Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ

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Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ
Freemason
                      NEW ZEALAND

                      Issue 2 (Vol. 46), June 2018

Forty Years of
Freemasons Scholars

                       www.freemasonsnz.org
Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ
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Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ
In this issue
From the Editor 2                                                        Forty years on:
Hot Off the Press 3                                                      The 2018 College
Grand Master’s visits 3                                                  of Scholars 20
Grand Master 4                                                           Roll call of scholars 22
Speaking Up and building                                                 The privilege of reply:
on our success                                                           Julia Plank 26
President of the Board 4                                                 The second year of the Lawson-Smith Freemasons
Building a future                                                        Education Trust Scholarships 27

Executive Director 5                                                     Forging careers 28
Help is at hand                                                          A passionate
                      News clips 6                                       volunteer 30
                      Have Your Say 8                                    Cooling a hot
                                                                         problem 32
                      A tribtute to MWBro
                                                                         Heartland Bank
                      Dan Holmes,                                        Freemasons Scholars
                      Past Grand Master 10                               2018 33
Speak Up for
Freemasonry 12                                                           THE FREEMASONS
Tell them your story                                                     CHARITY
                                                                         Where have all the projects gone? 34
FREEMASONS                                                               Funding now available for publicity
IN ACTION                                                                University appreciation! 35
Timaru Freemasons Centre
Re-dedication and a smoking hot donation! 14
                                                                         Mythbusters 36
Lodge Katikati No 295 hosts NZ Male Choir 15
                                                                         An initiates charity connection 37
Masonic Winter food top up! 15
                                                                         The Freemasons Foundation 38
Dunedin Masonic Charity Bowls 16
                                                                         A ‘seniority’ of grand masters 40
                      The Tranz Alpine Scooter Safari 2018 16
                                                                         The Masonic Villages Trust 42
                      Freemason support to Tauranga Boys’
                      College Robotics Club 17                                                                Royal Arch 44
                      Ride of Respect 2018 18
                      Band of Brothers 18                                                                     Some of our newest
                      The Vacant or Empty Chair                                                               Freemasons 46
                      Ceremony 19
                                                                                                              New initiates 47
                  Freemasons a lifesaver for
                                                                                                              The Last Word! 48
Kapiti Coastguard 19
                                                                                                              Service awards 49
Lodge Dunstan has a new mosaic pavement 19

COVER Five Psychology Scholars rising up the steps to a baby-friendly Parliament.
From bottom: Leith Pugmire with her 3-month old baby, Apriel Jolliffe Simpson, Gina Broom, Rebecca Graves and Kim Doncaster.
Neil Mackenzie

