light in the Darkness Given that in 2015 Freemasons New Zealand is assisting the Blind as part of our 125th Anniversary celebrations, it is interesting that the United Grand Lodge of England has a lodge Lux in Tenebris Lodge No. 3856 which is for blind Freemasons. The latin words mean ‘light in darkness’. It meets at Freemasons’ Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London and was founded in 1918.
NEWS CLIPS
New Year Honours List 2015
Ideas from ‘what do you do with your NZ Freemason Magazine?’
Freemasons New Zealand congratu lates Bro Sir Donald David Rowlands KNZM on being invested a Knight Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours List in 2015 by The Queen for services to Business and Rowing. Bro Donald is currently a member of Lodge Otahuhu No. 387 (and previously Lodge Panmure No. 393). He was awarded his 50 Year Service Badge in 2009.
Thanks to all who submitted ideas following on from the article in the previous issue of the magazine. What you do with your New Zealand Freemason magazine • Leave your copy in the pocket on an aircraft flight. • Drop a copy at a local café. • Leave a copy in your work reception area. • Leave copies in high traffic areas. For instance The Advance Mawhera Lodge leaves some in the Lodgeroom at Shantytown on the West Coast where it meets, which has over 200,000 visitors a year, or another example is at Freemasons Stand at national Fieldays in Hamilton.
• Leave a copy in hospital waiting areas or family meeting rooms. • Take a copy overseas and leave it behind. • Take a copy or copies to a non-masonic function that you might be presenting to or be a special guest at – to present or give away. • Load a PDF of the magazine onto your Lodge, District or Division website. • Leave a copy in your work reception area. • Leave a copy in the foyer area of an apartment block. • Drop a copy at local hairdressers. • Post a copy onto an MP, civic leader or a friend.
The Hokianga Lodge No. 69
Where in the world?
Hokianga Lodge, 44 Yarborough Street, Kohukohu, Hokianga, was sold and the proceeds returned to the Freemasons New Zealand Building Fund. The Lodge building became too expensive for the Lodge to maintain so they now take the car ferry across the Hokianga Harbour to Rawene and meet at the Community Hall there. A very sensible use of their limited financial resources and a great piece of community engagement which is putting Freemasons right in the middle of their local community.
In each issue of the magazine we would like to feature a photograph of the New Zealand Freemason magazine being displayed in some exotic location within New Zealand or Overseas proving Free masonry universal! Send your picture to editor@freemasons.co.nz showing where you and the magazine went! To kick this off here is the Editor in Honiara, Solomon Islands over Christmas/New Year holidays. He gave his copy to the CEO of Solomon Airlines who had expressed an interest.
Knitted Anzac Poppies for Otago The women from Lodge Roslyn Morning Star No. 192 have taken on the challenge from the Otago Settlers Association in conjunction with Toitu Otago Settlers
Mavis Thompson, WBro Errol Thompson, Jean Park.
Museum to contribute knitted poppies for Anzac Day. With the World War One Centenary coming up there will be a commemorative poppy for every Otago soldier in WW1 who lost his life. Suddenly the project became personal. Jean knitted one poppy then decided to knit one for each of her immediate family. This then expanded to include poppies made on behalf of all the women in the family who sent men away to fight, and finally included more to acknowledge the sisters who stayed at home and worked here as part of their war effort and who are seldom mentioned. Poppies now number over forty and are multiplying steadily. Women from
the coffee group have started knitting and now friends who have seen what we are doing are also taking it up. Afterwards there is the intention to make the poppies into a wall hanging for display. I am sure that the number of poppies that will be needed will be reached in plenty of time. 7
OPINION
Communicate Cooperate Coordinate
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hen I started my selling career with Arthur Yates & Co Ltd in 1976 I noticed most internal paperwork had the bottom line bold Communicate Cooperate Coordinate. At the time the National Sales Manager, Max Heron, was like me, a Jaycee, only he was a Senator and I was a Floor member and he actively encouraged me to participate in debating, public speaking and meeting procedure to assist my career which I did enjoyed and reaped the benefit of. Soon after this I married and my wife’s uncle asked me to join Freemasonry which I knew nothing about and which he stated ‘I would learn about as I went’! I also had an uncle who regularly came from Dunedin to Christchurch for ‘Lodge’ and when we asked mum what it was about were told ‘I don’t know but they wear white gloves and aprons’ so uninformed I did not join (a familiar story). At age 40, I became an exhausted rooster in Jaycees and put what I learned to practice with groups our two children were involved in, until they started doing their own thing and a void appeared in our lives. At this point, June 1994, thanks to a newspaper advert and my own curiosity I was initiated into The Crown Lodge No 138 where I have filled most chairs been Secretary for six years and Master four times. I am a P Dist GDC and involved in most community activities that occur. I find it is our communication that lets us down in the craft and that there is insufficient of it particularly to the general public who do not know or understand us. Also internally communication needs to improve to the membership. Each Lodge has a summons which varies in quality and content from one page informing of a meeting to a healthy newsy tabloid. In Canterbury and no doubt other areas we have ‘The Compass’ an electronic diary page informing all who receive it of activities including masonic meetings and socials and nationally we have the New Zealand Freemason magazine. In between and missing is District communication, which locally
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Gerald Robertson is a Past Master of The Crown Lodge No. 138 in Christchurch.
tends to be the Dist GM reply to his toast at installations. Currently if someone is organising a project email and Facebook are the distribution means. So how do we convey our message to the public to create awareness of our organisation in the community which will lead to membership enquiries that we tend to judge our success by? Persistence pays! We get sick of the same old ads on TV, radio, newspapers, junk mail etc. But marketing basics tell us that people need to be advised at least 4 times before making a decision which is why corporates are in your face all the time asking for your discretionary dollar. How often is Freemasonry exposed in public? Not often enough! Lions and Rotary take money from the public spend it and put a huge notice in the media advising how they spent our donations. Freemasons give themselves and tell themselves – so the public is not aware. We are in our 125th year as Freemasons New Zealand in this country and will be celebrating in many ways. I believe we need to be in the public view, not by boring them with open days at a lodge room that few if any public attend, but by taking our message to the public. We do like most organisations have dwindling membership so in my opinion we need to coordinate more and help each other. There are many
projects we read about afterwards and when speaking to brethren find they were short of manpower when a little communication would have overcome the challenge and seen several lodges cooperating. Last year three lodges who meet at the Shirley Freemasons Centre participated in Bunnings community programme with a community sale day and two sausage sizzle days where we could raise awareness and show happy Freemasons of all ages participating. We are repeating that again this year. In the adjoining residential area we regularly put out letterbox flyers and the week of our regular meeting we run an advert in the city wide free paper. If every lodge that meets in Christchurch and the environs did this also there would be an advert in every issue of The Star increasing our message instead of one lonely monthly advert. This coordinated campaign communicating to the public would gain their cooperation. Indeed it did at Christmas when the plight of a local widow was brought to our attention and The Freemasons Charity came to the fore with assistance. There is also the question of cooperation with sister constitutions who are also Freemasons. One of our Master Mason’s partner has joined another ‘masonic’ order that we regularly socialise with. The English Constitution has contributed financially to The Shirley Freemasons Centre and meets there but do we include them in any activity? Likewise the Scottish Constitution who meet at Ferrymead Historic Park and take a lead in public promotion days at the Lodgeroom there. It would appear not. Let them do their own thing is the cry. In this opinion piece I am talking locally from my own experiences, but this can be applied nationally. So brethren in my opinion if we Communicate our intentions, Cooperate with each other and Coordinate our activities we will work together – to build a better organisation of Fun, Fellowship and Freemasonry. Gerald Robertson
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Whispers from Gallipoli
Dear Editor
Dear New Zealand Brothers We are a Masonic Lodge in Ankara which goes by the name of Birlik Lodge No. 166 (which means Union). In April 2015 is the 100th Anniversary of the Gallipoli War between Anzac soldiers and Turkish Soldiers. In history there is no war with the same special feelings between two armies of brotherhood and opponents. We the Birlik Lodge are preparing very big exhibition for the Anniversary of the war and we also would like to invite you our Meeting on 17th March 2015 if you are in Turkey at the time. If you wish to come to Ankara please let us know. Here are my contact details +90 532 6280500 or email mehmetderici@gmail. com Mehmet Derici, Ankara, Turkey
For some time now there have been discussions in our Lodge around Rule 119 of the Book of Constitution whereby any monies accruing from the sale of real property are to be vested in Grand Lodge if a Lodge hands back its Charter. While our Lodge as such does not want to go against a Grand Lodge edict, individually some members feel strongly about it. Because of our relative isolation in the Far North and because another of our lodges closed its doors, we were wondering about the possibility of our lodge having to having to hand back its charter and the ramifications of Rule 119. Fortunately we have acquired some new members and so, at present, we are still looking at a few more years. Our discussions have been centred around the fact that our Lodge property was paid for by the hard work of our own brethren. All the money was raised locally and therefore we feel that it should be disposed of locally. Evidently it was the case in the previous times that lodges could dispose of their assets to local charities but the present rule was introduced because some lodges disposed of their finances to what Grand Lodge thought were inappropriate causes. Our members feel that they know their district better than anyone else and know where their benevolence would be best applied. It seems that at this present time Freemasonry has changed. We used to assist people in hard times but now it seems that we can only give when ‘there is something in it for us’. All done to achieve a higher public profile. In other words marketing! In sending this letter our object is to feel out the thinking of other lodges about the disposal of their buildings should they have to close their doors. Yours fraternally WBro Lesley C Still WBro Robert A Brown The Mangonui Kaitaia Lodge No 78
Editor’s note: letter slightly abridged and I am sure that this Lodge would be happy to receive visiting New Zealand Freemasons at any time.
A call from Vancouver Good morning. My name is Trevor from the Grand Lodge of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. We have just received a copy of your New Zealand Freemason magazine and were very interested in the Freemasons Toolbox in the December 2014 Issue. Would it be possible to get the Booklets on Lodge Planning, Education and the Plain English Guide to Freemasonry as well as the Freemasons Pin and the USB Stick. We have been considering some of these ideas for use in our Grand Lodge and would be happy to pay. Thanks. Trevor Editor’s note: For a week recently the Editor was the ‘Receptionist’ at Freemasons New Zealand when this call came in. Vancouver is 21 hours behind New Zealand. Needless to say the requested items have been dispatched at no cost as Freemasons New Zealand was happy to assist.
Response from the Chief Executive Laurence Milton.
Past generations of Freemasons collected funds for buildings in the name of Freemasonry and to use those funds to provide themselves with a place to meet. When money is collected for a specific purpose it is held in trust and we have an obligation to ensure that those funds are used and continue to be used for the purpose for which they were obtained. Therefore money from the sale of buildings needs to be used accordingly and that is in the provision of accommodation for Freemasons Lodges. For this reason Rule 119 is in the Book of Constitution. It allows for the proceeds of a building sale to remain in the Building Fund for use in Lodge building projects and preference is given to projects in Districts from which recent funds have been obtained. A majority of Lodges at a Grand Communication wanted Rule 119 and voted in favour of it. The Scheme of Distribution developed by the Lodge and Divisional Grand Master when a Lodge is closing allows for any residual funds, other than building sale proceeds, to be given away to local charitable projects or organisations. The majority of funds given away by Lodges and even The Freemasons Charity to individuals in hard times invariably go unsung as we endeavour to protect the recipient’s privacy. In the last year hardship grants to individuals and families from The Freemasons Charity alone amounted to $106,452.00. The amount given by individual Lodges directly to those in need is on top of this amount. Editor’s note: It is encouraging to note that the Mangonui Kaitaia Lodge has some membership prospects. I trust that everyone has read the Charity Review in the December issue. See the other articles from Northland in this issue.
9
FREEMASONS IN ACTION Ohaeawai Community Preschool: Lodge room recycled and then supported by Freemasons
T
he Charitable Trust purchased the Masonic Lodge building in December 2012 with the intention of converting it into a community based early childhood and early learning centre. The expectation was of minor modifications which turned out to be a much larger project ending in a total internal re-build, stripping and relining interior walls, completely rewiring the entire building to meet safety standards. They were also required to install a new septic system and not only fencing but also they were required to widen the road outside. There was no assistance available from the Trust for the upgrade. Costs increased considerably from the original expectations. But this group of very dedicated people were not to be defeated; their commitment was such as to be prepared to take personal responsibility for additional borrowings to allow the project to proceed. Nothing was going to stop their reaching their goal of providing rural children (from a depressed and isolated area) with the head start in life that they deserved, access to education.
Necessary road works were completed to enable the project to proceed but more funding was required so Principal Liz Owen made an approach to The Potter Masonic Trust. Once the Potter Trustees had the opportunity of viewing the very detailed application for support put before them they had no hesitation in unanimously approving a grant of $30,000. This allowed for settlement of the cost of earlier road work as well as further work required to make the facility fully safe for the children (and the staff). The existing windows in the building were set very high on the walls, adequate for the buildings original purpose but not as a child care centre. The funds also allowed for installation of a Ranch slider door and a deck allowing much more light into the interior of the building and allowing the children to see the external play areas. Liz Owen worked as an unpaid volunteer until the Trust could afford her salary while employing 6 teachers and a cook. Frederick Seymour Potter formed The Potter Masonic Trust to provide play areas for children of the Greater
Auckland area, no one could argue the suitability of this project and the Trustees were delighted to be able to offer support to such a worthy project. The Centre was officially opened in January this year, and Chairman of Trustees Mark Winger and Chief Executive of Freemasons New Zealand, Laurence Milton with his wife Sue were invited to attend along with local brethren. They were treated to an exhibition of art by the children and entertainment from local cultural groups and enjoyed an exceptional day.
Mark Winger, DepGM.
Ohaeawai Community Preschool.
10
Community Engagement in Rangiora One of the Pillars of the Strategic Direction is Community Engagement and The Ashley Lodge No. 28 took this idea on-board: We will use our recognised brand, culture, resources and experience to work within communities to promote understanding and acceptance of Freemasonry, our principles and aims. They participated in a community event organised by the North Canterbury Neighbourhood Support along with 26 other local groups in November 2014. The day commenced as a pleasant Canterbury spring morning and proceeded to go the way of many spring mornings in Canterbury – downhill! Sun turned to cloud and the wind rose to make standing around uncomfortable.
WBro Arthur Whitehead IPM, Bro John Scobie JD, Bro Mike Ward JW, WBro Norme Shore Secretary and Mrs Lesley Scobie. The photographer (and owner of the motorbike) was WBro Don Brightwell WM.
