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Article GRAND LODGE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA. Page 1 of 3 Article GRAND LODGE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA. Page 1 of 3 →
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Grand Lodge Of Western Australia.
GRAND LODGE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA .
ON 27 th February , in the new ballroom of Government House , His Excellency the Governor Sir Gerard Smith , K . C . M . G ., Past Grand Warden of England was solemnly installed as the First Grand Master of the Sovereign Grand Lodge of Western Australia . This event marks a distinct epoch in the history of
Freemasonry m the Australian continent and , indeed , in the Masonic world . In such circumstances , therefore , neither the ornate and impressive ceremonial prescribed for such rare occasions , nor its sequel , the social function which followed , is likely to fade from the memory of those Brethren who had
the good fortune to partici pate in either or both . The history of a movement so happily consummated may soon be told . It may , however , be premised that among true and loyal bodies of English Freemasons , jealous of maintaining the ancient landmarks of the Order , the responsibility of severing
the connection with the parent Grand Lodge is one of extreme gravity . Needless to say it is seldom undertaken unless by advice of the wisest counsellors of the Craft within the Province where Masonic sovereignty is sought to be set up . And , after all is said and done , even when the irrevocable
step is taken , it can only be finally justified by its fruits . In these colonies there already existed four Grand Lodges , those of New South Wales , Victoria , South Australia , and Tasmania . The sovereignty of these four bodies , although involving at the outset a technical act of usurpation and
disloyalty , was , in each case , more or less readily recognised by the Grand Lodges of the world , including , of course , the three parent Grand Lodges of the United Kingdom , with whom they have since continued to be bound by the closest Fraternal ties . In these instances , to vary a common phrase
, the means has amply justified the end . The Order generally has gained in strength , and its principles have been more widely inculcated , while local charities have reaped the
benefit of capitation taxes , which , under the old order of things , found their way into channels certainly most worthy , but extremely distant , and , therefore , of little or no avail to deserving local cases .
The movement for the establishment of a Grand Lodge for Western Australia had its beginning as early as 18 94 . At that date there were no other Lodges in the colony but those owning allegiance to the English Constitution , a fact which was urged with a good deal of persistency by a worthy
Brother of Geraldton Lodge , No . 1683 , as a good and sufficient reason for precipitating events . In the Eastern colonies the step had been delayed until other Constitutions were planted , a state of things which for years , except in the case of South Australia , militated against Masonic unity .
However , the District Grand Lodge of that date did not entertain the proposal , and it accordingly lapsed . In the meantime several events transpired which have had an important bearing upon the question . As was anticipated by those who originally moved in the matter , the situation
became complicated by the establishment of Lodges under the Scottish and Irish Constitutions , rendering Masonic unity less easy , although it is fully hoped and believed not impossible , of attainment . However , as in a large measure counterbalancing this temporary difficulty , the way had been
made smooth for the legal establishment of a local Grand Lodge by a radical alteration of the Constitution of the parent body . Hitherto , as previously indicated , all such defections involved an act of rebellion , whereas provision is now made by the Grand Lodge of England for the constitutional setting
up in distant parts of the Empire of a government for the Craft at once local and supreme . His Excellency Sir Gerard Smith , who recognised the expediency of establishing a Grand Lodge , did not hesitate , as District Grand Master , to at once place all the Lod ges within his judisdiction in possession of
this fact , nor did he delay in urging upon the District Grand Lodge the wisdom of initiating the autonomous movement . The declaratory step was accordingly taken in the prescribed form on nth October , when the District Grand Lodge , having first obtained the sanction of all the Lodges within its
jurisdiction , with one exception , carried a series of resolutions which virtually asserted for such District Grand Lodge all the powers and functions of sovereignty . The body thus constituted , however , did not enter upon its constitutional existence till the day when its first Grand Master was dul y installedIt is
. a coincidence not unworthy of mention , as being in keeping with Masonic traditions of loyalty to the Throne , that while many of Her Majesty ' s vice-regal representatives in Western Australia have aided in raising the superstructure of Freemasonry in the colony , its foundations
Grand Lodge Of Western Australia.