                                                         www.freemasonsnz.org                                                     1
Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ
FREEMASONS NEW ZEALAND
National Office
                                                                                     From the Editor
Unit 2, 22 Tacy Street
Kilbirnie, Wellington 6022
PO Box 6439, Marion Square
Wellington 6141                                                       I hope you are all warm and well but keeping an eye out for
New Zealand                                                           those who might need our assistance over the winter period.
Ph: +64 4 385 6622                                                       There are two very different sides of the coin, in relation to
Fax +64 4 385 5749                                                    the elderly, Elder Abuse Verses Elder Care.
Email: membership@freemasonsnz.org                                       One side of the coin is sadly Elder Abuse:
communications@freemasonsnz.org                                          This is serious and we all need to be on the look-out for
www.freemasonsnz.org                                                  abuse and make sure we report it.
                                                                         One of Freemasonry’s guiding principles is caring for others
The New Zealand Freemason is the official journal of the
                                                                      and especially the elderly.
Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of New Zealand.
Unless otherwise indicated, the opinions expressed and the               An interesting and informative video from Office for
advertising content are those of the authors and do not               Seniors New Zealand can be found at http://bit.ly/seniorsvid
necessarily reflect the policy of Grand Lodge.                        or on the Freemasons New Zealand website and social media
  Articles appearing in this journal may be reproduced                http://bit.ly/seniorsvidfnz
without permission provided acknowledgement of the                       Another side of the coin is Elder Care:
source is made and a copy of the publication is forwarded                Did you know? that Freemasons look after the 3500 widows
to the Grand Secretary (secretary@freemasonsnz.org).                  of former members and their families, Freemasons provide
  Queries or comments regarding subscription or distribution
                                                                      regulars gifts to widows (this year our ‘random act of kind-
should be addressed to membership@freemasonsnz.org
or the Executive Director, PO Box 6439, Marion Square,
                                                                      ness’ is a petite electric torch key ring) and assistance to older
Wellington 6141. Queries and comments regarding content               members, widows and their families, when required, from The
and advertising should be addressed to the Editor.                    Freemasons Charity and from our Lodges.
Contributions to the magazine, preferably in electronic                  Did you also know? that we have Charitable Masonic Elder
form (e.g. MS Word documents) are greatly appreciated                 Care Trusts that look after many hundreds of New Zealanders
and should be of interest to a wide audience. Photographs             (most of whom have no masonic connection) in 33 Villages,
should be high quality, preferably in jpg or tif format.              with nearly 1200 villas, units and care beds within care facilities
Contributions may be edited in order to fit space available           and with further expansion planned.
and to achieve overall balance. Letters to the Editor                    As Freemasons we should always be looking for something
should not exceed 300 words. A guidance sheet for                     to say …
preparation of publishable material is available on request
                                                                         Here are some things masonic that ‘Speak Up’ for
from the Editor. Contributions should be forwarded to
communications@freemasonsnz.org                                       Freemasonry in New Zealand.
                                                                      ŠŠ Scholarships – Both national and local
Freemasons NZ contributions to Duane Williams, Editor
communications@freemasonsnz.org                                       ŠŠ Neurology – Medical Research into degenerative brain dis-
                                                                         eases at Auckland University
Royal Arch contributions to Geoff Davies,
merlin81@xtra.co.nz                                                   ŠŠ Paediatrics – Infant and childhood diseases with Medical
                                                                         Fellowships at Otago University
Magazines are distributed in March, June, September
and December. The deadlines for contributions are the                 ŠŠ Elder Care – Extensive Masonic Villages with a charitable
first day of February, May, August and November                          ethos
Layout by Bartlett Projects, Wellington                               ŠŠ Widows and Older Brethren – Care, interest and loving
Printed by Fisher Print Ltd, Palmerston North                            kindness extended by Lodges and The Freemasons Charity
Copyright © 2018 Freemasons NZ
                                                                      ŠŠ Lodge and District Projects – what you are doing at a local
                                                                         level to connect and help your community as Freemasons.
ADVERTISING RATES PER ISSUE                                           I hope that this issue contains lots to inform, educate and de-
Description		 Height Width Base price                    Discounted
                                                                      light you as readers in the area of education, what we are doing
            				                                         (4 Issues)   in our communities as Freemasons, what our major Charities
                                                                      and Elder Care Trusts are doing and a magazine full of inter-
Full page		       240mm        175mm         $1250         $1000
                                                                      esting articles.
Half page		       240mm         85mm         $650           $500                           VWBro Duane Williams MBE, JP, KLJ, GSec
(vertical)
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(horizontal)
Banner		 75mm                  175mm         $350           $250
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All figures GST exclusive. For full advertising details contact                                                Duane hard at work for
communications@freemasonsnz.org                                                                                Freemasons New Zealand
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                                                                                                               holiday in Goa, India.
2
Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ
Hot Off the Press
New Central and                                  Freemasons New Zealand new national office
Northern Division                                ‘Speaking up for Freemasonry’
Appointees on the Board                          Is your Lodge Building ‘Speaking Up for       floor frontage and bold imagery near
of General Purposes                              Freemasonry’?                                 Wellington Airport.
                                                    National Office is now well and truly         Show us a photo of your Lodge
WBro Geoff Davies PGD and VWBro                  out in the community and ‘Speaking            ‘Speaking Up for Freemasonry’ and
Mike Hattie PDistGM have been appoint-           Up for Freemasonry’ with its fantas-          while you are at it ‘Speak Up’ yourself
ed to the Board of General Purposes and          tic suburban location, with ground            with a member of the public today.
their first Board Meeting was on 13 June
2018 in Wellington at the                                                                                    Freemasons
new National Office.                                                                                         New Zealand
   Geoff brings to the                                                                                       National Office
Board a strategic per-                                                                                       New…
spective as well expertise                                                                                   Physical address:
in the areas of commu-                                                                                       Unit 2, 22 Tacy St,
nications, public affairs,                                                                                   Kilbirnie, Wellington 6022
relationship and media
management.                                                                                                  Remaining the same…
   Mike brings a keen                                                                                        Postal address:
business acumen and an                                                                                       PO Box 6439,
analytical and detail-ori-                                                                                   Marion Square,
ented approach to the                                                                                        Wellington 6141
Board.                                                                                                       Telephone: 04 385 6622
   We wish them well in their impor-                                                                         Fax: 04 385 5749
tant task of providing governance for
Freemasonry in New Zealand.

A ‘random act of kindness’
Our widows are again receiving a ‘random         gift will go out to our 3500 Lodge wid-
act of kindness’ from The Freemasons             ows throughout New Zealand.
Charity, via Lodge Almoners, which will             Lodges usually arrange for separate
be sent shortly for distribution immedi-         Christmas gifts for their widows and this
ately to all Lodge widows.                       special gift makes for a great way to have
   This year the gift is, a petite solar elec-   a mid-year catch up with their widows.
tric torch keyring, perfect for a purse or          The Freemason Charity continues to
handbag (and a great winter item). The           assist Lodges with its tradition of caring.

