The Manawatu Freemason

  President George Washington laying the cornerstone of the United States Capitol   during a Masonic ceremony on September 18, 1793 The ideals celebrated on Independence Day closely align with Masonic principles The Fourth of July, or American Independence Day, is a date of profound historical importance. It marks the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776—a defining moment that established the birth of the United States. For Freemasons around the world, this day also holds special significance, as many of the ideals celebrated on Independence Day closely align with Masonic principles. The influence of Freemasonry on the founding of the United States is not just symbolic—it is woven into the very fabric of the nation’s origin story. The Declaration of Independence was more than a political document; it was a bold philosophical statement inspired by Enlightenment ideals. Core beliefs such as liberty, equality, and the right to self-governance echoed strongly withi...

  Sir Thomas Lipton, 1st Baronet, KCVO Tea Magnate Bro "Tommy" Lipton was born on May 10 1848 in Glasgow and emigrated to the USA in 1865 where he ended up working in the tobacco fields of Virginia and rice plantation.  He is reputed to have said  "People must eat...and the store that tempted people to buy goods would never be empty of customers" In 1870 he returned to Glasgow and helped his parents run their small shop.  It was this same year that he was Initiated into the Scotia Lodge No 178 Glasgow on the 31st May 1870 aged 22.  He was Passed on 17th August 1870 and Raised later that same evening. On his 21st Birthday he opened his own shop at 101 Stobcross St in Glasgow. The shop  was in the heart of industrial Glasgow, with its smoke and fog.  The shop was said to be so brightly lit at night that it became a beacon in the street, Goods were stacked in the American fashion, not for the convenience of the proprietors, but with the purpose of catchin...

  The Hon. Mrs. Elizabeth Aldworth, nee St. Leger, known as ‘The Lady Freemason’ The Hon. Mrs. Elizabeth Aldworth, nee St. Leger, known as ‘The Lady Freemason’ was the first woman recorded as being initiated into Freemasonry sometime between 1710 and 1712, into a Lodge which met at her family home, in County Cork, Ireland. It was presided over by her father Viscount Lord Doneraile, and it is said that Mr. Richard Aldworth, whom she later married, was also present.  According to a memoir published in 1811, the teenage Elizabeth fell asleep in the library, and was awakened by the sound of voices coming through some loose brickwork left behind from an unfinished restoration.  Her curiosity aroused, she managed to loosen the bricks and watched spell-bound; as she eavesdropped upon the masonic ceremony going on in the next room.  As it neared its conclusion, she tried to escape unnoticed, but on opening the door, was met by a grim-faced Tyler holding a drawn sword; her fa...

Elias Ashmole by John Riley Brother Elias Ashmole - English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer, freemason and student of alchemy Brother Elias Ashmole was born on the 23rd  May 1617 in Lichfield at the age of sixteen he left Lichfield to move to London it was there that he began keeping a diary of his life. In one of his entries he writes that on ‘October 16, 4.30pm – I was made a Freemason at Warrington in Lancashire with Colonel Henry Mainwaring (a Roundhead friend related to his father-in-law) of Karincham in Cheshire. The names of those that were then at the lodge, Richard Penket Worden, James Collier, Richard Sankey, Henry Littler, John Ellam, Richard Ellam and Hugh Brewer.’ Bro Ashmole was an antiquary with a strong Baconian leaning towards the study of nature. His library reflected his intellectual outlook, including works on English history, law, numismatics, chorography, alchemy, astrology, astronomy and botany.  Although he was one of the founding Fel...

  Brother Harry Houdini.  March 24, 1874 - October 31st 1926 Brother Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz in Budapest, Hungary, on March 24, 1874, to a large Jewish family.  He was one of seven children and his parents, Rabbi Mayer Sámuel Weisz and Cecília Steiner brought the family to the United States when Erik was four.  They arrived in America on July 3, 1878, on the SS Fresia, changing their name to the German spelling Weiss and Erik’s name to Ehrich. This famous photograph captures legendary escape artist Harry Houdini preparing to leap from the Harvard Bridge into the freezing Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 30, 1908 Known to his brethren by his real name, Brother Ehrich Weisz was initiated on July 17, 1923, into St. Cecile Lodge No. 568 in New York City, a "daylight lodge" specifically designed for performers and theatrical people and famous as the first strictly "daylight" Masonic lodge in the world. He was raised to the Sublime Degree of Mast...