But Freemasons are a hardy and determined bunch and they stayed until the end. The numbers of the public attending was much lower that hoped for (no doubt due to the indifferent weather) but those attending did get to speak to many of the other group attendees and received many enquiries as to when they will commence
the re-build the membership base of the Lodge. The Ashley Lodge will continue to attend all and any local event to keep the flag flying and providing evidence of their active participation in the local community. This has to be a regular commitment, not just one off, as persistence of presence usually pays off.
work in the food industry, but this vast industry requires one to learn and gain much understanding of its complex mechanisms if one is to ever achieve within any of its multitudinal sectors. Ruth, however, suffers from dyslexia, a condition that has slowed her progress in education, and it has simply been through her foot-slogging battle wrestling with her problem that she finally achieved the NCEA results required to gain entry to Otago Polytechnic. Finally, with a little help from Freemasonry, she is on track toward a Bachelor of Culinary Arts degree. Although there are always multiple applications for this annual funding, the Foerg family must be a hard working lot because, in 2012, Ruth’s older sister, Sarah, was also successful in her presentation for the award, so this is a first for the Port Chalmers’ bursary. As a point of interest, Sarah Foerg, now in her third year of study for a degree in Interior Design, was top of her class this year. Born in 1996 at Starnburg, Germany,
Ruth Foerg became a New Zealand citizen in 2012. She now lives in Roseneath, Port Chalmers and she told us, ‘I have been interested in the culinary industry for a long time. Making food for others is not, for me, simply about nourishing people, but it is a way of pleasing people and making them happy. I enjoy seeing the delight on people’s faces when I present them with a dish that I have created. It is my way of forming new relationships and contributing to other people’s wellbeing.’ Thanking members of the Otago Masonic Charitable Trust (who administer the Port Chalmers’ Marine Lodge bursary), and VWBro Ashley Broad (who presented the cheque for $5,000), Ruth’s mother Raewyn Stedman, said that she was ‘very proud’ of her two daughters and their achievements, but also that she was ‘deeply grateful to the Freemasons who have helped to assist them both with their educational goals and to make a better future for themselves and for many others.’ Raewyn suggested that without the assistance of Masonic charity to relieve her burden the financing of her daughters’ further education may have been beyond her means.
Gastronomic funding for Ruth A day of erratic showers had mellowed to a pleasantly mild evening by the time the small reception of Masons from the four constitutions had gathered at the Dunedin Masonic Centre on February 3rd. The attendees witnessed the 9th presentation of the Port Chalmers’ Marine Lodge bursary, that the Lodge created to assist an exceptional High School leaver from the Port Chalmers region with the costs of their tertiary learning. The grant is given to a young adult who, in the opinion of the committee, has worked hardest, sometimes overcoming considerable adversity, to achieve entrance to a place of further education. This year’s recipient was a worthy winner. A self-effacing young woman, Ruth Michal Foerg ventured into the Lodge room looking as if she considered herself undeserving of the attention paid to her. She was accompanied by her mother, sister, and boyfriend, all wearing wide smiles that signalled their pride that she had achieved this recognition. From mid-childhood Ruth has harboured a desire to Ruth Foerg.
11
New IRB helping save lives at Piha Beach Western District Freemasons have donated the latest technology Inflatable Rescue Boat (IRB) to the high profile Piha Surf Life Saving Club in a launch ceremony held at the famous surf beach. The club relies on donations from organisations and individuals so it can continue to save lives. The Piha Rescue TV show has made this beach and club globally recognised and often the IRB’s are at the centre of the dramatic rescues. This show offers a real life look into this wild beach that claims many lives. Saving lives and beach safety in this high profile environment was a logical choice for Western District Lodges to choose Piha SLSC as its 2014 Charity Project. ‘We recognised that the amazing work that Piha SLSC is aligned with many of our values in Freemasonry’, says VWBro Gary Salmon DistGM, ‘It was a simple decision to support and gift a new IRB to Piha and Freemasons in the Western District quickly rallied round and raised the money to make this happen’. ‘We have to acknowledge the incredible support from the Freemasons Charity which matched our fundraising efforts on a one for one basis. Without it, we would not have been able to gift this IRB as quickly’, said VWBro Gary Salmon DistGM. Mr Peter Brown, President of Piha SLSC accepted the gifted boat from VWBro Gary Salmon DistGM on behalf of the brethren across the Western District. Over 50 Freemasons and their families attended the launch ceremony from across the District. 12
‘Our IRB fleet is heavily used and needs refreshing often. We can’t save lives with unreliable old equipment so this donation of a new IRB from the Freemasons is gratefully received’, says Peter Brown, President of the Piha SLSC, ‘this new IRB will save many lives over it’s expect 5 year lifetime and it’s a great new association we have with the Freemasons of Auckland’. The IRB has prominent placement of the NZ Freemason logo on the bow and will surely catch the eye of thousands of beach goers and TV viewers over time. Piha SLSC logged over 165 major incidents with 57 people rescued along with over 12,000 preventative incidents in last summer’s season according to Piha Patrol statistics. IRB’s are essential to carry out this work and the donation of the latest vessel will greatly enhance the ability for the Club to save lives. The Patrol Stats make interesting reading for Piha for last summer where over 75% of the incidents involve people from the greater Auckland region and nearly 20% are tourists from overseas. Piha has pedigree in Auckland as one of the first Surf Lifesaving Clubs in the district and is the best known in the northern region and New Zealand. Founded in 1934, the club holds many Rescue and Bravery awards and has a strong membership of volunteers. This successful project has motivated Lodges across the District to look at other high profile projects that help add profile for the work Freemasons are doing in the community. Any project that may seem very large can be implemented easily
with the cooperation of Lodges and the enthusiasm of the Brethren. In this case, Lodge Kauri Brethren presented the Piha SLSC project as a concept that was warmly received across the District. The follow on fundraising was instant and the energy of the District Freemasons proved that any project could be achieved. Now Piha SLSC lifeguards will have even more confidence when they start the motor of the new high tech IRB to save lives over the coming years. Bro Steve Simms, Lodge Kauri No. 474
Variety is the spice of life Take a Stand – everyone of us has the power to heal a hurt mind.
As 2014 came to an end the Auckland West District celebrated the presentation of gifts to ‘STAND Children’s Services’ as a result of a fundraiser supporting the Variety Club of New Zealand. The District Grand Master VWBro Gary Salmon along with VWBro Ray Laurance, the Chief Executive Officer, Lorraine Taylor, and the Events Manager, Carly Thomson of the Variety club, made the presentation to Mrs Frost the Regional Manager of the STAND Children’s Village in Auckland. The money was raised at the West Auckland District Mid Winter Dinner and with the added support of the Freemasons Charity we donated $2,000 and approximately 50 wrapped gifts for the children to be given at Christmas.
Northland’s Project Promise
Carterton organisations are getting behind Plunket to help children travel safely
When the idea of the new Cancer Centre for Northland was announced, one of the first organisations to get underway with fundraising was the Freemasons of Northland. Mobilising there many members throughout the region they chose a goal of supporting Project Promise by getting enough funds to purchase as much equipment and furnishings as they possibly could. Lodges up and down Northland took up the challenge and eventually raised over $57,000 with the support of the Freemasons Roskill Foundation which has provided funding for the very specialised treatment chairs worth $6,000 each, resuscitation equipment, flat screen television sets and a specialised ice making machine. The Freemasons noted that they wanted every dollar they raised spent on items for the benefit of the patients, who would be using the unit, to assist them at a difficult time in their lives. The unit was opened 7th Nov 2014 and was the culmination of the District Charity Project from VWBro Wiig’s term in office as District Grand Master for Northland District No. 1.
LJ Hooker Carterton and the Greytown St Marks Freemasons joined forces this week to purchase six brand new capsule car seats for Plunket. Branch manager of LJ Hooker Carterton Sylvia Wildermoth said the company had been raising money for Plunket for the past month. Every time an LJ Hooker sign was placed on a property a donation was made to Plunket. ‘We like to be involved with what's going on in the community and this is a good way to get involved. It’s an initiative that will benefit everybody.’ The Greytown St Marks Lodge picked up on the idea and matched their donations, she said. Plunket car seat technician Viv Bird said the capsules would be hired out to parents who might have struggled to afford their own. ‘They are not cheap, not cheap at all. There are a lot of people that can’t afford it and that's the beauty of hiring these – and some babies will only be in them for six months or a year.’ Car seats allowed parents to be able
to get out and about more freely, Ms Bird said. There are about 50 available for hire in the Wairarapa. Plunket receives no government funding for its car seat programme so it was great to know the community supported it, she said. ‘It’s been very exciting that other organisations get behind us,’ she said. The law requires that children under seven years old are properly restrained by an approved child restraint. Plunket helps parents to choose and install car seats, with both short and long-term hire options available. For more information on the Wairarapa car seat service ring the local Plunket's office on 06 378 6101 or email them at wairarapacsrs@xtra. co.nz Wairarapa Times-Age
The Regional Manager of STAND, Mrs Pene Frost, was most grateful for our support and also acknowledged the ongoing assistance they receive from Lodge Howick. The Children’s Village in Auckland is set on 6 acres of land overlooking the Half Moon Bay Marina, in East Auckland. Situated within a short walk to Eastern and Bucklands Beach, Lloyd Elsmore Park and Pigeon Mountain the facility is well placed in the community. It provides for children and family living in the greater Auckland region and northern Waikato. Children living in the East Coast Bays and Western suburbs of Auckland can also attend as they have a choice staying with us or the team at
Whangarei. They have facilities elsewhere in New Zealand as well. Stand is a charity that provides specialist home and school social services including therapeutic care and education to children aged 5 to 12. We work to transform the lives of children and young people who are at significant risk Back Row: Lorraine Taylor, V WBro Ray Laurence, of harm to their wellbeing as a VWBro Gary Salmon, Pene Frost. consequence of the environment in which they are being raised depends all of the other necessary and their own complex needs. For each child we seek to develop outcomes which contribute to their their capacity to live in healthy, hopeful ability to enjoy life and reach their relationships with others. On this potential.
Chair gets a test run by VWBro Bryan Wiig PDistGM.
13
FREEMASONS NEW ZEALAND
The celebrations start now! How are you celebrating this anniversary year? You and your Lodge should be part of this historic occasion in the life of our ancient and honourable organisation in New Zealand as we acknowledge those who came before us and look to our future.
Your 125th
anniversary programme It’s about us as New Zealand Freemasons. And it’s about being proud to show our communities who we are and what we do. Every Lodge should take part – especially those who have been part of our Constitution since 1890!
Happy 125th anniversary to you all. 14
Being able to access information is the ke participating in society, yet less than 5% printed material is available to New Zealan who are blind or have low vision.
DAISY Players A charity focus:
The Blind Foundation library currently sup books to more than 4,700 active library users The library has Accessible around 9,500 book titles Digital Information Sy over 40 of New Zealand’s best selling magaz These books and magazines are available DAISY CD from the Blind Foundation library.
the blind Being able to access information is the key to
DAISY Player
Toparticipating provide a core to our tions, in society, yetcelebra less than 5% of The player is loaned to Blind Found a charity cause ishas beentoselected by printed material available New Zealanders clients , our clients tell us they love who are blind or have low vision. Grand national organiser, Deputy This is a portable device that has t Master RW Bro Mark Winger. His The Blind Foundation library currently supplies of helping to make a readers exper choice – more the blind community of users. New books to than 4,700 active library to those who are sighted by enab Zealand. And appropriately, theand The library has very around 9,500 book titles skip from chapter to chapter or f Blind Foundation is best celebrating its over 40 of New Zealand’s selling magazines. page. Theseanniversary books and magazines available on 125th this yearare too! The DAISY player has many other DAISY CD fromtimes the BlindFreemasons Foundation library. In recent have as the bookmark feature, a sleep helped this cause in other ways. The synthetic voice which can read Wo What is DAISY? University of Auckland – for research into macular degeneration capable for the future do DAISY is internet an international standard (The Freemasons Charity); Macular audio Degeneration New books. structuring digital audio content to make it m Zealand, the support group for sufferers (Freemasons Roskill accessible. The DAISY player was selected Foundation). And several individual Lodges give donations to that device as we need product DAISY books are recorded as acomputer files the Blind Foundation for the training of guide dogs. our clients, young and It is ea the files are structured so that theold. reader is
to the use book. due to the large bu Help for a worthy nationaltoorganisation navigateeasy around reliable every time they use it.
Each DAISY CD can hold as many as six book The support of the Freemasons 40 continuous hours of reading. DAISY CD’s together we will be able to provid be played either on a computer using D What is DAISY? valued service by purchasing 125 software on a special digital DAISY pl DAISY is an international standard for or Players. which the Blind Foundation loan to its lib structuring digital audio content to make it more users loan free of charge. accessible. DAISY books are recorded as computer files and the files are structured so that the reader is able to navigate around the book.
125th ANNIVERSARY
Why should we
celebrate?
We are marking 125 years of the New Zealand Constitution – 125 years since we became a formal, independent body in the world of Freemasonry. Our flag was planted in Christchurch on 29 April 1890. We became
an autonomous sovereign Constitution.
Pride
and an opportunity to show it Few organisations can claim such a proud history in New Zealand as long as ours. We actually go back well before 1890 to the origins of our own country. The first Masonic meeting was held in 1837 and the first Lodge was founded in 1842. Freemasonry had thrived and by 1890 Lodges around the country agreed to form a national organisation. We have a past of which every Freemason can be proud.
Everyone should
join in
Every one of our Lodges should take time to celebrate this occasion. And to do something for others too! Some Lodges already have plans. Some are ready to begin. If you haven’t done anything at your Lodge yet, take action now. Your District Grand Master knows what is being done in your District and nationally. He has given you information. Ask him for guidance.
Make a plan to celebrate.
We can be proud of our age.
Every Lodge can choose their own programme Every Lodge is urged to choose a charitable project marking the 125th anniversary. Do something new – or just label an existing project as a 125th one.
Don’t change anything – just label it 125th
… or choose the Daisy Player Project If you have nothing planned then join this one. We hope the Freemasons Lodges in total will provide donations for at least 125 Daisy Players (special digital CD players) for the Blind Foundation’s national library. Response has been very positive with some Districts expecting to donate enough for 10–15 Daisy Players – at $500 each. Funds should be sent directly to Sheila Hicking of The Freemasons Charity in Wellington.
Join the project with a one-off donation
Freemasons Park
Let’s get underway
In December the Potter Masonic Trust announced a $488,000 donation over three years, towards an outdoor learning environment at the Homai campus of the Blind & Low Vision Education Network of NZ in Auckland.. This $1.5million project, to be named Freemasons Park, is a major advance in the education of blind children in coping with the outdoor world. An official opening is expected towards the middle of the year.
National Organiser, RWBro Winger the Deputy Grand Master is asking all Lodges to let him know what they intend doing in their Lodges and communities.
A Potter Masonic Trust contribution
The National Commemoration Grand Lodge activities in Christchurch in June will include a Board meeting, commemorative dinner, the relaunching of the refurbished grave of our first Grand Master and a Church Service. As much as practical of all this will be open to all Freemasons.
To mark our first Grand Lodge Meeting
Please make some decisions soon (if you have not already) and advise your District Grand Master
KEY DATES Wed 29 April The exact date of the Anniversary Sat 30 May Opening of Freemasons Park for blind children Fri 13 – Sun 15 June Weekend of Christchurch activities. Including donation of Daisy Players to the Blind Foundation
Come on – let’s celebrate!