GRAND MASTER’S VISITS
8 May Freemasons University Scholarships,        12 Jun The Pakuranga Lodge No 416, Two        3 Jul Lodge Papakura No 56, 50 Year
     Grand Hall, Parliament                            60 Bars to VWBro Alan Bevins PGLec             Service Badge MWBro Ian Ross PGM,
26 May United Forces Lodge No 245,                     and WBro Jim Laurenson RH and one              WBro James Ross, South Auckland
     Musical Third Degree, Christchurch                50 Year Badge to WBro Morrin Cooper     3–5 Aug United Grand Lodge of NSW &
                                                       PGD and promotions, Auckland                 ACT, Grand Installation, Sydney
9 Jun Re-dedication of Freemasons Centre,
      after being damaged by fire, Timaru        17 Jun Otago Masonic Charitable Trust
                                                       Annual Presentations, Freemasons
                                                       Centre, Dunedin

                                                         www.freemasonsnz.org                                                             3
Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ
GRAND MASTER                                                                                   PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD
Speaking Up and                                                                                Building a future
building on our success
               A      s I write this column, I
                      am mindful that I am
                mid-way through my term
                                                 delivering, and each one of us, by talking
                                                 about our Lodges, is raising profile and
                                                 attracting men of calibre to our ranks.
                                                                                                           W        ith the second half
                                                                                                                    of 2018 underway
                                                                                                            it is a good time to look at
                as Grand Master. A chance           While I am keen to ensure that, each                    where we are and where
                to reflect on progress to        day, we continue to Speak Up about                         we can get to. Looking at
                date, and to prepare for         our Lodges, I am also planning for                         the information we have its
what lies ahead.                                 Freemasonry in the middle to longer           safe to say we can see positive trends
   18 months ago the Speak Up For                term. Our current strategic plan will         emerging, indicating a growing stability
Freemasonry campaign was launched,               expire later this year, so we need to start   in Freemasonry here in New Zealand.
which started a debate in Lodges about           planning for and thinking about the next      There is an array of efforts to attribute
what we could say, who we might say it           stage of the journey. I have engaged the      this towards, perhaps most notable is
to, and how we might handle any interest         Board in discussions about a vision as        ‘Speak Up’ for Freemasonry. It’s not easy
that was generated. Nervous times when           to how Freemasonry in New Zealand             working to change fundamental per-
we started to Speak Out and so the “Plain        might look in 20 years time, which led to     spectives on our culture, but evidently
English Guide” and “Simple Answers”              preparing for a five year plan building on    our efforts are starting to yield positive
booklets were prepared and distributed           the success of the Speak Up campaign.         results. With this in mind it is impor-
to help fill a void. Brethren around New            The fruits of Speaking Up are starting     tant to note that whilst we are certainly
Zealand embraced the idea – we started           to appear so we need to bed that concept      building momentum towards a stronger
Speaking Up about our Lodges and                 into our strategy, and to build on the        presence in our communities, we have a
Freemasonry – and candidates were ap-            base that has been created. I have asked      way to go. This is why I think it appro-
pearing in increasing numbers.                   the Divisional Grand Masters to gather        priate to acknowledge the efforts we have
   A social media angle on Speak Up              input from their brethren so we have          made so far, and ensure the momentum
was trialled and proved successful and           wide consultation before any 5 year plan      keeps building.
so now that too is being employed more           is compiled. This will ensure the final          Speaking of change, effort, and mo-
widely. I sense there has been a funda-          product has broad input and contains a        mentum, a warm welcome is due to our
mental change in our thinking such               direction building on the current success     two new board members, Mike Hattie
that we are now more willing to talk to          of the Speaking Up concept, allowing for      and Geoff Davies. Mike brings a strong
friends and colleagues about our pride           desirable enhancements and improve-           business acumen and depth of analytical
in Freemasonry and the enjoyment we              ments, but without any sudden or abrupt       skills, and Geoff has a wealth of experi-
derive from participating in our Lodges.         change. I expect the consultation in          ence in the domain of communications,
   It is still early days, but I can see in      Divisions to be undertaken with urgency       public relations, and developing strategic
the statistics a clear reduction in the          as the new five year strategy needs to be
previous rate at which membership had            signed off by 31 December this year.
been falling, and in some areas there are           Momentum continues to build, results
positive signs of net growth. Once clear         are starting to be seen across the country,
trends have been confirmed, we will pro-         so let us all continue to be proud and
vide the statistics but for the time being I     loud about our Lodges…and every day
am confident our Speak Up campaign is            in every way Speak Up For Freemasonry.

