Western Australia.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA .

YESTERDAY ( 20 th September ) will be ever memorable in the annals of Freemasonry in Western Australia , witnessing as it did the installation of His Excellency the Governor as Master of the District Grand Lodge of that colony . Although a Masonic Lodge was established in

Western Australia as early as 1843 , the progress of the Craft , like that of the colony , was , until recent years , extremely slow . The foundations of the Order were , however , well and truly laid , with the result that latterly the advancement of Freemasonry has kept in step with the onward march of the

country . When , eleven years ago , a District Grand Lodge was established in the colony , only six Lodges were in existence , all being incorporated under the English Constitution , whereas to-day the number of English Lodges has grown to thirty-one , while in addition no less than fifteen

Lodges have been formed under the Scotch Constitution , under which a District Grand Lodge has also been established . The first District Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge was Bro . J . A . Wright , who , until yesterday , had continued to hold , with credit to himself and advantage to

the Craft , that high office . Owing , however , to his official duties demanding his constant presence at a distance remote from the metropolis , and to the increasing burdens of his Masonic duties , consequent upon the rapid extension of the Order , Bro . Wright some months ago placed his resignation in the hands of the Grand Master H . R . H . the Prince of

Wales . While Bro . Wright ' s retirement has given occasion for much regret , that regret has been tempered by the wisdom exercised by the Grand Master in selecting His Excellency

the Governor Sir Gerard Smith as the future head of Freemasonry in Western Australia . No further evidence is needed on this point than was afforded by the ceremonies of yesterday .

The attendance was a record one . Only three Lodges in the colony were unrepresented , and the number of Brethren present must have closely approximated , if it did not exceed ,

400 . -.-:.. . Prior to the installation ceremony the annual District Communication , which had been deferred from April last , was held under the presidency of the retiring District Grand Master , the business being of a purely formal character .

The ceremony of installing His Excellency the Governor Sir Gerard Smith , K . C . M . G ,, as the new District Grand Master was announced to commence shortly after six o ' clock , at which hour the large Lodge room of the Freemasons ' Hall was filled as it had never been filled before . The

District Grand Master officiated as Installing Officer , and the ceremony , having regard to the rarity of its occurrence , was performed in a manner highly creditable to the District . The ornate ritual prescribed for such occasions was duly observed , and the artistic effect produced by the proceedings was

considerably hightened and enchanced by the incidental music , rendered with his usual skill b y Bro . W . Ernest Crome District Grand Organist . The installation of the District Grand Master was followed by the investiture of the

District Grand Officers for the ensuing year , by His Excellency . This completed the formal ceremony , and the District Grand Lodge became forthwith fully and regularly constituted .

The District Grand Master having expressed his sense of the honour which had been conferred upon him , first , by His Royal Highness the Grand Master in appointing him to the

highest Masonic post in his gift in Western Australia ; secondly , by the Brethren , in having gathered round him in such truly splendid numbers on the occasion ; and , lastly , by the District Grand Master and Officers of the District Grand

Lodge of the Scottish Constitution , who , with so many of the Scotch Brethren , were present to witness his installation . Bro . Rowe D . G . M . of the Scotch District Grand Lodge

subsequently felicitated His Excellency upon his installation , as also did the Installing Master , after which , certain formal business being disposed of , the District Grand Lodge was declared closed .

His Excellency the new District Grand Master is a Freemason of nearly twenty years standing , having been initiated on 4 th May 1880 , in the Studholme Lodge , No . 1591 , London . It may be interesting to recall the fact that H . R . H . the late Duke of Clarence , only a year prior to his

untimely demise , had been , in accordance with ancient usage , where members of the Royal family are concerned , elected the permanent Master of this famous metropolitan Lodge . The new District Grand Master is also a member of the Studholme Royal Arch Chapter , to which he was admitted

Western Australia.

on 27 th March 1885 . On leaving England to assume the administration of the Government of the colony His Excellency was honoured by H . R . H . the Prince of Wales Grand Master of the Order with the rank of Past Grand Warden of England . Since becoming a Freemason His

Excellency has taken an active interest in all matters appertaining to the Order . Some years prior to leaving England , his enthusiasm was rewarded by his election to the Worshipful Master's chair of his Mother Lodge , which in the case of the Studholme Lodge is a real distinction . It is no

matter of surprise that one so closely attached to Freemasonry , and so thoroughly alive -to its distinguishing characteristics of loyalty and benevolence as His Excellency , should have identified himself with the Order in Western Australia immediately upon entering upon his vice-regal duties . He

at once became affiliated with St . George Lodge , and later was one of the founders of the Military Lodge , of which he became the first Worshi p ful Master . It need hardly be said in the light of the foregoing that His Excellency's Masonic career has been such as to warrant the hope that during his

tenure of office as District Grand Master in Western Australia his enthusiasm will , as far as the Brethren generally are concerned , prove contagious , and that when the time comes for His Excellency to hand over the high trust with which he has been commissioned the Order will have flourished even

more rapidly than in the past as regards numbers , and have more than ever distinguished itself by its good works . Not only is Freemasonry honoured by Sir Gerard Smith ' s appointment to the post of District Grand Master , but , as

His Excellency himself would be the first to admit , the honour is mutual , for to such an eminence has the credit of Freemasonry been advanced that rulers and distinguished persons in every age have not thought it derogatory to their dignity to patronise its mysteries and join in the assemblies .

Later in the evening a banquet was held in the banqueting hall to commemorate the occasion . At this entertainment about 150 Brethren were present , and at its close a brief toast list was disposed of . — " West Australian . "

Ad00502

A Feature of the Metropolis . SPIERS & POND'S Criterion Restaurant , PICCADILLY CIRCUS , LONDON , W . EAST ROOM . Finest Cuisine , unsurpassed by the most renowned Parisian Restaurants . Luncheons , Dinners , and Suppers , a la carte and prix fixe . Viennese Band . GRAND HALL . Musical Dinner 3 / 6 per head , Accompanied by the Imperial Austrian Band . WEST ROOM . Academy Luncheon 2 / 6 , Diner Parisien 5 / -. BUFFET and Quick service a la carte and GRILL ROOM . moderate prices . Joints in each room fresh from the Spit every half-hour . AMERICAN BAR . Service of special American Dishes , Grills , & c . Splendid Suites of Rooms for Military and other Dinners .