  W.Bro. Peter Justice was installed as Worshipful Master exactly 20 years after he had done the job last time on 8 April 2026.    It was a very well attended meeting, both by members of this Lodge as well as from many other Lodges from as far away as Auckland.

  Rei Kōtuku Charitable Trust receives significant help from The Manawatu Kilwinning Lodge Dr Amanda Evans gave an outline of the Rei Kōtuku Charitable Trust to the Brethren, visitors and guests of The Manawatu Kilwinning Lodge No 47 in Palmerston North after she was presented with a donation of $20,402.86 from the Lodge on 11 February 2026 at the Lodge rooms in the Manawatu Masonic Centre. Rei Kōtuku is a paediatric palliative care service that provides specialist medical, nursing and allied health wraparound support to seriously ill children and their families from Wellington to Hawke’s Bay and Taranaki. It is funded through private contributions as it is not publicly funded. In 15 months, they cared for 68 palliative babies, children and teenagers, including 29 who have died. They also provided bereavement support to their families. WBro John Brooks WM created a Master’s project that recycled over 5.6 tonnes of lead-acid batteries in a 16-month period. The project was supported ...

  UCOL ākonga awarded $35,000 in 10th year of Freemasons Willson Lewis Scholarship Eighteen Manawatū ākonga were awarded Freemasons Willson Lewis Scholarships on 18 March 2026, totalling $35,000 to assist them with their studies and career advancement. The Freemasons Willson Lewis Scholarships is a joint initiative between Freemasons Lodge Manawatu Kilwinning No 47, UCOL and Master Builders.  The scholarships were first awarded in 2016, with the goal of helping tradespeople working in the construction industry to develop their skills further.  These scholarships are supported by the Manawatu Kilwinning Charitable Trust and The Freemasons Charity of New Zealand. This year, the 18 scholarships were awarded to ākonga currently studying the New Zealand Diplomas in Architectural Technology, Construction Management and Quantity Surveying. These scholarships come in the form of monetary awards to help recipients with costs associated with their study.  This year’s recipient...

  Joseph Banks. 1743 - 1820 Sir Joseph Banks, the eminent naturalist, was the first Freemason to set foot on Australian soil, he was at the time on a combined Royal Navy & Royal Society scientific expedition to the South Pacific Ocean on HMS Endeavour led by Captain James Cook. Joseph Banks was born on 24 February 1743, the son of William Banks, a wealthy Lincolnshire country squire and member of Parliament.  He was initiated into Freemasonry at Somerset House Lodge No. 4 prior to 1768. Various scholars have attempted to establish the date of his initiation into The Horne Lodge. A closer approximation of the date of Banks’ initiation can be made by reference to his contemporary Freemasons, such as Thomas Dunkerley (the natural son of George III), Lord Gormastone, Viscount Hampden, James Heseltine, and Admiral Peter Parker, for instance. Banks may have joined the lodge when he was at Oxford University, though one might have expected that he would have achieved some of his s...

Edward Anthony Jenner. 1749 - 1823 Bro Edward Jenner was born on May 17th 1749 he was raised on December 30th 1802 and died January 26th 1823. Bro Edward Anthony Jenner was born in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England.  Bro Jenner is credited for discovering the scientific principles of immunization and for engineering the vaccine for smallpox. Bro Jenner's dream was for future generations to live in a world without smallpox.  This dream finally became reality 56 years after his death, when the World Health Organization declared smallpox an eradicated disease. Jenner was raised a Master Mason in 1802 and was a member of Lodge of Faith and Friendship No.270 in Gloucestershire, England.  He was active in the fraternity, serving in 1812 as Master of his lodge.  This lodge was regularly visited by the Prince of Wales – the future George IV – who would play a significant role in Bro Jenner’s life.  In 1821, having known him to be a man of integrity from their time toge...