4                                                        www.freemasonsnz.org
Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

                                                Help is at hand

perspective. Given our current focus as
an organisation I cannot think of a better
duo to be welcomed to the board. I look
                                                             B      etween this magazine
                                                                    and the last there has
                                                              been a significant change
                                                                                                members in your Lodge, and with these
                                                                                                members a new vigour and interest in all
                                                                                                it is Freemasonry holds and offers.
forward to working further with Mike                          at National Office. I am re-          It is no secret we are looking at new
and Geoff in the coming months.                               ferring to the recent shift in    ways of reaching out to potential mem-
   Speaking of which, we have recently                        premises, from a sixth-story      bers, the best example of this is social
had a weekend long strategic planning           office space to a ground level open floor       media. In other words, we are asking
session at National Office. The goal of         building. What guided this decision             Lodges to leverage new technologies to
this weekend was to get a footing when it       was the drive to be more engaged with           communicate with their communities, to
comes to setting viable short to long term      the community, now National Office              find new members, to grow. In the scope
strategic goals. An important part of           has a face and an easily accessible loca-       of Freemasonry such an approach has
success in this process is making sure we       tion instead of being in a generic office       never been done before. Word of mouth
have an informed perspective. Critical to       building. The process around the shift          has carried our Fraternity for hundreds
this is giving a chance for all to have their   had many elements, deciding where staff         of years, and here we are using algo-
say when it comes to Freemasons New             would sit, what would be stored out in          rithms to interact and engage in ways not
Zealand as an organisation. You may or          the back and what would be on display?          possible 10 years ago, let alone 100.
may not have come across surveys from           What about the need for new furniture?              Just as important as new technologies
National Office on an array of topics,          How much space do we really need? Or            is a strong unity in Lodge when it comes
regardless you will likely be asked to give     perhaps most importantly, how do we             to Speaking Up. We might be able to
your perspective soon.                          move everything? All these questions            open the door to the local community,
   The recent strategic weekend also            and variables were not without appre-           but if there is not a strong impression
involved a great deal of analysis, from         hension and the answers came slow and           that can be left from Lodge members
a financial, membership, and charitable         steady. It has been, and still is, a journey.   then perhaps the door was best left
perspective. Whilst this is not the place       Whilst the bulk of the shift is complete        closed. Each and every member plays a
to go into details about the numbers, I         there will still be some time before we are     role in Speaking Up and a Lodge is the
am confident Freemasonry will end 2018          settled in at our new location.                 sum of all. With this in mind, working
in a better place that it entered. Reflecting      Reflecting on this I get a sense moving      for effective growth in any Lodge pre-
on this year so far, I am happy with what       is not unlike what it might be like for         sents an opportunity to strengthen its in-
has taken place and look forward to             Lodges wanting to proactively change,           ternal member and external community
what’s to come.                                 Lodges wanting to Speak Up and engage           connections
                                                with their local communities. Where                 At National Office we understand this
                                                does a Lodge begin? What are the key            is no easy transition to make. This is why
                                                steps it needs to take to build momen-          our focus is to help you every step of
                                                tum? What about the specific roles              your way through this journey. We have
                                                and responsibilities members need to            staff dedicated to helping you under-
                                                take? What does a successful outcome            stand how these new technologies work,
                                                look like? Like moving, the process of          and making sure any Lodges enthusi-
                                                Speaking Up can bring uncertainty and           asm for Speaking Up is met with equal
                                                apprehension, remember it is a journey.         enthusiasm for success in Freemasonry.
                                                   With all journeys it is important to have    We are here to help and if you feel your
                                                some idea of a destination, something to        Lodge is ready for a Journey please email
                                                guide each step of the way. Perhaps the         feedback@freemasonsnsnz.org and we
                                                most straightforward destination is new         can start this process.