were laid at Government House as far back as 1843 by His Excellency the late Mr . John Hutt , and that this year of grace has witnessed , under vice-regal associations of the closest kind , the achievement of all that was implied by the at once solemn and social functions here recorded . It is also worthy of note that the Grand Lodge of England was
represented at those functions by a Past Grand Chaplain of England in the person of the Right Worshipful Brother Bishop Riley , who officiated as Installing Master , and who was assisted in his duties by the late District Grand Master Bro . J . A . Wright , and by the oldest surviving Past Master
of the Lodge of St . John , the parent Masonic Lodge of Western Australia . Lastly must be mentioned the fact that among the vast concourse of Brethren assembled to do Honour to the new Grand Master were very many Scottish and Irish Freemasons , surel y a happy augury of the future unity of Freemasonry in this part of the Empire .
Never before in the history of Freemasonry in the colony has such a spectacle been witnessed as that afforded , not only by the inauguration of the Grand Lodge of Western Australia and the installation of the M . W . Grand Master , but also by the magnificent gathering of Masons present to witness and
take part in the ceremony . There must have been from eight hundred to a thousand present , and it is probable that , coming as many did not only from the gold fields and the eastern and south-western districts , but also from remoter places , that nearly , if not quite , all the Lodges which have hitherto held
under the English Constitution , but now hold under the West Australian , were splendidly represented in the gathering . There were also many members of Lodges under the Sister Constitutions of Scotland and Ireland , New South Wales , Victoria , and South Australia . Such a gathering was indeed
an unique one , and fitly commemorated so important an event in West Australian Freemasonry . By the courtesy of the M . W . Grand Master-elect , the ball room at Government House was granted for the purposes of a Lodge room , and the adjoining cloak rooms were placed at the disposal of the Brethren .
The Brethren having been seated , the Chairman of the Executive Committee Bro . J . W . Hackett , M . L . C ., Acting Grand Master and his Officers entered the Hall , and the
Grand Lodge was opened in due form , after which , by , the invitation of the Acting Grand Master , Bro . the Right Rev . " C . O . L . Riley , Lord Bishop of Perth , P . G . Chap . England presided as Installing Grand Officer .
The Acting Grand Secretary having read the certificate of the election of Bro . Sir Gerard Smith , K . C . M . G ., P . G . W . England , as M . W . Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Western Australia , which constituted the authority for his installation , the Installing Grand Officer directed eight
Worshipful Masters to form themselves into a deputation for the purpose of introducing the Grand Master-elect . Preceded by the Acting Grand Deacons , the deputation withdrew , and presently returned in procession when , at a signal from the trumpeter , the Brethren rose from their feet and remained
upstanding while the procession , marched to the East , the orchestra playing the march in " Scipio . " Upon the procession halting before the Installing Grand Officer , the Grand Master-elect was presented by the Acting Grand Director of Ceremonies , and conducted to his seat . The ceremony of
obligating , investing , and installing the Grand Master was then performed by the Installing Officer , and was conducted in strict conformity with ancient Masonic usage . At its
conclusion the trumpet was sounded thrice , and three times the proclamation of the installation was made in accordance with the custom of the Craft , and the Brethren saluted the M . W . Grand Master in due form .
Bro . D . K . Congdon P . D . D . G . M ., on behalf of . the Freemasons in Western Australia ,, congratulated the M . W . Grand Master on his election and installation , which the Grand Master briefly acknowledged . He then appointed Bro . J . W . Hackett to be M . W . Pro
Grand Master , and Bro . M . Samson to be Deputy Grand Master , the ceremony of their obligation and investiture being performed by the Installing Officer , followed by the proclamation of their dignities by the Acting Grand Director of
Ceremonies and the salutations of the Brethren in due form . The Acting Grand Director of Ceremonies , by command of the Grand Master , then read the names of the Grand Officers .
The M . W . Grand Master appointed the Pro Grand Master and the Deputy Grand Master to be investing Officers , and , with regard to several Offices not yet filled , stated that the appointments would be made at a future date . The M . W . Grand Master delivered an address to the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Grand Lodge Of Western Australia.