15
FREEMASONS NEW ZEALAND
Installing Master’s address on the reasons for the formation of Grand Lodge in 1890
“W
e have been actuated by no unworthy motives in the action we have taken, and every step has been carefully regulated by Masonic precedent, and within the limits defined and sanctioned by Masonic Law. The idea of Masonic independence and unity is no new one to the Masons in this colony. It has been floating in the minds for many years, for no thoughtful Brother could fail to note the evils inseparable from the concurrent jurisdictions of three constitutions, each administered on the other side of the globe, and acting without even consultation with each other. Not only has this has this division of Constitutions give the outer world reason to scoff at the claim of the Craft to universality, but it has proved confusing to young Brethren, and has encouraged a rivalry exceeding the bounds of fair and generous emulation, the result being that, in the struggle for existence, it is feared our portals have been opened to men scarcely worthy of the privilege, and who, under other circumstances, would not have obtained the honour. When we have found that Masonic autonomy was established in South Australia and New South Wales, and was on the eve of establishment in Victoria, and when we have noted the practical benefits which had resulted from the step in the first two named colonies, it was but natural that we should ask ourselves whether, as New Zealand stood second in Masonic strength in Australasian colonies, the time had not come when we too should exercise our inherent right and claim self- government. An affirmative reply seemed to suggest itself simultaneously all over the colony. The first meeting to discuss the matter was held in Wellington just fifteen months ago. It was quickly followed by enthusiastic meetings all over the colony, and it seemed that there existed a consensus of opinion that the division of the Craft into three Constitutions was undesirable, that there we too many subordinate local-governing bodies, New Zealand Masons would be at a 16
disadvantage in comparison to those of the colonies possessing self-government and would occupy an inferior position; that until a supreme governing body was established there was danger of the intrusion of other foreign Constitutions, and that union would enable the Craft to more worthily carry out those principles of charity which form its distinguishing characteristic, but which it has hereto fore only been able to exercise spasmodically….
Let me now briefly turn to some advantages which we hope will accrue to the Craft from our Union in this Grand Lodge. By prudent and economical administration we hope to reduce the cost of government, while providing even more efficient machinery for local control. Spending less in useless show and duplication, oft-repeated, of expenses, and keeping the whole masonic contributions in this colony, we trust to be able to concentrate our efforts and resources, so as to do something practical, and worthy of the principles we profess. Earnest efforts in this direction are likely, also, if we may judge from what has taken place elsewhere, to stimulate the charity and benevolence of our wealthy Brethren. Hitherto all our communications with the Masonic world have been those of a business character with our Mother Grand Lodge of England, Ireland or Scotland, as the case may be. Now we shall be brought into direct communication, on equal terms, and into close communion, with the chain of Grand Lodges, which, commencing in New South Wales, extends through
Europe and the United States, where every State has its Grand Lodge, to our sister Dominion of Canada, where there are five recognised Grand Lodges. This direct communion with the supreme governing bodies of the world cannot fail to enlarge our Masonic knowledge, extend our influence, and render the Craft in this colony still more powerful for good. It has long been recognised that the nominal distinction here of English, Scotch, or Irish Lodges afford no indication of the nationality of its members ranged under it banners. The names have no patriotic significance, and they operate the reverse of attractively on the growing youth of New Zealand. I think if you will look over the list of membership of our Lodges, you will find that they are chiefly recruited from persons born abroad, and that Masonry has not taken hold on Young New Zealand which we should like it to do. They are apt to regard it now as a foreign institution, and, as such, take little interest in it, for there is a strong sentiment of patriotism, or nationality, in the mind of Young New Zealand Now that we have given a national character to our Order in this colony, we may reasonably expect to find that those who own New Zealand as the land of their birth and infant nurture will take an interest in New Zealand Masonry, and flock beneath its standards. If this hope is realised, we may reasonably expect that, as the noble principles of Masonry become diffused amongst the rising native-born population, they will react outside our lodges, and exercise an ennobling effect in moulding the future national character. Our present proceedings open to every New Zealand Mason the prospect of gratifying laudable ambition held out in our ‘ancient charges’ of becoming at length the Grand Master of all the Lodges, according to his merit.” Bro E T Gillon, Wellington From the History of the Grand Lodge of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons of New Zealand 1890–1940 WBro AB Croker LLB, PM New Zealand Pacific Lodge No. 2
125th ANNIVERSARY
Founding Lodges celebrating 125 years Forty-two of the original Lodges, which came from the English, Irish and Scottish Constitutions, that formed Grand Lodge in 1890, will be celebrating their 125th Anniversary this year along with Grand Lodge.
MWBro Henry Thomson JP, PGM our First Grand Master Henry Thomson JP, PGM (1828–1903) was a 19th-century Mayor of Christ church and Member of Parliament for the Christchurch North electorate in Canterbury and the first Grand Master of The Grand Lodge of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons of New Zealand. He was installed as the first Grand Master of the newly constituted Grand Lodge of New Zealand on Wednesday 30 April 1890 at the Oddfellows Hall, Lichfield Street, Christchurch. Thomson died on 13 September 1903. He was buried at Linwood Cemetery.
Ara Lodge 1 (The Ara Taimau Lodge), Auckland New Zealand Pacific Lodge 2, Wellington Lodge of Unanimity 3, Lyttleton Scinde Lodge 5, Napier Southern Cross Lodge 6, Kaiapoi Southern Cross Lodge 9 (The Southern Cross Lodge), Invercargill Waitaki Lodge 11 (Lodge of Waitaki), Oamaru Lodge Beta-Waikato 12, Hamilton The Sir Walter Scott Lodge 15, Thames The Caledonian Lodge 16, Timaru The Coromandel Lodge 17, Coromandel The Patea Kilwinning Lodge 18, Patea Masterton Lodge 19 (United Lodge of Masterton), Masterton Lodge of Progress 22, Southbridge The Canterbury Kilwinning Lodge 23, Lyttelton Manakau Lodge (Manakau-Westmere Lodge) 24, Onehunga The Bedford Lodge 25 (The Woburn Lodge), Waipukurau Palmerston Lodge 26 (The Palmerston Lodge), Palmerston Ashley Lodge 28 (The Ashley Lodge), Rangiora The Saint Andrews Lodge 32, Wellington Lincoln Lodge 33 (The Lincoln Lodge), Lincoln
Hercules Lodge 36, Tapanui St John’s Lodge 37 (Waihenga St Johns Lodge), Martinborough Rangitikei Lodge 38 (Lodge Rangitikei), Bulls Lodge of Concord 39 (The Concord Lodge), Riccarton Victory Lodge 40 (The Victory Lodge), Nelson The Wairau Lodge 42, Blenheim Phoenix Lodge 43 (The Phoenix Lodge), Akaroa Albion Lodge 45 (The Belmont Albion Lodge), Devonport Hiram Lodge 46 (The Hiram Lodge), Dunedin The Manawatu Kilwinning Lodge 47, Palmerston North The Robert Burns Lodge 50, Reefton The Methven Lodge 51, Methven The Te Aroha Lodge 52, Te Aroha St. Marks Lodge 53 (The Greytown St Marks Lodge), Carterton The Ponsonby Lodge 54, Auckland Lodge Wairoa 55, Wairoa Star in the Far South 56 (Papakura Lodge), Papakura Lodge Franklin 58 (The Franklin Lodge), Pukekohe Advance Lodge 61 (The Advance Mawhera Lodge), Greymouth Lodge Mokoreta 63 (The Mokoreta Lodge), Wyndham Fortitude Lodge 64 (The Fortitude Lodge), Bluff (Present lodge names are in parentheses)
Oddfellows Hall being moved to Sydenham.
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COMMUNICATIONS PILLAR
We are listening Communications Audit and Survey 2014 As part of the Com mu nications Pillar Strategic Direction an Audit has been conducted to find out what we are doing (in the area of communications) and what the true costs of these activities are. From these results the Team will now look at ways to work smarter, quicker and more cost effectively. Already this audit has resulted in a combination of cost savings and increased revenue – with over a 40% reduction in the previous annual budget without affecting the quality of the magazine.
Lodge Communication Survey Also, a communication survey has been sent to all Lodges to seek feedback on
what they do, their current views on communication and what members are looking for! The feedback was truly ‘superb’, thank you. 102 Lodges (42%) replied to the survey (either electronically or via hard copy). Key statistics at this stage included: • 100% of those who responded to the survey indicated that they used some form of electronic communication (predominately email). What worked best for them included: emails, with follow up by telephone calls and text messaging. Many were also using their Lodge website as their communication hub. • 30% of respondents signalled that they had their own Lodge website – these were hosted fairly evenly between Freemasons New Zealand and Independent Suppliers • 86% of respondents liked the idea of uniformity across the three (Northern, Central and Southern)
We will ensure, through the use of our recognised brand, the delivery of our fundamental principles to our brethren, their families and to the wider community.
Divisional websites and 66% liked the potential content. • 100% of respondents indicated that all members still wanted to receive the New Zealand Freemason magazine. The magazine was also highly rated by the readership (95% rated it either good, very good or excellent – no one rated it poor). 79% wanted to receive the magazine quarterly, 81% by post or by a combination of post and electronic means.
Freemasons New Zealand Website Work on the new Freemasons New Zealand website is currently underway and we will be displayed at the Divisional Conferences later this year – this will also bring about further cost savings. Watch this space! VWBro Peter Benstead PGDC Chair of the Communications Pillar
Northern Division Conference Mystery Creek, Hamilton
2 May 2015 PROGRAMME 8.30am 9.25am 9.30am 10am 10.30am
Registration & morning tea Conference opened Business session Q&As on reports RW Bro Mark Winger Deputy GM and remits 11.30am RW Bro Laurence Milton PGW Chief Executive & presentations Noon Te Radar 1pm Lunch 2pm Freemasons seminar and ladies’ programme 3.30pm Address by Grand Master 3.45pm General business 4pm Conference closed
REGISTRATION Contact divsec.northern@freemasons.co.nz Registrations close 24 April 2015
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COST Registration $20 (Men only) Lunch $30pp (Ladies & Men) DRESS Smart Casual
CHARITY PILLAR
The Good News Story: Participation is the key A
s a consequence of the restructuring, which took place almost a decade ago, the Charity Pillar was already well advanced at the commencement of the Strategic planning process. The Charity statement of intent, as published in the 2013 Strategic Plan, was: We will ensure that our resources, experience and expertise are directed to the benefit, promotion, advancement and well being of our brethren and their families as well as to the wider community. The target to be achieved by 2016 is to succeed in facilitating and encouraging Lodges to focus on charitable activities in their communities. Further development of the tools necessary to achieve this goal is now a primary focus of The Freemasons Charity This goal is to be reached by ensuring that all Freemasons have the means of achieving a clear understanding of how The Freemasons Charity is structured, how it can benefit Lodges, the key national partnerships, the processes for initiating and funding projects and local partnerships together with the tools available for planning and obtaining publicity value from successful charitable activities. The Freemasons Charity comprises a vertically integrated structure at four levels, namely National, Divisional, District and, most important, Lodges themselves. Besides the overview
functions, activities at national level principally comprise the initiation and management of major projects, initiation and monitoring of partnerships and relationships and joint ventures with Masonic Trusts such as The Freemasons Roskill Foundation and The Potter Masonic Trust. In addition The The HUET project (Helicopter Underwater Escape Trainer), Freemasons Charity a joint effort by several Lodges over two Districts with the manages the University support of The Freemasons Charity. and Heartland Bank Scholarships programmes. The Superintendent of The now set up for prompt action. Freemasons Charity, who is a member of Do Lodge members feel confident the Board of General Purposes, heads the talking about The Freemasons Charity operation that is managed by the Charity and its good news stories? If not where Administrator, Sheila Hicking. can they start? As a further target for 2016 The There is currently a CD and Freemasons Charity will explore ways supporting booklet, giving information of working with Masonic Trusts, beyond and examples of the projects undertaken those mentioned above, for the mutual by The Freemasons Charity, available benefit and promotion of Freemasonry. free from the Freemasons New Zealand Such trusts include those managed by Office. Over the next year it is planned Districts and Lodges as well as the several that this will be enhanced by the addition Masonic Village Trusts. of a commentary and, potentially, some The Divisional Grand Almoner, who video clips. Lodges will be encouraged is a member of the Divisional Executive to present this valuable resource to their Team, has the role of approving members and partners. The Freemasons applications for funding as well as Charity will continue to provide articles promoting charitable activities through for New Zealand Freemason as well as the District Charity Officers. The latter its own specialist publications such as have the functions of supporting Lodge The Charity Herald. Armed with these Almoners and facilitating valuable resources our members, who multi lodge projects. may have been previously reticent, What does this all mean should have gained the knowledge and for individual Lodges and confidence to spread their charitable net. Brethren? The resource material also provides There are three key useful tips on the three stages of any activities a lodge can project namely before, during and after undertake. These are to enhance the opportunities for media Lodge initiated projects, coverage both within our organisation partnerships with other local and to the wider public. A Lodge that organisations and support for can demonstrate and be seen to be doing individuals. The latter often good work in its local community is require an urgent response most likely to be a growing Lodge. and the approval system is RWBro Terry McConnell Paediatric Fellow, Rebekah Luo, with a patient. Chair of the Charity Pillar 19
THE FREEMASONS TOOLBOX Has your lodge a telephone tree? It’s good to keep in touch!
Suggest an idea for the Freemasons Toolbox
Does your Lodge have this booklet? The membership USB stick
Does your Lodge know the expectations of your Master Masons? Do a SWOT analysis
Take a look at the new Curriculum for Masonic Education
Hold a Freemasons Cocktail Evening
Contents include: Book of Constitution • Education guides • Encrypted ceremonial book • Plain English Guide to Freemasonry • etc, etc
Get to know each other Undertake a ‘Speed Dating/Introduction’ session in Refectory
(see cocktail list on the back page)
Is the brand on your Lodge building current?
http://bit.ly/FNZcurriculum
www.freemasons.co.nz
Compiled for the Pillars Team with the assistance of the Membership Pillar, chaired by VWBro Warwick Bell P Dist GM
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Our Scottish Night with the Scots T
uesday 14th October marked the second successful Scottish Night, hosted by Belmont Albion, in conjunction with brethren from St. Andrew Lodge #418, Scottish Constitution. The evening commenced with 12 visiting Lodges being individually welcomed lead in with a piper processional. In total, we eventually seated 89 brethren, to enjoy the passing of David Little to the second degree. As is customary in our Lodge, the charges for the evening’s working were shared among our members. Select charges were also performed by visiting members of St. Andrew Lodge #418, SC. Of special note were the charges delivered by Bro Suki Amirapu and Bro Floyd Apoderado. Specific comments heard during Lodge as well as in refectory included, ‘Exceptional’, ‘Best delivery I have ever heard’, and ‘That was stunning’. All brethren involved in the work of the evening delivered a very memorable 2nd degree for David Little, our candidate. Retiring from Lodge, we were able to host 78 brethren in Refectory. Following the formal piping in of all
Masters, the evening kicked off with the haggis parade. With polish and panache, Bro Charlie Macleod and his team delivered the haggis, delivered the ‘Ode to the Haggis’, toasted the haggis and closed with the Selkirk Grace. It was generally acknowl edged that the evening demonstrates a great way of The haggis parade enters refectory. joining many Lodges from different Constitutions. The ongoing success of the evening is found in the preparation that all Brethren put into their individual responsibilities, an effort from all involved that is obvious to see and A full refectory. greatly appreciated by all those in attendance. With such a well delivered display of become a regular event on the Belmont Ritual, a common bond of comradeship, Albion calendar. Many deepest thanks to all who made great stories regaled, new friendships made, and the odd Single Malt consumed, the night so memorable for David and Sean Neely. the annual Scottish Night looks set to our Lodge.