                                                        www.freemasonsnz.org                                                            5
Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ
New Zealand
    News clips
 for Freemasonry’                                      - Awareness Project
                                                   Australian Grand Installations
ember 2016
                                                   Forty-Eight       Freemasons                              Master for the Installation
                                                   and their partners and                                    of MWBro Dr Neil Jensen.
                                                   families accompanied our                                     Two      more    Grand
                                                   Grand Master MWBro                                        Instal­
                                                                                                                   lations are com-
             2018 Queen’s                          Mark Winger to the Grand                                  ing up in Australia to
           Birthday Honours                        Installation for the United                               which our Grand Master
                                                   Grand Lodge of Victoria                                   MWBro Winger invites all
        Freemasons New Zealand congrat-            (Freemasons Victoria) in                                  Freemasons and their part-
        ulates the following brethren on           Melbourne over the long                                   ners to accompany him,
        their Queen’s Birthday Honours,            weekend of 6–9 April                                      with the United Grand
        from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth           2018 for the Installation of                              Lodge of New South Wales
        II, Queen of New Zealand.                  MWBro Keith Murray as                                     and Australian Capital
            WBro       James     Henderson         their new Grand Master.                                   Territory     (Freemasons
        Drummond          QSM,     RH      of      The weekend involved a                                    NSW & ACT) in Sydney on
        Wellington was awarded the                 Grand Installation and                                    3–5 August 2018 and the
        Queen’s Service Medal, for services        a Royal Arch Grand                                        Grand Lodge of Western
        to swimming. Jim is a member of            Proclamation.                                             Australia     (Freemasons
        New Zealand Pacific Lodge No 2                This was followed a cou-                               WA) in Perth on 25–28
                         FOR                                             FOR
        and has his 70 Year  Service Bar and       ple of weeks later, on 20–23                              October 2018.
                FREEMASONRY
        is a Roll of Honour Freemason.                           FREEMASONRY
                                                   April 2018 with the Grand Installation of      Details for both these Grand Instal­
            Bro Hatete Joe Manukau QSM of          the Grand Lodge of South Australia and      lations have been sent to Lodges but
        Katikati, was awarded the Queen’s          the Northern Territory (Freemasons SA       you can request details Invitation,
        Service Medal, for services to Fire        & NT) in Adelaide with a smaller dele-      Registration and Accommodation from
        and 2Emergency
               Greyscale   New Zealand and         gation of 3seven
                                                                Blackaccompanying the Grand    communications@freemasonsnz.org
        the community. Joe is a member of
        Lodge Katikati No 295 and has his
        25 Year Service Award.
                                                                                                      TOP Grand Master Mark Winger
                                                                                                      tries out the SA & NT Grand Master’s
                                                                                                      chair.
                                                                                                      ABOVE Official photo of the New
                                                                                                      Zealand delegation in Adelaide.
                                                                                                      LEFT Some of the New Zealand
                                                                FOR FREEMASONRY
                                                                                                      delegation in Melbourne.
            FOR FREEMASONRY

            5 Horizontal open                               6 Horizontal reversed

    A moving farewell – the Memorial Service for Sheila Hicking
    A Memorial Service for Sheila Hicking,
    the former Administrator of The
    Freemasons Charity, was held last Friday
    at the Cosmopolitan Club in Upper Hutt
    with Freemasons from throughout New
    Zealand in attendance. A lovely lady
    who did so much for masonic benevo-
    lence in New Zealand and beloved by all
    Freemasons who knew her.
       The Freemasons Charity donated
                     FOR                                               FOR

    $1000 to TeFREEMASONRY
                  Omanga Hospice in Sheila's                     FREEMASONRY

    name.
       Her Freemasons Eulogy can be found
    on our website:   www.freemasonsnz.org
            8 Light blue                                    9 White

                                  Colour palette

                                                Dark blue                        Gold
    6                                                       www.freemasonsnz.org c10 m40 y100 k0
                                                c100 m68 y0 k50
                                                r0 g49 b104                      r228 g160 b37
Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ
Where in the world No 2                      Where in the world No 1
A meeting of 15 Freemasons from
around the world aboard the Sapphire         Gruyeres
Princess sailing between Phuket and          This medieval town situated at the top
Colombo on Easter Sunday. We had 6           of an 82m hill overlooking an upper
from around Australia, 4 from different      valley of the Saane River in the canton of
parts of the United Kingdom plus one         Fribourg in western Switzerland has giv-
brother from an English lodge working        en its name to the world famous Gruyere
in Germany, two from the United States       Cheeses. The town dates from a Roman
of America, one from Canada and myself       settlement in the 2nd and 3rd centuries
with the magazine.                           with the castle that dominates the town
   Later we got together with our wives      being built around the 1130s by the first
on a Gala evening for dinner all dressed     Count Gruyere. He apparently took
in our best. A very friendly group.          his name from a large bird, the crane
                      Robin Hickman PM       (in French grue), one of which he had
                                             caught with his bare hands. The crane
                                             features on the heraldic Coat of Arms for
                                             his dynasty and for the town.
                                                                        Colin Heyward

                                             Crossword solution

                                         2019 GRAND INSTALLATION
Our September issue of the magazine will     so that the cost of attending is spread              We have a couple of pleasant
contain the Registration Form and we         between now and then.                            surprises which will be announced in
will also have an online portal open for        A fantastic programme is planned              the September issue of the New Zealand
Electronic registration as well. This will   on our Grand Installation weekend for            Freemason magazine.
have all the costs along with accommoda-     Freemasons and their Partners including;             Remember, any Freemason and their
tion and insurance options. This is nearly      A ‘Welcome’ Function, Ladies Function,        partner (including Master Masons, Fellow
14 months ahead of the Grand installation    Business Session*, Grand Installation*, Grand    Crafts and Entered Apprentices) or wherever
which is 15–17 November 2019.                Banquet, Church Service and ‘Farewell’           you are on your masonic journey, can attend
   Members will have the opportunity to      Lunch. Except for the Business Session and       this triennial gathering of Freemasons from
plan for time payments over that period      Grand Installation which are free* – all other   throughout New Zealand which includes
                                             events are pay per function for attendance.      visitors from other parts of the world.