GRAND LODGE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA .
ON 27 th February , in the new ballroom of Government House , His Excellency the Governor Sir Gerard Smith , K . C . M . G ., Past Grand Warden of England was solemnly installed as the First Grand Master of the Sovereign Grand Lodge of Western Australia . This event marks a distinct epoch in the history of
Freemasonry m the Australian continent and , indeed , in the Masonic world . In such circumstances , therefore , neither the ornate and impressive ceremonial prescribed for such rare occasions , nor its sequel , the social function which followed , is likely to fade from the memory of those Brethren who had
the good fortune to partici pate in either or both . The history of a movement so happily consummated may soon be told . It may , however , be premised that among true and loyal bodies of English Freemasons , jealous of maintaining the ancient landmarks of the Order , the responsibility of severing
the connection with the parent Grand Lodge is one of extreme gravity . Needless to say it is seldom undertaken unless by advice of the wisest counsellors of the Craft within the Province where Masonic sovereignty is sought to be set up . And , after all is said and done , even when the irrevocable
step is taken , it can only be finally justified by its fruits . In these colonies there already existed four Grand Lodges , those of New South Wales , Victoria , South Australia , and Tasmania . The sovereignty of these four bodies , although involving at the outset a technical act of usurpation and
disloyalty , was , in each case , more or less readily recognised by the Grand Lodges of the world , including , of course , the three parent Grand Lodges of the United Kingdom , with whom they have since continued to be bound by the closest Fraternal ties . In these instances , to vary a common phrase
, the means has amply justified the end . The Order generally has gained in strength , and its principles have been more widely inculcated , while local charities have reaped the
benefit of capitation taxes , which , under the old order of things , found their way into channels certainly most worthy , but extremely distant , and , therefore , of little or no avail to deserving local cases .
The movement for the establishment of a Grand Lodge for Western Australia had its beginning as early as 18 94 . At that date there were no other Lodges in the colony but those owning allegiance to the English Constitution , a fact which was urged with a good deal of persistency by a worthy
Brother of Geraldton Lodge , No . 1683 , as a good and sufficient reason for precipitating events . In the Eastern colonies the step had been delayed until other Constitutions were planted , a state of things which for years , except in the case of South Australia , militated against Masonic unity .
However , the District Grand Lodge of that date did not entertain the proposal , and it accordingly lapsed . In the meantime several events transpired which have had an important bearing upon the question . As was anticipated by those who originally moved in the matter , the situation
became complicated by the establishment of Lodges under the Scottish and Irish Constitutions , rendering Masonic unity less easy , although it is fully hoped and believed not impossible , of attainment . However , as in a large measure counterbalancing this temporary difficulty , the way had been
made smooth for the legal establishment of a local Grand Lodge by a radical alteration of the Constitution of the parent body . Hitherto , as previously indicated , all such defections involved an act of rebellion , whereas provision is now made by the Grand Lodge of England for the constitutional setting
up in distant parts of the Empire of a government for the Craft at once local and supreme . His Excellency Sir Gerard Smith , who recognised the expediency of establishing a Grand Lodge , did not hesitate , as District Grand Master , to at once place all the Lod ges within his judisdiction in possession of
this fact , nor did he delay in urging upon the District Grand Lodge the wisdom of initiating the autonomous movement . The declaratory step was accordingly taken in the prescribed form on nth October , when the District Grand Lodge , having first obtained the sanction of all the Lodges within its
jurisdiction , with one exception , carried a series of resolutions which virtually asserted for such District Grand Lodge all the powers and functions of sovereignty . The body thus constituted , however , did not enter upon its constitutional existence till the day when its first Grand Master was dul y installedIt is
. a coincidence not unworthy of mention , as being in keeping with Masonic traditions of loyalty to the Throne , that while many of Her Majesty ' s vice-regal representatives in Western Australia have aided in raising the superstructure of Freemasonry in the colony , its foundations
Grand Lodge Of Western Australia.