Central Division Conference Copthorne Solway Resort Hotel Masterton
16 May 2015 PROGRAMME 9am 10.30am
Registration & refreshments Tree Planting at Henley Lake Park, Masterton celebrating 125th Anniversary of Freemasons New Zealand and 125th Anniversary of Arbor Day first celebrated in Greytown. 10.40am Conference Opened 10.40am Complimentary Ladies/ Partners Programme with visit to Greytown including Refreshments 3.30pm Ladies/Partners return 4.30pm Conference Closed Dinner afterwards for those staying on
REGISTRATION Contact divsec.central@freemasons.co.nz Registrations close 30 April 2015 CONFERENCE ORGANISER Andrea Houlihan / 027 44 555 04
The cost is $30, including registration, refreshments and lunch (men only). Evening dinner $45pp (ladies & men). Ladies’ programme complimentary.
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The Grand Installation
17–19 November 2016, Wellington, New Zealand The 2016 Grand Installation is all about an enjoyable weekend for you and your partner with an array of activities to suit all palates. From the pomp of The Grand Installation to the fun of The Grand Banquet, from the best Ladies Function
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ever to doing the Business for the guys, from the Friday Fives Meet and Greet to the solemnity of the Ecumenical Service and a special Farewell Luncheon. Put the dates in your diary; be that smartphone or leather bound. Details on Registration and Packages in the next
issue of the magazine and on the website. The Grand Installation and its ancillary activities are for all Freemasons and their partners to have a fantastic weekend of fun, friendship and festivities in this triennial celebration of Freemasonry in New Zealand.
Daisy Readers for the Blind Gift a Daisy a Day
N
ationally, The Potter Masonic Trust has made a very large donation of $450,000 supported by local Lodges with an additional $25,000, on the occasion of our 125th Anniversary, to fund a special garden for the blind at the Homai School at Manuwera in Auckland run by the Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ (BLENNZ). Locally, on our 125th Anniversary
able to6141 access information is we are asking all our Lodges to consider Marion Square,Being Wellington and you participating society, yet less supporting the Royal Foundation for will get a tax receipt and the in funds will be printed material is available the Blind with Daisy Readers, with the held in trust by the Charity to purchase 125 to New object of providing 125 Daisy Readers, Daisy Readers who and are anyblind surplus collected or have low vision. on the Blind Foundations’ and our 125th will be used to supply reading material on BlindFoundation Foundation Audio library curren Anniversary. discs from theThe Blind books to more than 4,700 active libra The process it quite simple: send a Library. A Lodge may be able to purchase The library has around 9,500 covering letter from your Lodge with one Daisy Reader or other Lodges may be boo Digital Information over 40 of…New Zealand’s best selling a cheque for $500 per Accessible Daisy Reader to able toSystem purchase more all helps in this These books The Freemasons Charity, P O Box 6439, ‘125 for the 125th Project’ . and magazines are a
Being able to access information is the key to participating in society, yet less than 5% of printed material is available to New Zealanders who are blind or have low vision. The Blind Foundation library currently supplies books to more than 4,700 active library users. The library has around 9,500 book titles and over 40 of New Zealand’s best selling magazines. These books and magazines are available on DAISY CD from the Blind Foundation library.
What is DAISY? DAISY is an international standard for structuring digital audio content to make it more accessible. DAISY books are recorded as computer files and the files are structured so that the reader is able to navigate around the book. Each DAISY CD can hold as many as six books or 40 continuous hours of reading. DAISY CD’s can be played either on a computer using DAISY software or on a special digital DAISY player which the Blind Foundation loan to its library users loan free of charge.
DAISY Players
DAISY CD from the Blind Foundation
DAISY Player The player is loaned to Blind Foundation library clients , our clients tell us they love the format. This is a portable device that has the capability of helping to make a readers experience similar to those who are sighted by enabling them to skip from chapter to chapter or from page to page.
The DAISY player has many other features suchis DAISY? What as the bookmark feature, a sleep timerDAISY and a is an international sta synthetic voice which can read Word files, it is structuring digital audio content to m internet capable for the future downloading of accessible. audio books. DAISY books are recorded as compu
files are structured so that the re The DAISY player was selected as ourthemain to navigate around the book. device as we need a product that works for all our clients, young and old. It is easy to access, Each DAISY CD can hold as many as easy to use due to the large buttons, 40 andcontinuous is hours of reading. DA be played either on a computer reliable every time they use it. software or on a special digital D The support of the Freemasons means that which the Blind Foundation loan t together we will be able to provide this highly users loan free of charge. valued service by purchasing 125 new DAISY Players.
‘Thank you for Daisy and the supply of CD books and magazines. Daisy and I are now firm friends. It is a wonderful machine and system that you have developed. Blessings to you all’ Owen Riley
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Anzac Day A
nzac Day occurs on 25 April. It commemorates all New Zealanders killed in war and also honours returned servicemen and women. The date itself marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiersthe Anzacs- on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. The aim was to capture the Dardanelles, the gateway to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. At the end of the campaign, Gallipoli was still held by its Turkish defenders. Thousands lost their lives in the Gallipoli campaign: 87,000 Turks, 44,000 men from France and the British Empire, including 8500 Australians. To this day, Australia also marks the events of 25 April. Among the dead were 2779 New Zealanders, almost one in four of those who served on Gallipoli. It may have led to a military defeat, but for many New Zealanders then and since, the Gallipoli landings meant the beginning of something elsea feeling that New Zealand had a role as a distinct nation, even as it fought on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire. Anzac Day was first marked in 1916. The day has gone through many changes since then. The ceremonies that are held at war memorials up and down New Zealand, or in places overseas where New Zealanders gather, remain rich in tradition and ritual befitting a military funeral.
The Anzacs The word Anzac is part of the culture of New Zealanders and Australians. People talk about the ‘spirit of Anzac’. The word conjures up a shared heritage of two nations, but it also has a specific meaning. Anzac is the acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. This corps was created early in the Great War of 1914–18. In December 1914 the Australian Imperial Force
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National War Memorial, Wellington.
and New Zealand Expeditionary Force stationed in Egypt were placed under the command of Lieutenant General William Birdwood. Initially the term Australasian Corps was suggested, but Australians and New Zealanders were reluctant to lose their separate identities completely. No one knows who came up with the term Anzac. It is likely that Sergeant K.M. Little, a clerk at Birdwood’s headquarters, thought of it for use on a rubber stamp: ‘A nzac’ was convenient shorthand. Later the corps used it as their telegraph code word. The Anzacs first saw action at Gallipoli on 25 April1915. The small cove where the Australian and New Zealand troops landed was quickly dubbed Anzac Cove. Soon the word was being used to describe all Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Eventually, it came to mean any Australian or New Zealand soldier. The term continued into other wars. A new Anzac corps was briefly formed during the campaign in Greece in 1941. During the Vietnam War, New Zealand and Australian infantry companies combined to form the Anzac Battalion.
The ceremony The Anzac Day ceremony of 25 April is rich in tradition and ritual. It is a form of military funeral and follows a particular pattern. The day’s ceremonies have two major parts: one at dawn and another, more public event, later in the morning. The dawn service
A typical commemoration begins with a march by returned service personnel before dawn to the local war memorial. Military personnel and returned servicemen and women form up about the memorial, joined by other members of the community. Pride of place goes to war veterans. A short service follows with a prayer, hymns (including Kipling’s ‘Recessional’ or ‘Lest we forget’) and a dedication that concludes with the fourth verse of Laurence Binyon’s ‘For the Fallen’: They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. The Last Post is then played, and this is followed by a minute’s silence and the reveille. A brief address follows, after which the
hymn ‘Recessional’ is sung. The service concludes with a prayer and the singing of the national anthem. The Anzac parade
Another ceremony takes place later on the morning of 25 April. Returned service personnel wear their medals and march behind banners and standards. The veterans are joined by other community groups, including members of the armed forces, the Red Cross, Scouts & Girl Guides, cadets, and veterans of other countries’ forces. The march proceeds to the local war memorial. Another service takes place there, and various organisations and members of the public lay wreaths. This service is a more public commemoration than the dawn service. It is less intimate and less emotional. The speech, usually by a dignitary, serviceman or returned serviceman or woman, can stress nationhood and remembrance. After these services many of the veterans retire to the local Returned and Services’ Association (RSA) club or hotel, where they enjoy coffee and rum (in the case of the dawn service) and unwind after an emotionally and, for elderly veterans, physically exhausting event. At the end of the day, the ceremony of the retreat is performed.
The making of Anzac Day Anzac Day, as we know it, began to take shape almost as soon as news reached New Zealand of the landing of soldiers on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April. Within a few years core elements of the day were set and the Anzac story and sacredness of the commemoration enshrined. 1915: Gallipoli remembered
The first public recognition of the landings at Gallipoli occurred on 30 April1915, after news of the dramatic event had reached New Zealand. A halfday holiday was declared for government offices, flags were flown, and patriotic meetings were held. 1916: a half-day holiday
New Zealanders soon demanded some form of remembrance on the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. This became both a means of rallying support for the war effort and a public expression of grief-
Auckland War Memorial Museum.
for no bodies were brought home. On 5 April1916 a half-day holiday for 25 April was gazetted. Large crowds attended the first commemorations in 1916. There were 2000 at the service in Rotorua, and in London, there was a procession of 2000 Australian and New Zealand troops and a service at Westminster Abbey. New Zealand soldiers in Egypt commemorated the day with a service and the playing of the Last Post, followed by a holiday and sports games. The New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ (later Services’) Association, in cooperation with local authorities, took a key role in the ceremony, organising processions of servicemen, church services and public meetings. The ceremony on 25 April was gradually standardised during and after the war.
A sacred holiday Anzac Day took on a new meaning in a time of peace. Most New Zealanders saw it as a time to express sorrow, not to glorify war. It became a sacred day, but one that was secular in tone and less like a mournful funeral. A public holiday Anzac Day had strong public appeal. In 1920 the government responded to Returned Services’ Association (RSA) lobbying for 25 April to be declared a holiday; the first was marked in 1921. Legislation making the day a holiday also closed hotels and banks and prohibited race meetings, but this did not meet RSA demands for the day to be ‘Sundayised’. In 1922 the government backed down, and 25 April became a full public holiday as if it were a Sunday. Nationhood and peace The features of Anzac Day evolved during the 1920s and 1930s. Public war memorials erected in the 1920s took the place of town halls or churches in the ceremony. In the process, the ceremony itself became less overtly religious.
Gradually the service became less like a mournful funeral. The laying of wreaths became more central to the ceremony, and there were fewer speeches and hymns. Uniformed members of the armed forces became accepted in many places as participants in the march and service. New Zealand’s Anzac Day services began to include new features taken, appropriately, from the Anzac partner. The dawn parade, commemorating both the time of the initial landings at Gallipoli and the routine dawn stand-to in the trenches, was an Australian idea.
The spirit of Anzac: the Second World War The outbreak of war in 1939 gave a new meaning to Anzac Day. The commemorations predictably focused on the current war. Speeches appealed for people to follow the ‘spirit of Anzac’. Links between the first Anzacs and women and men serving overseas were stressed. During the six years of war, public interest in the day grew, although security concerns meant that large crowds were not encouraged to gather to mark the day. The events of the Second World War made Anzac Day a time of commemoration of all the wars in which New Zealanders had taken part. Veterans from both world wars now paraded together. The day became inter generational. Maori veterans were more in evidence too. In all, the day seemed to reflect the ideal of New Zealand as a united community. Modern Anzac Day More and more New Zealanders attend Anzac Day ceremonies in the 21st century. Being at Gallipoli on 25 April is almost a rite of passage for young Kiwis travelling overseas. Each generation of New Zealanders redefines the day to suit the mood of the times, but the last 40 years have been a time of much redefinition. A pretext for protest Anzac Day was caught up in the protest movements of the 1960s and 1970s, especially around issues of peace and women’s rights. Antiwar protests at Anzac Day largely died out in the mid-1970s with the end of the Vietnam War. The day had become more than a commemoration of New Zealand war dead and war service; it was
being used to make statements about war and society.
Gallipoli commemorations 75 and 90 years on The 75th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings in 1990 attracted immense interest. This was the year in which New Zealand marked the sesquicentenaries, or 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. As a result many New Zealanders discussed issues surrounding the theme of national identity. An official delegation, led by the Governor-General and including a Gallipoli veteran, was at an emotional service at Gallipoli on 25 April. There was even more interest in the 90th anniversary of the landings. In 2005, thousands of New Zealanders were at Gallipoli. They gathered in the chill evening of 24 April, marked the dawn service with the Australians and attended the distinctly New Zealand ceremony at Chunuk Bair later in the day. Politicians, dignitaries and representatives of New Zealand’s armed forces were all there. The ceremonies could be watched live on television in New Zealand. Anzac Day today Rituals on Anzac Day follow the form developed many years ago. There is still a dawn service; war veterans and serving personnel continue to gather at memorials and in Returned Services’ Association clubrooms; politicians and local dignitaries still attend ceremonies. Shops and hotels remain closed on Anzac Day morning. Now, people remark on the number of young New Zealanders in the crowds. Some wear the medals their grandparents and great-grandparents won during war. There are now no veterans left from Gallipoli or the First World War. Bright Williams, who passed away in 2003, was the last, and the number of Second World War veterans becomes fewer each year. Anzac Day enjoys unusual reverence in a country where emotional public rituals are otherwise absent. The day still has a traditional commemorative function, but for more people it is also becoming an opportunity to talk about what it may mean to be a New Zealander. With thanks Ministry for Culture and Heritage 25
The Ancient and Accepted Rite of Freemasonry F
reemasonry is both complex and diverse, and internationally nume rous degrees are worked, often being considered extensions of the ceremonies of craft masonry. The ceremonies of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Freemasonry (A & AR, also popularly known as The Rose Croix) fall into this category with the potential for members to extend their masonic study up to the 33º – which is also known as the final degree in freemasonry. Membership in the A & AR is by invitation and is open to those who have attained the Master Masons degree. Unlike Craft Masonry, membership in the A & AR requires a Christian belief and this is the basis for its ceremonies. The Rose Croix is often called ‘the friendly Order’ and its members belong to a community who practice ideals aimed at maintaining and progressing both individual and societal standards. While the Order does not fall into the category of degrees for mally recognised by the Grand Lodge of New Zealand, many
members of the Craft have accepted the invitation to join the Rose Croix and currently the Order has a membership of 1200 in New Zealand. A similar situation exists in the United Kingdom as the degrees of the Rite were not worked by the two precursors of the United Grand Lodge of England prior to its formation in 1813. Despite this the Grand Master, MWBro HRH the Duke of Kent, has been admitted to the 33º, and has accepted the position of Grand Patron of the Rite.