                                                     www.freemasonsnz.org                                                              7
Freemason Forty Years of Freemasons Scholars - NEW ZEALAND - Freemasons NZ
HAVE YOUR SAY
A Token Symbol
The symbols that are associated with         masonic emblem of some description to          symbol their reactions
Freemasonry are known across the             advertise more often?                          can be mixed, but this
globe, by many; as they have been used          It could be as simple as a masonic          is a perfect opportunity
by Hollywood to sell films and countless     pin on your collar. There are numerous         to educate the misinformed and to pro-
authors to sell their books, but how often   versions of pins and badges out there on       voke a conversation with the curious.
are these same symbols used by us indi-      the market (most of them seem                          There may well be times that you
vidually to promote freemasonry here in      to originate from the USA) they                           are approached by someone,
New Zealand. How many members wear           come in all shapes and sizes                               who you have known for some
a masonic symbol on a regular basis? A       and from various materials.                                time and yet they had no idea
couple of people may wear a masonic          The history of pins dates back                             that you were both members of
ring, there may even be the odd em-          almost as long as the craft                               the craft. So many times I hear
broidered jumper out there, but are we       itself. During the second world                         that “oh that’s a freemason pin
utilising symbolism to its full potential?   war, freemasons within occupied                      isn’t it, my father (or my grandfa-
Just imagine if every freemason used a       Europe would wear the forget-me-not               ther) was a member of that” in this sit-
                                             pin (allegedly Hilter’s favourite Flower)      uation you might ask a simple question
                                             to secretly show that they were members         like ‘have you not thought of becoming
                                             of the craft, this in a time were                      a member yourself ’?
                                             membership of Freemasonry                                   You will be surprised by the
                                             meant certain imprisonment                                number of people who notice
                                             and possibly even death. The                              that you are proudly wearing a
                                             broken pillar pin is traditionally                       masonic emblem and we should
                                             given to the widows of the lodge                        be proud. It may be small display,
                                             so that they may be recognised as                   but it can make a big difference, in
                                             such.                                          promoting the Craft. So, I invite you
                                                Pins cost as little as $5, this has to be   make wearing a masonic pin part of your
                                             the simplest and most cost effective way       normal public routine and be proud to
                                             to heighten the profile of Freemasonry         speak up.
                                             here within New Zealand. When people                                        Sam Rowntree
                                             recognise that you are wearing a masonic

A thank you                                  Women Speak Up too
Greetings to The Freemasons Charity,         This year Freemasons University                and understanding we are giving them,
                                             Scholarships were awarded to fifteen           our female scholarship recipients will
I am writing to thank you and express
                                             women and twelve men, although the             become advocates for their male family
my appreciation for the generous
                                             previous year’s award favoured a male          members to enquire about the wider
Freemasons University Scholarship. I
                                             majority. Lawson-Smith Veterinary              activities of Freemasonry.
am still very humbled and grateful to
                                             Scholarships were awarded to four wom-            Charity and education form the
have been selected as a recipient of your
                                             en and one man. Occasionally, grumbles         cornerstones of Freemasonry. Support
scholarship.
                                             emerge about the awards to women on            for education goes far beyond that of
   Both the regional and national pres-
                                             the grounds that, as they cannot become        the study ancient history. It is also the
entation ceremonies were very special
                                             Freemasons, these funds are not well           means whereby Freemasonry, through
and I would like to thank all those in-
                                             applied.                                       its Scholarship Alumni, can openly
volved. It provided a great opportunity
                                                Looking at it from another perspec-         and proudly exert its influence far and
to learn more about the amazing work of
                                             tive, with the increasing profile due to       wide. Who could have imagined that
other recipients. I was also able to learn
                                             the Speak Up campaign and the casting          the award of a scholarship to a young
more about the values of an organisation
                                             off of the historical shackles of secrecy,     Jacinda Ardern in 2001 would have had
which is not only supporting my pursuit
                                             many women have come to appreciate             such far-reaching consequences for our
of education, but also that of many other
                                             Freemasonry’s contribution to the com-         country?
New Zealanders.
                                             munity and will speak up for it and en-                               Morris Robertson
   I thank you once again for your sup-
                                             courage participation by their partners
port and hope to be able to give back to
                                             and sons. Likewise, with the knowledge
the community and support others as
you have for me.
   Many thanks.
                 A Freemasons University
               Scholarship 2018 recipient
8                                                    www.freemasonsnz.org
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                                                       www.freemasonsnz.org                                             9
A tribute to
MWBro Dan Holmes,
Past Grand Master
Freemasons New Zealand acknowledges the passing on
4th April 2018 of Daniel Mearns Holmes (Dan), QSO.
He was in his 87th year. MWBro Holmes had a most
distinguished Masonic career. He was initiatied in Ikaroa
Lodge in the Taranaki District in 1954 and passed and
raised in 1955. He enjoyed a number of Grand Lodge ranks
in the 70’s and 80’s culminating in his appointment to
Grand Master in 1994. He was awarded a 60 Year bar to his
50 Year jewel in 2014. Our thoughts are with his family at
this sad time. Rest now Brother, your work here is done.