  Bro Lionel Brockman Richie Jr Bro Lionel Brockman Richie Jr was born on the 20th June 1949 in Tuskegee Alabama, the son of Lionel Brockman Richie, a U.S. Army systems analyst, and Alberta R. Foster, a teacher and school principal. His grandmother Adelaide Mary Brown was a pianist who played classical music. He signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records in 1968 for one record before moving to Motown Records originally as a supporting act for the Jackson 5, the Commodores became an established soul group in 1974.  In 1982 Bro Richie left the Commodores and started his solo career realising his first solo album “Lionel Richie” that contained three single, US number one hits. Over the years he has won four Grammy Awards including song of the year in 1985 for “we are the world” which he co-wrote with Michel Jackson, Album of the Year in 1984 for Can’t Slow Down, Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) in 1984, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for Truly in 1982, Richie was ...

Douglas MacArthur.  26 January 1880 - 5 April 1964 Bro Douglas MacArthur, born on the 26th January 1880 Bro MacArthur was a scholar and military leader dubbed “The American Shogun”.  While stationed in the Philippines, MacArthur was made a Mason “at sight” by the Grand Master of the Philippines, he was raised on the 14th January 1936 and had received the 32nd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite on the 28th March of that same year.  Being made a "Mason at sight" is a rare Masonic procedure where a Grand Master uses their authority to initiate, pass, and raise a candidate to the degree of Master Mason in a single session, bypassing the usual waiting periods and proficiency requirements. He was was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army.  He served with distinction in World War I; as chief of staff of the United States Army from 1930 to 1935; as Supreme Command...

  Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer and an artist.  Since its inception in 1901, Churchill is the only British Prime Minister to have won the Nobel Prize in Literature and was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. Churchill was initiated into Studholme Lodge No. 1591 (now United Studholme Alliance Lodge) on 24 May 1901.  Churchill completed his Second Degree nearly two months later on 19 July 1901 and was then made a Master Mason on 25 March 1902. Churchill's apron now resides in the Museum of Freemasonry, United Grand Lodge of England. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874–1965) was a monumental British statesman who served as the ...

  Bro Sir Malcolm Campbell. 1885 - 1948 Bro Sir Malcolm Campbell was born in Chislehurst, London on the 11th March 1885, and is a famed British motor racing driver and motoring journalist.  He is famous for being the first to break the land speed record in 1924 at 146.16 mph at Pendine Sands near Carmarthen Bay on the South Coast of Wales, driving a 350 horsepower V12 Sunbeam (now on display at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu).  Between 1924 and 1935 he broke nine land speed records.  He set his final record at the Bonneville Salt Flats on Utah USA on the 3rd September 1935 and was the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph.  Bro Campbell also set the water speed record four times, his highest speed being 141.740 mph in the Blue Bird K4 on the 19th August 1939.  Bro Campbell was initiated into Freemasonry on the 15th October 1924 into Old Uppinghamian Lodge No.4227, passed on the 9th December 1924 and raised on the 14th January 1925....

  Rowland Hussey Macy (1822–1877) is remembered as the man who changed retail forever. Fewer people know that he was also a Freemason. Macy was a member of Merrimack Lodge in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he opened his first dry goods store in 1851. Those early years were rough—between 1843 and 1855 he opened four stores in Massachusetts and one in California during the Gold Rush. All of them failed. But instead of quitting, he studied what went wrong and kept going. Born on Nantucket into a Quaker family, Macy went to sea at 15 on a whaling ship called the Emily Morgan.  During that voyage he got a red star tattoo on his forearm—a symbol that later became the famous Macy’s star logo. In 1858, he moved to New York City and opened “R. H. Macy Dry Goods” at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street.  His first day made only $11.08. By the end of that first year, the store had done over $85,000 in sales. That shop became the foundation of the modern department store. Macy introduced id...