How did it all begin? The origin of the A & AR dates from a period when there was a heightened interest in freemasonry. During this period a number of degrees were developed. Many of these were established as additions to existing rites, while others were worked in isolation or as part of a novel branch of freemasonry. The earliest record of a degree working that could be considered to be connected to the A & AR is from 1733 and was undertaken at the Devil’s Tavern in London. The origin
Three Sovereign Grand Commanders of the Order at the installation of MPBro Peter Smith as SGC in 2011. In the background (left) is Brett Delahunt who was then the Lieutenant Grand Commander, while immediately in front of the standard bearer is Jack Christie who served as SGC from 2008 to 2011.
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The jewel of the 18° degree.
of these degrees, known collectively as the ‘Scotch or Ecossaise degrees’, is debated; however, it does appear that they originated in France being taken to England by wine merchants, who were active in freemasonry in both countries. The degrees of the A & AR continued to be developed in France and in 1761 a rite of 25 degrees was established. In that same year the Grand Lodge of France issued a warrant to Estienne Morin appointing him an Inspector General. Morin travelled to Jamaica and in association with Henry Andrew Franken, his deputy, developed what is known as the Franken manuscript, which outlined the 14º and 25º of the Rite. Through the work of Franken, these higher degrees were transported to the United States. This resulted in the establishment of the Rite in Charleston, South Carolina and the formation of the first Supreme Council on 31 May 1801. The founding Supreme Council adopted what are now known as the Grand Constitutions of 1786, which had been earlier formulated, with the Rite then being extended to 33º. The A & AR spread throughout the world in the first half of the nineteenth century with the Supreme Council for Ireland being established in 1811, followed by that for England and Wales in 1845 and Scotland in 1846.
The Ancient and Accepted Rite in New Zealand In New Zealand the Rose Croix has had a complex history. The first Chapter was established in 1875, in Westport under a Charter issued by the Supreme Council of England and Wales. This Chapter did not survive and the earliest extant Chapter was chartered in 1881. As was the case for Craft Masonry, the governing bodies of England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland were active in New Zealand and a number of Chapters were established under one of these banners. Perhaps even more unusual was an attempt, in 1876, by the Supreme Council for Egypt to establish Chapters in this country. The Egyptian group was an extension of the Supreme Council for Louisiana, which was itself an irregular body and four chapters were formed, with one in each the main centres. In view of the origin of the sponsoring group the Chapters could be considered appropriately named, although the names are rather quaint in a modern context. In Auckland Zola Chapter was formed, while the chapter in Wellington was known as Cleopatra Chapter. Those in the South Island were Memphis Chapter and Sphinx Chapter, established in Christchurch and Dunedin respectively. These activities did not go unnoticed by the regular masonic bodies internationally and in response to complaints, the four chapters had their Charters revoked. The story did, however, have a happy ending as the brethren from Zola Chapter formed Southern Cross Chapter No. 88 under the Supreme Council for England and Wales, while Memphis Chapter became Excelsior Chapter No. 78 and Cleopatra became Wellington Chapter No. 91. Sphinx Chapter chose to transfer its allegiance to the Supreme Council for Scotland and became the first Chapter to be constituted under that jurisdiction in New Zealand. Throughout most of the twentieth century, the A & AR operated in this country under the various Supreme
The emblem of Supreme Council worn by holders of the 30° to 33°.
Councils of the United Kingdom. During this time there was a dramatic expansion of the Rite and taking the lead from Australia there was growing interest in the establishment of a Supreme Council for New Zealand. Following consultation with the Supreme Council for England and Wales, a formal charter was issued by the parent body and the Supreme Council for New Zealand was formally constituted on 12 February 1994. At that time Chapters under the Supreme Council of Scotland elected to retain their original charters and their allegiance to their parent body. Being in harmony with the Supreme Council
of New Zealand there is a regular interchange between the two groups and indeed a number of brethren belong to both jurisdictions. The intermediate degrees (4º to 17º) are not worked in chapters although a single degree is demonstrated annually in Past Sovereign’s Chapters. These demonstrations are open to all and are considered a highlight of the A & AR calendar. The key ceremony of the Order in New Zealand, as well as in Australia and the United Kingdom, is the 18º and this is worked in all Rose Croix chapters. The ceremonial of the degree is somewhat complex and is rich in beauty and symbolism. This symbolism is reflected in the jewel of the degree which is worn from an embroided red collar. Beyond the 18º, the 30º, 31º and 32º are conferred according to merit, with the degree ceremonies being undertaken at a District level throughout the country annually. The 33º is conferred upon the Inspector Generals of the eight Districts in New Zealand and on the members of the Supreme Council, who all serve terms of five years. Very rarely the degree may also be awarded to an eminent brother in acknowledgement of outstanding service over a long period. The regalia of these higher degrees vary according to rank; however, a feature in common is that all members wear the double headed eagle being the badge or emblem of all Supreme Councils throughout the world.
Brett Delahunt ONZM, KStJ, FRSNZ, 33° Sovereign Grand Commander, Supreme Council for New Zealand
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How many Freemasons does it take to change a lightbulb? CHANGE!?
F
reemasons don’t like change. Well … this isn’t quite true. Up until about 100 years ago our Masonic ceremonies contained large pieces of ritual designed to educate masons in each degree. They took the form of questions asked around the Lodge and answered interactively by the Brethren present. The questions were based on each degree ceremony and, in those days, it was expected that every mason would learn the answers from his ritual book and be able to answer in Lodge. In this way our degree ceremonies became known in depth. The piece dealing with the 1st Degree was in seven sections and was called The First Degree Lecture although it was not a lecture but a series of interactive questions and answers. That of the 2nd Degree was known as the Second Degree Lecture and was in 5 sections and that of the 3rd Degree in 3 sections. There is masonic significance to these numbers 3, 5 and 7 – and I leave you to remind yourselves and be able to explain these to a newer mason. The test questions asked of today’s candidates leading from the 1st to the 2nd degree come from The First Degree Lecture and those leading from the 2nd to the 3rd degree are from The Second Degree Lecture. At the end of the test questions our ritual book states, ‘… these are the usual questions, I will put others if
any Brother wishes me to do so’. However, it was usual that only a question from the appropriate Degree Lecture was allowed. There are test questions to be asked of a Master Mason in the weeks/months after his raising and before he is entitled to receive his MM certificate and these come from The Third Degree Lecture. Some lodges have discontinued this practice of the test questions in the third degree – which is a pity as it is one more step down the hill to a lack of masonic education. Sections 4 to 7 in The First Degree Lecture are an explanation of the firstdegree tracing board. It seems that today explanations of the Tracing Boards have replaced the longer and interactive instruction of the Degree Lectures. This is a pity as the Tracing Boards are delivered as Charges to candidates who now sit passively and listen – but do they hear and understand? Even the interactive Degree Lectures have shortcomings in that Brethren learn their ritual answers by rote, which is no guarantee of understanding the meaning. A mistake in rote learning is that most people learn the words until they get them right – and stop there. What is better is to go on learning the words until you can’t get them wrong. If we could persuade our Lodge committee to resurrect the practice of interactive questions and answers in
the Lodge – just a little bit – and could take one Section of one Degree Lecture per masonic evening in your Lodge and discuss questions and answers and what they mean we would see our Masonry come alive because we would have a better chance of understanding Freemasonry. ‘I want to know more about it’ is a statement I hear from new Masons all over the country wherever I travel on Masonic business. Maybe now is the time to consider the EXPECTATIONS of our younger Masons so that they stay with us to continue Freemasonry in the future. I, and our education team, have been working consistently to revise the Craft Education Curriculum which is being sent to your Lodge Master and his Wardens so ask to see a copy. Use any item on this curriculum as a discussion point between you and at least one other mason to make a daily advancement in Masonic knowledge. Help each other by mentoring each other. We are organizing training sessions for masons who would help mentor other masons in their learning so ask your Lodge about this too. If you are willing to help other masons then e-mail me at drgeorgeallan@gmail.com and volunteer your services. Freemasonry in New Zealand needs your help. VWBro George Allan Chair of Education Pillar
A Master Mason’s View of his Self Organised Discussion Group
T
he study group allows me to reflect on freemasonry and provides the opportunity to ask questions I would have not otherwise thought of asking within lodge. Sharing masonic experiences and knowledge between members allows me to see the ‘light’ and revisit topics from different view points or walks of life. The meetings strengthen the bond between fellow brothers and helps to reaffirm the moral and social virtues that we should be practicing as freemasons. It also enables me to develop and build the skills necessary to function as upright, just, and moral citizens both in society and within the lodge. 28
Working outside of lodge to make a daily advancement in masonic knowledge strengthens both my moral and religious beliefs. It encourages participation and gets the mind thinking about what can be done to put the practices into place. The meetings help to clarify passages of text that I do not have a clear understanding of and allow me to become wiser on the topic. Unlike the lodge, the study group provides ample opportunity for discussion on freemasonry. As a result, the members of group are able to help refine lodge/ ceremonial work before attending lodge. I like the idea of an open discussion
because it encourages members to ask questions no matter how silly they might sound. I also enjoy visiting lodge rooms and having the opportunity to pay closer attention to symbolism within the lodge. I also enjoy attending lodge of fellow members when they are advancing in the craft to show support to one another. Having more experienced brethren attend and contribute to the discussions encourages and inspires its younger members to become better freemasons. It also creates fascination and excitement with end result of delving deeper into the topic of freemasonry. Bro Glenn Aitcheson Master Mason, Lodge Mana No. 352
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Southern Division Conference Chateau on the Park, Christchurch
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In the great outdoors or scouting around! The Baden Powell Lodge No. 381 takes its Installation into the wide open spaces
O
n Saturday 21st February 2015 at Brookfield Scout Outdoor Education Centre, Wainuiomata, Wellington, The Baden Powell Lodge had its Annual Installation for the first time outdoors, in the Campfire Circle, in the presence of the Divisional Grand Master for Central RWBro John Peryer on his first official visit to the Hutt Wairarapa District.
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Talk about dispensations! VWBro Duane Williams MBE, JP, CLJ, PDistGM was installed as Master, by VWBro Glen Houlihan District Grand Master and his team from the Hutt Wairarapa District No. 21, in what is believed to be a first for New Zealand, an outdoor Installation. The Baden Powell Lodge is a National Scouting Lodge with about 60 members from all parts of New Zealand. It was, for its first 50 years, based in Auckland at Mount Roskill but was given permission to move its Charter to Wellington (because of its national status). It is currently based at the Lower Hutt Freemasons Centre in High Street. All of its members have some connection with scouting either being currently active or active in their past lives. Dispensations included change of date, change of venue, change of dress but surprisingly not one for being outdoors. It was interesting to find out what may be optional for the purposes of making a lodge room complete; namely a tracing board, squared pavement, etc. which whilst desirable are not necessarily required. BP381 were greatly assisted by The Eketahuna Lodge No. 91 who moved
their meeting, to accommodate the Installation, to the following Saturday. The Tyler really his job cut out for him with three potential entrances to the campfire circle which was in a bush setting but a five foot circular wall did provide some privacy and great acoustics! The members of the Lodge wore a scouting scarf in purple with the lodge logo embroidered on it and this practice of wearing a scarf will continue going forward for their own meetings and when visiting thanks to the appropriate approvals. 100 Brethren from the greater Wellington Region and further afield were present, with the official toasts being held in the campfire circle immediately after the Installation, followed by the Annual District BBQ and Picnic with partners and families in the grounds of Brookfield. WBro Ed Robinson G Std B, IPM Editor’s note: It is not the first outdoor meeting but probably the first Installation. We believe Lodge Tainui No. 336 in Awakino held a Degree Working in 1983 in a stand of Kahikatea at Mahoenui near the Awakino River, just prior to its closing.
60 Year Bar presented to Bro John Shepherd of The Baden Powell Lodge No. 381 Outgoing and Incoming Masters of The Baden Powell Lodge No. 381 travelled from Wellington to Taupo to present Bro John Shepherd with his 60 Year Bar recently. John has been involved in both Scouting and Freemasonry for all of those
years and a number of other Freemasons (some with Scouting connections) and their partners from the local area also joined in a celebration of John’s (and Joan’s) 60 years in Freemasonry at the Liston Retirement Village in Taupo. John was presented with his Bar, a
Baden Powell Lodge Scarf and a copy of the Installation Programme and a very nice couple of hours of reminiscing and refreshments was had. BELOW John Shepherd with Ed Robinson (outgoing master), Joan Shepherd and Duane Williams (incoming Master).
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REPOR Freemasons at It’s time to Rangihoua Heritage change names Park opening As you can see from the masthead above we have changed our trading name to Freemasons Foundation. It’s all about clarity and better communications. ROSKILL FDN
old
new
Our legal name is The Northern Masonic Association Trust
Board. Always has been. Still is. When the Board was established in 1957 this long name was appropriate for the conglomeration of Masonic interests it represented. These were the people from Lodges far and wide, from every Constitution who together created the Roskill Masonic Village. And that was it’s trading name. When the Village was sold in 2005, the trading name changed to reflect our change in direction. But a link with the past was retained and we became Freemasons Roskill Foundation. Ten years later and evolution is taking another step. The new trading name will avoid confusion and improve our communications. We are not a Lodge. We don’t have members. We are not located at Mt Roskill all of which many still seem to think. And the change will help when dealing with the wide range of organisations we now support. With the name comes a new logo and a website is being developed too. We need a public reference point for who we are and what we do. Our donations go in many directions but in general are concentrated on larger projects requiring on - going funding. We set guidelines for the amount we donate to various areas and how much we give each year will vary depending on our income levels. Our aim is to donate one million dollars a year. The Foundation consists of ten Trustees, six from the NZ Constitution, two from the English, and one each from the Scottish and the Irish Constitutions - an example of all Constitutions working together for the greater Masonic good. Judith Miller, the Chief Executive, is a full-time employee. Please feel free to keep in touch. We are always happy to hear from you and welcome any feedback you care to give. 32
Foundation representatives were amongst 1000 people
led by Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae who gathered for the opening of the Rangihoua Heritage Park at Oihi in the Bay of Islands just before Christmas.
Hear the people sing Historic river city Whanganui was in full voice
again in January. The city was set alight for two weeks when the New Zealand Opera School came to town for their annual residential training course for budding New Zealand opera singers
ROSKILL FDN
TING
The Foundation can be contacted at PO Box 113144, Newmarket, Auckland 1149. Telephone: (09) 520 6414 or email: info@freemasonsfoundation.org.nz
The new park at Rangihoua Bay, a remote
location 35kms from Kerikeri, commemorates the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the Rev Samuel Marsden and his missionaries and the establishment of the first European settlement in New Zealand. This paved the way for later mission stations at Kerikeri and Paihia and the Treaty of Waitangi 26 years later. The crowd included Government ministers, Anglican and other Church heirachy and descendants of Chief Ruatara under whose protection the Europeans were settled. A descendent and namesake of Marsden himself had travelled from the UK. A welcome sign and two sentinel poles were our contributions to the Park, acknowledged, with all donors, on a further sign leading to the entrance building, the striking wing-roofed Rore Kahu (Soaring Eagle). The heritage trail is dotted with illustrated panels of the history of the earliest days of our Maori-European nation. Thanks are extended to Judith Miller, Foundation Chief Executive, for her photographs on what, she says, was a stunning day. She highly recommends a visit.