B    orn in 1932 and educated at Pihama
     Primary School, then Opunake
High School where, recognised as a lead-
                                            a member of the RSA since 1965. Created
                                            a Justice of the Peace in 1971, he was also
                                            a marriage celebrant for many years. Dan
                                                                                          position he has held since its inception in
                                                                                          2006. The new Opunake Health Centre
                                                                                          under construction is to open in March
er, he was chosen as Head Prefect, Dan      has served on numerous committees. He         next year. In Freemasonry Dan achieved
excelled in sports and represented the      was Chairperson of the Opunake Cottage        the highest pinnacle becoming Grand
Taranaki Colts and Taranaki B team in       Resthome Trust. Other organisations           Master (for New Zealand) from 1994–96.
rugby. He was the third generation of his   with which he has been involved inclued          Dan was awarded the Queen’s Service
family to farm 411 acres in Watino Road,    St John’s Ambulance and the Cancer            Order (QSO) in 1988 and in 1990 the
Pihama, breaking it into productive         Society. He was also a Civil Defence          NZ Commemorative Medal (NZCM) for
dairy farm land. Dan Holmes’ long list      County Warden. Dan was also an elected        services to New Zealand, the public and
of achievements rnged over many fields.     member of the Taranaki Hospital Board,        the community.
These included politics – he was a drum-    later the Taranaki Area Health Board,            Until his death Dan was chairman
mer in the Auroa Pipe Band, and later       occupying the position of Chairperson         and partner-owner of the Pacific
drum major. Dan’s colourful history in-     from 1983–91; from 1991–93 he was the         International Hotel Management School
cluded eleven years in the Armed Forces     Government-appointed Commissioner             at Bell Block.
in the Territorials where he attained the   of the THB. Dan is currently Chairperson         Dan Holmes 60 years as a member
rank of Temporary Captain. He has been      of the CoastalCare Health Trust, a            of Opunake’s Ikaroa Masonic Lodge,
                                                                                          was marked at a special function held
                                                                                          at Sandfords Events Centre on Sunday
                                                                                          November 23, 2014, 60 years to the day
                                                                                          since Dan joined the organisation.
                                                                                             He was presented with his award by
                                                                                          his son – also called Dan – after he de-
                                                                                          livered a moving tribute to his father. As
                                                                                          he attached the special pin to his father’s
                                                                                          lapel and those present rose in a standing
                                                                                          ovation followed by a rousing rendition
                                                                                          of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”, a vis-
                                                                                          ibily moved Dan senior seemed lost for
                                                                                          words. “I don’t know what to say,” he said.
                                                                                             Around 90 people from all over the
                                                                                          North Island, including the Grand Master
                                                                                          of the Masonic Lodge John Litton, attend-
                                                                                          ed the occasion. Other dignitaries present

                                                                                          Dan and Lois Holmes,
                                                                                          from The Freemason in 1994.