were laid at Government House as far back as 1843 by His Excellency the late Mr . John Hutt , and that this year of grace has witnessed , under vice-regal associations of the closest kind , the achievement of all that was implied by the at once solemn and social functions here recorded . It is also worthy of note that the Grand Lodge of England was
represented at those functions by a Past Grand Chaplain of England in the person of the Right Worshipful Brother Bishop Riley , who officiated as Installing Master , and who was assisted in his duties by the late District Grand Master Bro . J . A . Wright , and by the oldest surviving Past Master
of the Lodge of St . John , the parent Masonic Lodge of Western Australia . Lastly must be mentioned the fact that among the vast concourse of Brethren assembled to do Honour to the new Grand Master were very many Scottish and Irish Freemasons , surel y a happy augury of the future unity of Freemasonry in this part of the Empire .
Never before in the history of Freemasonry in the colony has such a spectacle been witnessed as that afforded , not only by the inauguration of the Grand Lodge of Western Australia and the installation of the M . W . Grand Master , but also by the magnificent gathering of Masons present to witness and
take part in the ceremony . There must have been from eight hundred to a thousand present , and it is probable that , coming as many did not only from the gold fields and the eastern and south-western districts , but also from remoter places , that nearly , if not quite , all the Lodges which have hitherto held
under the English Constitution , but now hold under the West Australian , were splendidly represented in the gathering . There were also many members of Lodges under the Sister Constitutions of Scotland and Ireland , New South Wales , Victoria , and South Australia . Such a gathering was indeed
an unique one , and fitly commemorated so important an event in West Australian Freemasonry . By the courtesy of the M . W . Grand Master-elect , the ball room at Government House was granted for the purposes of a Lodge room , and the adjoining cloak rooms were placed at the disposal of the Brethren .
The Brethren having been seated , the Chairman of the Executive Committee Bro . J . W . Hackett , M . L . C ., Acting Grand Master and his Officers entered the Hall , and the
Grand Lodge was opened in due form , after which , by , the invitation of the Acting Grand Master , Bro . the Right Rev . " C . O . L . Riley , Lord Bishop of Perth , P . G . Chap . England presided as Installing Grand Officer .
The Acting Grand Secretary having read the certificate of the election of Bro . Sir Gerard Smith , K . C . M . G ., P . G . W . England , as M . W . Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Western Australia , which constituted the authority for his installation , the Installing Grand Officer directed eight
Worshipful Masters to form themselves into a deputation for the purpose of introducing the Grand Master-elect . Preceded by the Acting Grand Deacons , the deputation withdrew , and presently returned in procession when , at a signal from the trumpeter , the Brethren rose from their feet and remained
upstanding while the procession , marched to the East , the orchestra playing the march in " Scipio . " Upon the procession halting before the Installing Grand Officer , the Grand Master-elect was presented by the Acting Grand Director of Ceremonies , and conducted to his seat . The ceremony of
obligating , investing , and installing the Grand Master was then performed by the Installing Officer , and was conducted in strict conformity with ancient Masonic usage . At its
conclusion the trumpet was sounded thrice , and three times the proclamation of the installation was made in accordance with the custom of the Craft , and the Brethren saluted the M . W . Grand Master in due form .
Bro . D . K . Congdon P . D . D . G . M ., on behalf of . the Freemasons in Western Australia ,, congratulated the M . W . Grand Master on his election and installation , which the Grand Master briefly acknowledged . He then appointed Bro . J . W . Hackett to be M . W . Pro
Grand Master , and Bro . M . Samson to be Deputy Grand Master , the ceremony of their obligation and investiture being performed by the Installing Officer , followed by the proclamation of their dignities by the Acting Grand Director of
Ceremonies and the salutations of the Brethren in due form . The Acting Grand Director of Ceremonies , by command of the Grand Master , then read the names of the Grand Officers .
The M . W . Grand Master appointed the Pro Grand Master and the Deputy Grand Master to be investing Officers , and , with regard to several Offices not yet filled , stated that the appointments would be made at a future date . The M . W . Grand Master delivered an address to the