Part of the Foundation’s involvement with New Zealand opera
is to support the Opera School in providing the intensive training the twenty-two attending singers receive. All have been selected by audition and include Freemasons Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artists. Our support helps bring the world-class tutors to the event. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is a major supporter. Whanganui was selected as the location for the school twenty years ago when it was first formed by W Bro Donald Trott, a major figure and long-time devotee of opera in this country. As an old-boy of the Wanganui Collegiate School he saw the potential of the buildings and accommodation of his old school as an ideal base for the opera tuition project. Wanganui Opera Week (WOW for short) is now identified
W Bro Trott addresses a 2014 audience.
as one of the region’s most popular events and attracts visitors from across the country. Public events over the fortnight, all keeping the young singers fully engaged, include a Chapel service, public masterclasses, café performances and, for a finale, a full concert in the Royal Whanganui Opera House –to a capacity house of 900. Bro Trott has not forgotten to include local Freemasons in the excitement. For the second year, United Lodge No 468 and St Andrew Kilwinning Lodge No 79 hosted a meeting of members, wives and friends to hear an address from international London-based voice tutor Professor Paul Farrington. A party of Opera School supporters from Bro Trott’s Lodge, The Lodge of the Liberal Arts No 500 were guests too.
In the Collegiate School assembly hall
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A rising star Edward Laurenson reports on his first term at the Guildhall School of Music Over recent years this magazine has profiled a number of rising opera stars who have been selected for the Freemasons Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist Programme. One of these was Edward Laurenson whose profile appeared in the September 2012 issue. He has now completed his first term at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music in London.
E
dward completed a Bachelor of Commerce double majoring in Information Systems and Operations and Supply Chain Management and an Honours Degree in the latter at the University of Auckland. While a student at Auckland Grammar Edward sang with the Barbershop Chorus and Quartet, played the saxophone with the Concert Band, and sang in his first production, as Marius in Les Miserables. He went on to sing in a subsequent range of productions and enjoyed success in several vocal competitions. Edward has written about his first term in London and the following is a summary of his comments. ‘The first few weeks in London were hectic as they were packed with induction lectures, international student events and meetings, career advice, various registrations, talks, tours, rehearsals and even auditions! I began to wonder whether I needed accommodation, as it felt like I was effectively living at the school. The layout of the school took me a while to navigate, as it is quite a uniquely structured facility. I found myself constantly asking for directions from other students, only to find most of them equally uncertain. By walking to and from school instead
The Barbican Centre with the Guildhall School of Music on the right.
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of taking the bus, I was able to cover the monthly cost of a gym membership by using the funds I had budgeted for my transportation. I think this feels like a ‘chop your own wood and it will warm you twice’ scenario. I am definitely much fitter because of it, and know all the little shortcuts around the Barbican! During the orientation time I met many talented musicians and was able to make numerous new friends from all around the world. Many of them are very accomplished in their respective disciplines. I am learning so much from them and have the greatest respect for their work ethic and dedication. The quality of teaching at the Guildhall has been excellent. The faculty takes a holistic approach when training their students in performance. The faculty consists of world-leading specialists from each of the areas involved in putting together a truly first-class performance. The intercommunication within the faculty is evident. It is clear that they focus on working as a team to ensure the students are developing all the aspects required to prepare and deliver a strong and well-rounded performance, rather than one entirely based on voice. I have been fortunate in having a number of opportunities throughout the
Edward Laurenson.
first term, both inside and outside the school. Highlights have been performing in Verdi’s Requiem at the Barbican; being selected to sing in a Master class in front of the school with Amanda Roocroft; and performing the role of Guglielmo in the Act I finale from Mozart’s ‘Così fan tutte’ at the Guildhall’s Open Day. I was invited to perform at West Green House, an 18th-century country house at West Green in Hartley Wintney in the English county of Hampshire. The house is famous for its fabulous gardens and summer season of opera. The setting was stunning and I was able to learn so much over the intense weekend of public and private Master classes. I will be returning to New Zealand in April to perform the role of the Baritone Soloist in the German Requiem by Brahms at the Auckland Town Hall on 12 April. I am very much looking forward to this opportunity, as the Soprano Soloist will be Patricia Wright, somebody whom I greatly admire. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank each and every one of my sponsors. Your generous support has given me this incredible opportunity to advance my operatic singing career; without this it would not be possible for me to stay in London and study at such a wonderful institution like the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.’ WBro Morris Robertson
The ‘New Zealandness’ of Heartland Bank
H
TSB, SBS and Co-operative are adding competition and giving New Zealanders greater control over this critical sector. I feel that the banks in New Zealand (and New Zealanders in general) are too focused on residential property. Countries do not prosper by buying and selling property to each other but this is by far the largest portion of banks’ assets. While we are able to provide our customers with the usual banking products and services, our focus is different from that of the other banks. Heartland provides specialist products that actually make a real difference for Kiwis and that can help them achieve their specific goals. For example, our Home Equity Loan enables retirees to stay in their own home while giving them the financial freedom to do the things they have always dreamed of, whether it’s completing home renovations or taking that trip of a lifetime. Heartland’s commitment to our local communities is an integral part of what we do. You are much more likely to see Heartland sponsoring the local school first XV or bowling club than a Super XV team. We are also delighted to be able to support talented and aspiring young New Zealanders in achieving their goals through the Heartland Bank Freemasons Scholarships. In fact, in 2014 Heartland contributed over $300,000 to organisations and individuals in local communities throughout New Zealand. Heartland is continuing to make great progress. During the course of 2014 our credit rating was upgraded and our Heartland Saver Account (which
is available through the Freemasons Deposit Scheme) was awarded a maximum five-star rating for the second consecutive year by independent research company CANSTAR. 2015 is a special year for Freemasons, celebrating 125 years in New Zealand. Heartland is looking forward to being part of this celebration. When you invest in the Freemasons Deposit Scheme, you are not only getting a good return, you are supporting Freemasonry and investing in New Zealand. If you would like more information on the Freemasons Deposit Scheme or Heartland’s Home Equity Loan, please call our dedicated Freemasons Investment Team on 0508 373 362 or email freemasons@heartland.co.nz Andrew Ford, National Retail Manager, Heartland Bank Freemasons New Zealand does not participate in and does not guarantee the obligations of Heartland Bank Limited in relation to Heartland Bank deposits. For a copy of Heartland Bank Limited’s Disclosure statement visit www.heartland.co.nz
PHOTO: FLICKER / KIWINZ
eartland Bank is very proud of our partnership with Freemasons through the Freemasons Deposit Scheme. This partnership, which is built on shared values, continues to grow and provide benefits to Freemasonry throughout New Zealand. It is a great example of how Heartland is a different kind of bank, one that strives to make a difference in New Zealand communities. New Zealand is fortunate to have a strong banking sector. This assists with the growth of our economy and helps New Zealand businesses compete on the global stage. I do however believe that New Zealand needs greater control of its banking sector. For their 2014 financial years, the big four Australian-owned banks in New Zealand made a combined net profit after tax of $4.31 billion and paid $2.56 billion in dividends to their Australian shareholders. The combined dividends paid to these offshore shareholders equates to over 1% of New Zealand’s entire GDP and the profit is almost three times the combined profit of the top 10 stocks listed on the NZX. One of Heartland’s key differences is our ‘New Zealandness’. Heartland has a long and proud kiwi history which stretches back to 1875. Our parent company, Heartland New Zealand Limited, is listed on the NZX and has over 8,000 shareholders. Importantly, all of Heartland’s board and management are New Zealand based, which means that all of our decisions are made right here in New Zealand for the benefit of our local stakeholders. In addition, all of our lending relates to New Zealand based assets or businesses. It is great that banks like Heartland, along with Kiwibank,
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A Capital Home for Freemasonry The evolution of the Wellington Freemasons Centre Sometimes, as a result of circumstances including earthquakes and the cost of maintaining ageing premises, Lodges needed to shift premises from one locality to another or to develop and share new premises, often with commercial enterprises included. Wellington’s Westminster Lodge No. 308, which has not been immune from this trend, is now in its fourth home arrived at by unique circumstances.
W
estminster Lodge was consecrated on 28 September 1939, presided over by the Grand Master, MWBro Viscount Galway, only three weeks after the outbreak of World War II. WBro Alan Hornblow had gathered together a group of like-minded Brethren to promote the establishment of a Lodge, which would cater for the needs of professional, and businessmen in the city of Wellington and would also offer membership to unattached British Brethren who had been transferred to New Zealand. This latter aim was one of the stimuli for the selection of the name, Westminster Lodge, to reflect the connection between New Zealand and Britain, which was so vital at that time. For the first twenty-nine years of its existence, Westminster Lodge met at the old lodge rooms on The Terrace and, in 1968, moved to new lodge rooms in Thorndon. When that building was sold, twenty-one years later, Westminster stayed on as a tenant of the Wellington Bridge Club until, homeless, it moved again in 1998, this time to the premises at Udy Street, Petone. The move to Petone was always meant to be temporary and several possibilities for returning to Wellington were explored over the eleven years it remained there. In 2009 the attention of a group of Westminster members was drawn to a business opportunity. By taking over a major share of an historic building in the central business district, and reenergizing it as a boutique hotel, it would be possible to incorporate, as part of the project, a lodge room which could by used by Westminster Lodge and other lodges wishing to participate. At the same time, the management of the enterprise by a company, separate from the Lodge itself and led by VWBro Stuart Brooker, would insulate the Lodge from 36
Wellesley Boutique Hotel.
Wellington Freemasons Centre Lodge Room.
the responsibilities and risks inherent in any business operation. Centrally situated and designed in a dignified Georgian style by architect W Gray Young to house a gentlemen’s club, it had long been associated with that business and professional community from which Westminster Lodge drew
many of its members. The fortunes of the Wellesley Club had progressively declined and a plan was evolved to convert the billiard room to a lodge room, which was fitted out by the combination of the resources of Westminster Lodge and the Hotel’s shareholders. As Westminster was the only lodge initially
Installation Refectory in the Grand Dining Room.
using the premises it was then named ‘The Westminster Lodge Room.’ It was dedicated on 17 September 2009 by the Grand Master, MWBro Stanley C Barker. Westminster Lodge brought its traditions to the building, now housing its treasures several of which are of historical significance. By permission of the City of Westminster the centerpiece of the Badge of Westminster Lodge is the portcullis, which is also the badge of the Palace of Westminster. A further link to that City can be observed in the rough and perfect ashlars, stones which were cut in Reigate, Surrey, in the thirteenth century and incorporated into the fabric of Westminster Abbey until they were dislodged by a German air raid. Samples were sought from the Dean of Westminster by the New Zealand High Commissioner on behalf of Westminster Lodge. On arrival, they were refashioned into their present form, to stand as a tangible connection with the City and Abbey Church of Westminster, from which the Lodge takes its name. The Wardens’ columns are fashioned from timber from the ‘buried forest’ uncovered in the course of the Arapuni hydro project on the Waikato River, timber estimated to be in the vicinity of 10,000 years old, thus a true embodiment of that ‘time immemorial’ which features in so much Masonic writing while the ceremonial salver is a link with the Lodge’s wartime birth. It was wrought from steel from the bullion room of RMS Niagara, which was sunk by a mine off the East Coast in 1940. After settling comfortably into its new home, Westminster Lodge was subsequently joined by three other Lodges and two Side Orders. But, there were grey clouds hovering in the future. Earthquakes in Canterbury, coupled with some tremors in Wellington, resulted in a collective nervousness, which sought to highlight the need for seismic strengthening towards 100% of the National Building Code. While not required to immediately strengthen the building, which had successfully withstood a number of earthquakes in its 88 years, a opportunity arose for an economic solution by bolting it to the adjacent, and very strong,
1815 Café & Bar.
former Defence building which was undergoing major refurbishment. Thus, in July 2013, the hotel temporarily closed and Westminster Lodge packed up and returned to Petone not knowing when it would be able to return. However, due to logistical complications, the strengthening plan was not able to progress at the time and Westminster Lodge led the way back to the city. The period of closure also enabled a revamp of the hotel management with a more active involvement of Freemasons, both in management roles and as volunteer advisers. The previous tenant lodges also returned and are making good use of the facilities of the hotel. Thus, with the opportunity for further lodges to join in the future, it was agreed by the Hotel’s Directors and members of Westminster Lodge that the time had come for the Lodge Room and other facilities to be more appropriately designated as the ‘Wellington Freemasons Centre.’ This change of name reflects the
location as the only lodge room in downtown Wellington and also makes it clear that it is perceived as the home base for all Freemasons in the City. The business of the Wellesley Boutique Hotel primarily exists to support Freemasonry and it is to this end that all Freemasons and their families and friends are welcome to avail themselves of the Hotel’s facilities on a regular basis. The 1815 Cafe & Bar is a great place to socialise and discuss worldly issues with other like-minded Freemasons. Regular users are invited to enjoy the discount benefits provided by the 1815 Card. There is also the opportunity for Freemasons from out of Wellington to enjoy the hotel as guests in any of the 13 bedroom suites on offer. Thus, by a circuitous route, Free masonry has, once again, established a strong presence in the heart of our Capital City. WBro Morris Robertson, IPM Westminster Lodge No.308 37
The Masonic Villages Trust is a charity set up in 1960 by Freemasons in the southern North Island to provide care and services for older people. Since then, the Trust and its two charitable operating companies, Masonic Care Ltd and Masonic Villages Ltd, have earned an enviable reputation for great care and great communities.
Boutique community comes to life
Stage one of Woburn Apartments, the Trust’s Lower Hutt boutique retirement community, is now completed. In mid-February, the builders signed off and the first residents were due to move into their new homes later in the month. Most of the individual apartments overlook the Hutt River and many have direct external access to a deck or small patio. The buildings are built in reinforced concrete and timber, with natural wood used to add character. Two storey height windows and skylights bring natural light into communal areas and add to a sense of spaciousness. The manager of the new community, Chris Wilson, says he’s really impressed with the quality of the development. Wilson has been appointed to the new role after nine years with Positively Wellington Venues. He has a Bachelor of Hospitality Management and has 15 years’ experience in customer service and operational management. Before Wellington Venues, he worked in hotels in Sydney, London and Rotorua. Wilson says the values of Freemasonry and of The Masonic Villages Trust are solid platforms on which to build the new community. “It is important to me to provide a service to residents that is professional, warm and relaxed, and to develop a strong positive culture. I’m really proud to be part of this development, as will be the residents.”
I’m really proud to be part of this development, as will be the residents.
Apartment consultant Zandy Atack in one of the newly completed apartment kitchens
Masonic Villages chief executive Warick Dunn says Wilson brings a new skill set to the Trust’s management team and his background in hospitality and operations management is ideal for managing the community. About two-thirds of the 47 apartments are either sold or under offer and Dunn expects the balance will be sold in the next few months. The residents of stage one will enjoy grandstand views of the Hutt River, north to the Tararuas and south to Wellington. They have access to two conservatories, a small library, a ‘men’s shed’, and a bar and lounge overlooking the Hutt River. Wilson says the one to three bedroom apartments, which range in size from 53 to 122 square metres, offer a superb environment for living and enjoying life. Residents are also within easy reach of the many recreational and social amenities that Lower Hutt has to offer. When the 39 apartments in stage two are completed in early 2017, the full range of village amenities will be available. A spacious entrance lobby will lead to reception, a hairdressing and beauty salon, café and dining area, snooker room and an indoor bowls and games area. On the first floor, serviced by lift and stairs, there will be a library, an IT and office suite, arts and craft room, theatre for movies and live entertainment, exercise room, gym, spa and sauna, and a large lounge and bar opening out on to a deck.
A tradesman touches-up ‘street’ balustrades in December
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For a personal tour of the apartments, contact Zandy Atack, Tel 04 978 2590 or 027 352 1854, email woburn@masonicvillages.co.nz
Training, the basis for great care
Two charge nurses at Horowhenua Masonic Village (HMV) have achieved qualifications that enable them to provide care for residents with complex health needs. Rosalind Fricker, charge nurse of Unit 2, and Rachel de Burgh, charge nurse of Unit 1, achieved their Level 3 Professional Development Reward Programme [PDRP] qualifications in December. Both say their next step is working towards master’s degrees. “It is essential we continue with our education both for personal growth and to ensure our practice remains current,” says Rachel. “Health care needs are becoming increasingly complex. We need to have the skills to care for our residents at Horowhenua Masonic Care instead of transferring them to a public hospital, particularly for end of life care. This is what many of our residents prefer.” PDRP is a competency-based professional development programme designed to recognise and reward nurses for their individual level of practice and contribution to nursing. Horowhenua Masonic Care charge nurse Rosalind Fricker with resident Bill Chapman and Rosalind says undertaking this study will encourage charge nurse Rachel de Burgh with resident Sybil Chapman. other nurses to embark on the same journey. “We quality care for Village residents and is a top priority for all staff at HMV. are grateful for the amazing support we received from the Mid-Central DHB’s nurse educator Suzie le Page and “We are privileged that The Masonic Villages Trust supports this our own colleagues and management.” and we have resources that enable a comprehensive education programme to be delivered.” Village manager Sue Maney says education is a key to delivering
Surprise audit reveals quality care
Glenwood Masonic Hospital in Masterton has performed extremely well in a surprise spot audit conducted for the Ministry of Health. This follows similar top audit results for Woburn Masonic Care, reported in the last issue of NZ Freemason. Glenwood manager Danielle Farmer says she was at a seminar in Wellington when the auditors arrived, a real case of ‘Murphy’s law’. But the hospital team kept their cool and the audit went off without a hitch.
Like to join? The trustees of The Masonic Villages Trust would like
more people who support its work to become members. Chief executive Warick Dunn says a lot of people volunteer their time to help residents and it would be great to have
them join the Trust. Also, family members of residents are
among the Trust’s strongest supporters, so it would be good to see them joining too.
Membership is open to all and costs only $20 a year. It’s
The outcome was outstanding, with the hospital receiving four accolades – known as ‘continued improvement’. There were also three aspects of documentation that needed work … issues which Farmer says have since been addressed. The accolades were for Glenwood’s complaints register and process improvements; use of quality data to improve service delivery; orientation programme improvements; and ongoing education, improved skill levels and improved staff satisfaction. “2014 was a stellar year for Glenwood. As well as the audit results, we won a DHB award for our falls prevention programme, an initiative that has resulted in significantly fewer falls. “Our team works hard every day to provide the best of care to our residents and our commitment to quality underpins everything we do. It’s great to have this publicly acknowledged.”
one of the main ways the Trust has of keeping supporters
informed and involved. Members also review the work of the Trust and elect Trustees at each annual meeting. To join the Trust, contact Warick Dunn,
warick.dunn@masonicvillages.co.nz or phone 04 569 8512..
The Masonic Villages Trust Head office: 63 Wai-iti Crescent l Woburn l Lower Hutt 5010 New Zealand l Tel +64 4 569 8512 l www.masonicvillages.co.nz warick.dunn@masonicvillages.co.nz
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Diabetes: New Zealand’s fastest growing D
iabetes is the largest and fastest growing health issue confronting New Zealanders. The statistics tell us that about a quarter of a million Kiwis have diabetes and over half a million more have pre-diabetes (when the glucose in your blood is higher than normal, but not high enough to be called diabetes). We know these figures don’t tell the full story, because there are many people who have diabetes or pre-diabetes but they haven’t been tested, so they’re unaware.
What is diabetes? Diabetes is when you have too much glucose (sugar) in the blood because your body doesn’t make enough insulin to break it down. High blood sugar levels can lead to serious damage to major organs such as heart, kidneys and eyes. There are three types of diabetes: • People who make very little or no insulin have type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes can’t be prevented and strikes people at random, most often when they’re young. People with Type 1 diabetes need insulin injections several times a day. • People with type 2 diabetes still make insulin, but their insulin production is sluggish or their body is resistant to it. • Some women develop diabetes in pregnancy (gestational diabetes). Usually it disappears after the baby is born, but women who have had gestational diabetes have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.
Am I at risk of developing diabetes? Most people in New Zealand with diabetes have Type 2. Some people are at greater risk of developing it than others: • European 40 years of age or older • Diabetes in your family (grandparents, parents, siblings) • Maori, Pasifika or South Asian aged 30 years or older • High blood pressure • Overweight • Diagnosed as having pre-diabetes
How do I know if I have Type 2 diabetes? Diabetes symptoms are not always obvious. It’s possible to have the disease and not be aware of it. Things to look out for are: • tiredness and lack of energy • needing to pass urine more often • increased thirst • sores or wounds that are slow to heal • frequent and recurring infections • blurred vision • tingling or numbness in hands or feet Diabetes is diagnosed by blood tests which can be organised through your doctor. If you’re feeling very unwell you should seek medical assistance straight away.
Diabetes New Zealand Healthy Plate
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©Diabetes New Zealand Inc. 2008
health epidemic A HEALTHY PARTNERSHIP Diabetes New Zealand and Freemasons New Zealand have been in partnership for many years especially with our Men’s Health and ‘Live Life Lighter’ Family Health programmes. Diabetes New Zealand has arranged for three copies their magazine ‘Diabetes’ to be distributed to all Lodges throughout New Zealand for the interest of members and as a resource material (Your Lodge will have received these separately). Use this featured article and the resource material provided as the trigger to check on you and your family’s wellbeing.
What can I do to try and avoid getting Type 2 diabetes? There are a few really important things you can do: • Keep your weight in a healthy range. • Stay physically active and get regular exercise. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity every day – kick a ball around outside with the kids, take a brisk walk in a local park, or take the stairs. Swimming, cycling, and mowing the lawns all count. Consider trying new activities such as dance classes, yoga or tai chi. You don’t have to do all of your daily exercise at once. Three brisk walks for 10 minutes each day may be more manageable than one 30 minute walk. • Eat healthy food. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables and not too many takeaways and instant foods which are high in sugar, saturated fat, and calories or kilojoules. Base your meals around the Diabetes New Zealand Healthy Plate model.
What can I do if I’m diagnosed with Type 2? If you’ve recently learned you have diabetes, you may be feeling upset, anxious or even angry. That’s quite normal. You may feel better knowing that diabetes can be managed so you can live a full, active and healthy life. A key part of managing diabetes is developing self-care skills to help keep well. Take time to find out more about diabetes and how you can live well. Diabetes New Zealand is the national organisation helping people with diabetes. Go to their website www.diabetes.org.nz. They’ve produced a range of resources, viewable online, many of which are free of charge. Alternatively, send them an email admin@diabetes.org.nz or give them a call on 0800 DIABETES (342 238). Diabetes NZ staff and volunteers can support you to live well with diabetes, so get in touch with them today. With thanks to Nicky Steel National Communications Manager Diabetes New Zealand
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The body of Masonry It’s about ‘Live Life Lighter’ and relates to the Health Pages in the current issue and most importantly its about Bro Adrian Owens’ journey. My Story
As a small business owner and a relatively new father of two (Maya 6, Ryder 5) I lost myself in trying to keep my business going through the recession and the steep learning curve of being a new Dad. All of my past personal goals went out the window and I ended up lost, and in the end losing me and who I am as a person. I ended up over weight, lethargic and hated myself, no, disgusted with myself and hid away not wanting any contact with outside people.
beautiful children playing in the office … And I thought ‘I can’t do this too them … And I can’t do it to me.’ Back to me
I needed to get me Before and after. back on track, I had the qualifications and knowledge to do it, but one thing I in 2 weeks’ time of which I took third realised through this journey is that ‘If place. A very humbling experience to you don't really want it... you know, that even be on that stage. deep desire that you feel burning inside What am I doing now?: Crunch time of you, it tends not to manifest. Dream. I know that I am not the only one out This came when I fell asleep behind the there that has lost their way through wheel of our car with my family in it Journey to date this life journey, so I now spend my Lost 75kg, gained lean muscle mass. I … Luckily my partner woke me before time helping others that are in a similar entered the Wellington Body Building we crashed into a parked car. Later that situation to mine. I have been Personal competition end of September 2014 and month we were at a birthday party, and we were taking photos of the day, and I won my division, and qualified for the Training for a while but got disillusioned saw one of me … and I didn't know who National Body Building Championships when I had full bookings and have people waiting and inquiries every it was initially as I was so over week... and realizing that weight. I could not help everyone sadly. Doctor’s visit I now run a group 10 My small family have been with Week Shred and 10 Week our current doctor for some years Mass building programmes, now and I was going in for an throughout the year, in overall check-up. I took both kids Wellington. I also share along with me to see my doctor some of the things I have and when I hopped onto the scales learnt through my weight it went all the way around … and loss journey on my blog Qualified Gemologist, then some! My Doctor went into www.adrianowen.me and Diamond-Grader, the next office and came back in also at facebook.com/ Internationally Qualified holding another set of scales … dream.dedicate.do Jewellery Appraiser one for each foot! And this went on If I can help motivate throughout the visit, 175kg, high one person to get back to blood-pressure, verging on type 2 discovering themselves diabetes, and morbidly obese. She again, and learning to love looked at me with a saddened look themselves, then awesome! in her eye, and told me ‘Adrian, if To my friends and family things don’t change with you and who have always stood by your weight problem, I will give me and believe in me, thank you five years before things start you and I Aroha to you all. shutting down.’ And while she was Adrian Owen telling me this I was watching my 2 04 566 3668
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www.gemlink.co.nz dennis.blacklaws@gemlink.co.nz 10 Laings Rd, Lower Hutt 42
All sorts of anniversaries R E Comp ALAN HART tells the story of Wellington Union Chapter No 517 of the English Constitution, the very first Chapter in Wellington
W
e are almost bombarded at present with reminders through the media of the significance of this year, marking as it does so many anniversaries of important events from our nation’s short recorded history.However, one item of which you will see little is reference to celebrations of a Masonic nature: this year is the 125th anniversary of the foundation of our Grand Lodge and the 123rd of our Grand Chapter. Amongst the significant anniversaries are some of Masonic bodies now long gone. Readers may be aware of the confusion/disagreement over which was the first Lodge formed in New Zealand, but this is not the situation with the Royal Arch. The first Chapter was Ara 348 of the Irish Constitution, formed in 1860 followed by Chapters of both the English and Scottish Constitutions in Otago in 1866. However, the first Royal Arch Chapter to be formed in Wellington was not established until 1875. This was Wellington Union Chapter EC, which following the English practice was attached to its mother Lodge (New Zealand Pacific) and bore the same number, 517. R C G Weston in his Centennial History of the NZ Pacific Lodge No 2 (1942) tells us that: ‘This move appears to have been initiated as a result of a letter from Bro Dr T S Bulmer, who had joined in 1872. The Chapter, known as Wellington Union Chapter, was opened towards the end of 1875, upon receipt of the charter from England.’ He reports that the original promoters were Henry E Reader, First Principal; J Le Marchant Carey, Second Principal; Peter A Chavannes, Third Principal; and Charles White, John T Rouse, John Grierson, John Craib Angus, and Edward Drury Butts (when the Chapter was actually opened Bro Butts seems to have been the Second Principal.) Other officers were C J Toxward as Scribe Ezra, T W McKenzie, Scribe Nehemiah; Bro T J Mountain, Treasurer; T J Ladd, Principal Sojourner; R C
Hamerton, First George Smith. Assistant Sojourner; Max Alexander, Second Assistant Sojourner, and Eli Buck, Janitor. The Chapter met in the Masonic Hall in Boulcott Street on the first Thursday in January, March, May, July, September and November. But the Chapter had a chequered, and ultimately short career. In March 1886, attention was drawn in New Zealand Pacific Lodge to the unsatisfactory manner in which the Royal Arch Chapter attached to the lodge was being conducted, and it was pointed out that no meetings had been held for a considerable time. The Lodge decided to call Grand Chapter’s attention to the matter, stating: ‘This neglect is very detrimental to English Freemasonry’. In light of the fact that Bro Toxward was at the time the District Grand Master and WBro (later MWBro) F C Binns was a PZ of the Chapter, it is surprising that apathy seems to have set in so deeply and so rapidly. To some extent it may be that the Chapter failed to appeal to members in only offering the single Royal Arch degree, whilst Waterloo Chapter of the Scottish Constitution provided the three with which we are now familiar. There was at that stage no English Mark Lodge in the area, to stimulate interest in degrees not worked in Craft Lodges. This was also a period where many of those known to be members of the Chapter were very active in the establishment of the District Grand Lodge of Wellington EC, which suffered numerous difficulties in its early days as recorded in A E Currie’s ‘Masonic Annals of Wellington’.
Ian Nathan’s A Centennial History of the SGRAC of NZ 1892–1992 says that the Chapter was erased from the roll of the Grand Chapter of England in 1895. Interestingly, Papers Past (paperspast. natlib.govt.nz) shows a number of references to meetings of the Chapter from 1876 through to 1884. These refer to such events as the ‘regular convocation’ on September 14 1876 and a reference in January the following year when the ‘regular monthly meeting and election of officers is postponed until Thursday next, the 18th Inst. At 8pm’. The advertisement for the May 1877 meeting specifically invited ‘visiting companions’ to attend. In February 1883 the ‘adjourned regular convocation’ was resumed on February 2 at 8pm for the election of officers, while a similar reference occurs in June 1884 when that ‘adjourned regular convocation’ seems to have finally been called for June 20 1884 at which both the election and installation of officers was to occur. Formed at the same time under the Scottish Constitution, Waterloo Chapter thenNo 166 SC was more successful 43
becoming number 2 on the formation of the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of New Zealand in 1892. In The History of Royal Arch Masonry in the Wellington District REComp FG Northern PGLec (Auckland Chapter of Research No 93 Transactions Vol 2, No 3, March 1966) tells us that ‘Eight Royal Arch Masons assembled on 22nd October, 1875, and held the inaugural meeting of the Chapter under a dispensation from the Grand Chapter of Scotland. Some difficulty was experienced in gathering enough First Principals for the installation of the Principals of the Chapter. No one today would think of starting a Chapter with such a small number of Companions, but in an entirely new area ninety years ago the sponsors were fortunate to secure even this number. No doubt at that time circumstances forced irregularities that would not be tolerated today. Like its sister Chapter, Wellington Union, Waterloo Chapter had quite a struggle in its early years; it was financially embarrassed during 44
its first ten or twelve years. Its membership gradually increased and its position thus became more stable.’ So some 140 years ago we see a willingness to confront the future with uncertainty on the horizon to two separate groups of Royal Arch Companions which for a variety of reasons stuttered along much as many things did in those days. We forget now how difficult those times were for our forebears. The Land Wars had only recently concluded and issues continued for years to come. Crops failed, gold was found, the ‘long’ depression occurred, and it would be 1882 before the Dunedin sailed from Port Chalmers with New Zealand’s first refrigerated cargo destined for Britain, pioneering the frozen meat and dairy trade that would become the cornerstone of the economy. Let us work together to ensure that when our successors in decades to come look back they can see that we likewise have a willingness to confront out own future to do what is best for our great organisation.
Masonic milestones mark year’s end On a visit to Westport in November, First Grand Principal Les Borrell, as Grand Master of the Council of Royal and Select Masters, presented REComp Dick Scadden, the Grand Superintendent, Nelson-Marlborough-Westland District, with his certificate of completion of the four degrees of Cryptic Masonry.
I
t was a unique occasion. Marlborough Cryptic Council No 14 carried out the ceremonies of Most Excellent Master and Super Excellent Master for three candidates in the morning, and VEComp Dick Williams was installed as First Principal of Kawatiri Chapter No 21 in the afternoon. Companions from all over the West Coast, Nelson, and Blenheim attended the events and in refectory M E Comp Borrell gave an update on the continuing close co-operation and progress with Grand Lodge on behalf of Freemasonry in New Zealand. A particular highlight for the First Grand Principal and those with him was the most generous hospitality accorded by Dick Williams in his home with a sumptuous feast of that West Coast specialty, whitebait fritters! The following Thursday, three Royal Arch Companions were given good reasons to remember an official visit by the GZ to Aurora Royal Arch Chapter No 109 in Lower Hutt.
In a most impressive ceremony, Companion Les Bahkos was exalted to the Royal Arch degree and two Companions of long standing were presented with First Grand Principal’s Awards. VEComp Bill Potter PGStdB received the award in recognition of his outstanding service to Royal Arch Masonry. The occasion was made even more memorable for Bill by the surprise attendance of his brother R E Comp Ray Potter SGR, from Auckland, and Les Borrell with the two recipients. other family members. VEComp Allan Wilkins PGStdB was The evening was arranged by the other recipient but in a surprise move Wellington Grand Superintendent Ken MEComp Borrell invited MEComp Bruce McQueen and the Chapter as a special Hebbard PGZ, with whom Allan has had a event for the First Grand Principal’s long and jovial relationship, to present it. visit.
Les Borrell presenting the Cryptic certificate to Dick Scadden.
Les Borrell and Bill Potter.
Bruce Hebbard presents Allan Wilkins with his First Grand Principal’s Award.
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Philippino brethren who have joined Freemasons New Zealand and are members of Lodges Clinton, Winton, Hercules, Waikaka and Switzers, and who come together to form a team to play basketball at the sports stadium in Gore. Back (l-r): Bro Jovinal Cardinoza, Lindsey Dono, Noy Noval Non, Marlon Paderanga, Santos Ariola, Rod Silvestre, Vincent Trabasas, Eric Minoza, Vincent Tolentino, Kenneth Medina. Front: Bro Sherwin Novo, Guillermo Tolentino, Michael Omega, Roland Penus, Kyrie Romero jr.
Bro Roland Penus I
Zealand. I worked on a Dairy Farm in Mossburn, Southland for 7 years and on that same farm with Bro Rodelio for 5 years. In June 2014 I got a job offer at Waiparu Farm Ltd as a Farm Manager. Moving from being an Assistant Herd Manager to Farm Manager was not easy. It took a lot of effort, hard work, patience and understanding, being physically fit and good time management to get me there. I am looking forward to contributing more to the Dairy Industry and to becoming a successful farmer here in New Zealand. Why did I join Freemasons New Zealand? I had heard about Freemasons from my friends and teammates in basketball. Most of them belonged to the organisation. WBro Dave Allnutt (WM of For work in the greater Wellington region Lodge Switzers) gave a talk about Freemasons, his words enlightened • Exterior Painting rt o p p u s o t d me. Then one day, I just found Prou • Interior Painting aland! e Z w e myself wanting to become a N s n • Commercial o Freemas member of the organisation, to • Residential develop more self-confidence and • Educational sector work The team at QPG Ltd are experienced, efficient, become a better person for my • Paper hanging and always professional. You can be sure you family and to other people in the • Spray-painting will receive a high quality of service, with great attention to detail and clear, accurate quotes. • Annual property care programmes community. One of my interests is to do charity work. For me when you give help or give something to other people you don’t expect Phone 04 577 2127 anything in return. I did my first or 027 282 7557 degree as a member of Lodge Email steve@qpgltd.co.nz Switzers No. 223. It was one of the www.qpgltd.co.nz memorable experiences that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
was born in the Philippines on 6th of June 1978 in a small town of Agoo, La Union in Philippines. I am Roland Penus, 36 years old, married to Jennifer Diokno-Penus and blessed with a 9 year old daughter named Marielle Rheiven Penus. I did not come from wealthy family; that is why at an early age I needed to work to help my parents provide for our family needs. I believed it was part of my duty being the eldest in the family. I strived to study hard to change my status
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in life. I took up Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at one of the Universities in the Philippines. After graduation, an opportunity knocked on my door. I was given a chance to work in Almarai in Saudi Arabia for six years. That work experience really helped me a lot to change my life. I had learned to become independent and get along with other people. It is at the same place where I met Rodelio Silvestre, one of my closest friends and now I can say my brother. In 2007 I decided to move to New
NEW INITIATES Hayden Prosser Matthew Mago Edsel Fernandez Grant Scannell David van der Camp Peter Roigard Robin Scott Clive Williams Andrew Barr Grant Wilkin Alwyn Loquias Roland Penus Andrew Stopps Albertus Buitenhuis Nickmard Khoey Richard Prouse Edward Dunne Barry Van Riel Graeme Gibson Paul Atkins Samuel Mudgway Craig Munday Brent Stewart Trevor Bracken Colin Clyde Carl Mendoza Bryan Latay Marcel Richards Adrian Hogwood
New Zealand Pacific No. 2 The Concord Lodge No. 39 The Methven Lodge No. 51 Lake Lodge of Ophir No. 85 Lake Lodge of Ophir No. 85 The Waipa Lodge No. 119 The Coronation Lodge No. 127 Te Awahou Lodge No. 133 Teviot Lodge No. 148 Lodge Tawhiri No. 166 Lodge Erewhon No. 200 Lodge Switzers No. 223 Empire Fergusson Lodge No. 225 Lodge Doric Brighton No. 236 Lodge Arawhaiti No. 267 Lodge Arawhaiti No. 267 Lodge Haeata No. 272 Lodge Wanaka No. 277 Westminster Lodge No. 308 Lodge Zetland No. 312 Lodge Hillcrest No. 363 Lodge Orewa No. 370 Lodge Tironui No. 400 Lodge Arawa No. 406 The Gate Pa Lodge No. 407 The Pakuranga Lodge No. 416 The Pakuranga Lodge No. 416 The Pakuranga Lodge No. 416 The Avant-Garde Lodge No. 503
Initiations between 1st November 2014 and 31st January 2015
Bro Nick Khoey I was born in Auckland, New Zealand on the 3rd of February 1980. I was raised and schooled in Auckland and graduated from Glendowie College in 1997. After I graduated high school I decided to pursue my passion for Photography and a completed a Diploma in Photography. I soon after started working in my parent’s camera shop and traveling around the world taking photos. In early 2007 I decided I needed a change of scenery and somewhere better to base myself for travel so moved to the United Kingdom for my OE. I lived in West London where I managed a boutique furniture store and travelled extensively around Europe before returning to New Zealand in late 2010. I returned to work at my family camera store and in 2014 became Manager. I became curious about Freemasonry after seeing the United Grand Lodge of England, Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street in London and started to research Freemasonry. Early in 2014 I found out a close family friend was a Freemason so
I approached him for information and then he brokered my introduction to the Lodge. I was initiated in late 2014 into Lodge Arawhaiti, which was one of the most rewarding and memorable moments of my life. My new role as Manager of my family business has presented many new challenges and I believe that already Freemasonry is already helping my personal growth and development in many areas. More than anything I am enjoying and looking forward to charity work and giving back to the community, not to mention getting to know and hang out with a great bunch of people. So far my journey with Freemasonry has far exceeded my expectations and I proud and honoured to be a Freemason and member of Lodge Arawhaiti No. 267.
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The Back Page FREEMASONS
COCKTAIL EVENING F rench Connection R usty Nail E l Presidente E xpresso Martini M argarita A lexander S crewdriver O ld Fashioned Paradise N egroni S ingapore Sling Find the recipes at http://bit.ly/FNZcocktails
Freemasons New Zealand Mission Statement: To be a modern organisation retaining our traditions of Fellowship with like minded men, Integrity and Charitable work. Freemasonry: A Way of Life. Freemasonry is unique. It cannot be likened to any Institution in that it offers experiences not found anywhere else. Freemasonry is one of the world’s oldest and largest fraternal societies. There are approximately five million Freemasons worldwide and 8500 in New Zealand. Freemasons are ordinary men in the community, 21 years and over, of all religions and backgrounds, who share a concern for human values, moral standards and the rights of individuals. There are many reasons why a man will choose to be a Freemason. It is an organisation that promotes self-development, family and community values. It provides men with an opportunity for public service and hands-on involvement in charitable and community issues, as well as a chance to socialise with men from all walks of life.
Not a Freemason?
KIRTI PODDAR / FLICKR
Interested? If you are a male, over 21 years of age and believe in a Supreme Being then contact us. Ask one to be one… or enquire at Freemasons New Zealand: www.freemasons.co.nz, email secretary@ freemasons.co.nz, telephone 04 385 6622 or write to P O Box 6439, Marion Square, Wellington 6141.
Day is done The Baden Powell Lodge No. 381 uses this as the closing ode at their meetings and it comes from the Last Post it is easy to sing with or without musical accompaniment. We are perhaps all familiar with the first verse but not necessarily the other two verses. It is a tune very familiar to Scouting and forms part of Anzac Day played by a lone trumpeter. Day is done. Gone the sun. From the lakes, From the hills, From the sky. All is well. Safely rest. God is nigh.
Fading light. Dims the sight. And a star, Gems the sky, Gleaming bright. From afar. Drawing nigh. Falls the night.
Thanks and praise. For our days. Neath the sun, Neath the stars, Neath the sky. As we go. This we know. God is nigh.
More detail on its history can be found in the Autumn 2013 Issue 72 of Compass magazine of the International Masonic Poets Society at the Freemasons New Zealand Library in Wellington. Apparently Grand Lodge has recently rearranged its offices leading to a surplus of furniture to be disposed of and the commercial operation downstairs has a masonic flavour! 48
SERVICE AWARDS 70 YEAR BADGE WBro Frederick John Eastwood Lemberg PGBB WBro Arthur Noel French PM RWBro Walter William Thomas P Prov GM Bro Gordon McLean Mearns MM WBro Louis John Gulley PM Bro Reginald Johnstone Duff MM
The Victory Lodge No. 40 Lodge Wairoa No. 55 Lodge St John No. 94 Wellsford Marsden Lodge No. 169 Pono Lodge No. 203 Lodge Manaia No. 286
60 YEAR BADGE WBro Victor Brian Heath PM Bro Rex Woodroffe Pilkington MM Bro John Henry Cole MM WBro Roy Howard Simmons PM WBro Ian Murray McSkimming PM MWBro Daniel Mearns Holmes PGM WBro Mervyn John Paulsen PGBB WBro Ian Alexander Rogers PGO WBro Roger Innes Murray PM WBro Peter William Emerton PM Bro Keith Marwood Boles MM WBro James William Bloomfield Hardie PM Bro Keith Vincent Dellow MM
Scinde Lodge No. 5 The Franklin Lodge No. 58 Lodge Oamaru Kilwinning No. 82 The Cromwell Kilwinning Lodge No. 98 Lodge Dunstan No. 103 Ikaroa Lodge No. 115 Lodge Omarunui No. 216 United Forces Lodge No. 245 Lodge Kororareka No. 304 Lodge Tokoroa-Orakau No. 344 Browns Bay Lodge No. 346 Lodge Hatea No. 431 Lodge Waikanae No. 433
50 YEAR BADGE Bro Bruce Whyte Diggle MM WBro Peter Linn McAulay PM WBro Charles Heaton Haglund PG Std B WBro Frank Scott Ansell PM WBro Bernard Charles Smith PM RWBro Robert Bruce Miller P Prov GM WBro Richard Grant Munro PM WBro Sydney Nicholson Broadley PM WBro Nicholas McKinstry PM WBro David John Brunton PM WBro Raymond Douglas Twaddle PM Bro John Croyden Dryland MM Bro William Kirby Schlef MM WBro Nigel John Inglis PM WBro Russell John Field PM WBro Kevin Harvey Henderson PM WBro Allen Keith Prentice PM RWBro Brian Kennedy Dep GM WBro John Charles Andersen Francis PM VWBro John Lawson McD Bowden P Dist GDC Bro Gordon Ross Barclay MM Bro William Thomas Pease MM
New Zealand Pacific No. 2 Southern Cross Lodge No. 6 United Lodge of Masterton No. 19 The Belmont Albion Lodge No. 45 Papakura Lodge No 56 The Advance Mawhera Lodge No. 61 The Mokoreta Lodge No. 63 The Mount Ida Lodge No. 97 Onehunga Maungawhao Lodge No. 168 Lodge Ahurewa No. 181 Lodge Clinton No. 183 Lodge Titirangi Mt Albert No. 204 Lodge Manurewa No. 222 Hauraki Plains Lodge No. 249 Unity Lodge No 271 Lodge Tawera-O-Kapiti No. 253 Lodge Zetland No. 312 Ngatiawa-Russell Lodge No. 345 Lodge Rangitane No. 369 Lodge Apanui No. 395 Meridian Lodge No. 449 Meridian Lodge No. 449
November 2014 – January 2015
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Invest in the Freemasons Deposit Scheme* to invest in New Zealand Heartland Bank is proud to be the Freemasons Deposit Scheme partner. With roots stretching back to 1875, Heartland Bank has a proud history of providing families, small-to-medium sized businesses and farms with financial solutions to help them achieve prosperity. Through our partnership built on shared values, Heartland Bank is working with Freemasons New Zealand to support the Craft in local communities, while providing Freemasons and their families with competitive interest rates on their deposits. To find out more about Heartland Bank and the Freemasons Deposit Scheme, see the inside front cover of the New Zealand Freemason. Alternatively you can contact a dedicated Heartland Bank Freemasons Deposit Scheme representative on 0508 FREEMASONS (0508 37 33 62) or email freemasons@heartland.co.nz.*
*Freemasons New Zealand is not a promoter of and does not guarantee the obligations of Heartland Bank Limited in relation to Heartland Bank deposits. Copies of Heartland Bank’s Disclosure Statement and Investment Statements are available from www.heartland.co.nz or by calling 0508 FREEMASONS (0508 37 33 62).
Call us 0508 FREEMASONS www.heartland.co.nz Email: freemasons@heartland.co.nz