10                                                  www.freemasonsnz.org
A FRIEND REMEMBERS DAN AT PEGASUS DAYLIGHT LODGE
B    rethren this is not a eulogy as such,
     but simply my experiences of a man
who was respected by all whom he came
                                             organist Bro George Watt. Now George
                                             had long received the bar to his 50th year
                                             jewel and Dan pointed out that some of
                                                                                           GM was especially poignant for me as it
                                                                                           was the final evening that I received my
                                                                                           Roll of Honour. I felt absolutely over-
in contact. He was always easy of address    George’s actions had been rather peculiar     whelmed by the presentation and more
and had a wonderful ability of putting       lately. Dan cautioned me that if George       particularly that Dan was one of the first
people at ease. He joined Lodge lkaroa in    turned up he may well treat me a little       to congratulate Margaret and I, thanking
1954 to sit with his father. He became the   differently. You may understand how the       us both for our efforts over the years in
Worshipful Master in 1965.                   chickens feel, when the fox arrives. Just     Freemasonry.
   I first encountered Dan as a young        tell him that you chose to assist until he       Joking and teasing was always part
2nd Lieut. in our last summer camp of        arrived and find another seat. Bro Watt       of Dan’s greeting and because our farm
our Compulsory Military Training days        arrived rather late and events transpired     was chosen as the first oil exploration
at Hellwan, Waiouru in the summer of         just as Dan had suggested.                    well site in 1978 by the Government’s
1959. In his earlier years he learned the       When Dan became the Provincial             Petrocorp, he would often greet me as
side drum to play in the Aurora Pipe         Grand Master in 1972, he embraced the         Bunker Hunt the famous oil baron from
Band and combined his military interests     good fraternal relations with the three       USA. I retained that name up to 2000
to become a drill judge at the various       sister constitutions that most of the past    when we left to come south, but in 2015
contests. There was no doubt he was born     Prov. GM had. I can recall that when the      I visited Dan with WBro Bob Jagger of
to be a leader.                              Grand Lodge of New Zealand was admit-         Lodge Whangamomona and right from
   As with many lodges, he filled the        ted into Lodge Hinemoa S.C. to the tune       the moment he first greeted us he said,
various offices when the gaps occurred,      “Oh Danny Boy” he would instinctively         “Bunker: I thought you were way down
which included Master during the early       remain stoic for as long as possible and      in the South Island, but then again, I
’90s. This installation was both memo-       finally glance at the organist with a beam-   supposed you are still living on all those
rable and quite amusing in that Dan had      ing smile.                                    royalties.
asked me to understudy lkaroa’s aged            MWBro Holmes had served on the                Freemasonry has certainly become
                                             Taranaki Hospital Board for a number of       part of my character and much of that
                                             years and became Chairman in the early        is captured by meeting and working
                                             1980s and it was under his watch that the     with people as MWBro Daniel Mearns
                                             first of the Polytechnic Nurses graduated.    Holmes. It certainly has been my pleasure.
                                             He took a great interest in those gradu-         Brethren, I was indeed fortunate,
                                             ates as he knew many of them and their        to have learnt a saying from an elderly
                                             families. Public sentiment was strongly       Scottish Presbyterian in my home district
                                             opposed to such a radical change with         which could be well applied to MWBro
                                             dire predictions of failure. But Dan was      Dan Holmes who was also another good
                                             always in full support of the system.         Presbyterian. “That service to your fellow
                                                His installation at the Wellington         man is the rent we must pay to live on
                                             Communications was supported by               God’s earth”
                                             members of all four constitutions from            Prepared by WBro Malcolm J Johnson,
                                             Taranaki. He was a very popular figure                   Pegasus Daylight Lodge No 450
                                             and we felt he belonged to us all. When                  and delivered on the observance
                                             the Grand Lodge Communications were                        of mourning for the passing of
                                             held in Taranaki in 1997 his presence as                      MWBro DM Holmes PGM

included the mayor of South Taranaki         about Freemasonry. “We do good in the         “the measure of the man as a Freemason
Ross Dunlop, and former Member of            community but we don’t talk about it,” he     is what he is prepared to give up to fulfil
Parliament Shane Ardern. Prior to present-   said. Quoting former US president Harry       principles.” He described Dan Holmes as
ing the award there were several speeches.   Truman he said, “There is no limit to         “a shining example of a freemason who
   Past president of the World               the good men can do if somone doesn’t         has led the way” and who has “served the
Federation of the New Zealand Justice        get credit for it.” He then went on to list   community far beyond the call of duty.”
Association Athony Israel QSM, JP            envy, lust and sarcasm as among the                                  WBro David Lusk,
beginning the speeches, spoke a little       undersirable traits in people and added                            Ikaroa Lodge No 115

                                                     www.freemasonsnz.org                                                          11
Speak Up
Is the tide turning?
We all know Speak Up is a long-term project. There needs to
be a lot of speaking up before we see the ultimate reward.
But there are signs appearing that suggest your efforts at
telling the world about Freemasonry are already producing
a positive effect … Have a look at these national figures:

                INITIATIONS
                                            Number of initiations

                January–June 2017                     80

                January–June 2018                    105

                That’s a 24% increase in six months!

So what could be causing this positive       people today form their opinions in this   of our University Scholarships presenta-
change? One reason could be our              way and speaking up on digital seems       tions is solid evidence of the influence
increasing use of digital media to tell      to be paying off!                          digital can have. People do take note. We
the Freemasonry story and how to get             A 300% increase in social media ac-    think it’s worth doing more.
involved? There’s no doubt that many          tivity around Freemasonry at the time

            Social media coverage April to May 2018.

More promising signs
National figures may not always be the         Hutt Wairarapa In the 12 months to
best way to look at things – it is always   30 June 2018, initiations have increased
good to look at figures on a local level    from 16 to 20 on the previous 12 months.
and hear the stories behind them.           That’s 25% up. And that’s after a drop of
   Consider the following from the          45% from two years earlier!
Auckland and Hutt Wairarapa Districts:         And here’s another possible indicator
   Auckland District January–May 2017:      from Hutt Wairarapa: Total membership
7 Initiations, full year estimate: 31 and   in the past 12 months has virtually lev-
January–May 2018: 23 Initiations, In        elled out. Compared to the downwards
Pipeline: another 30 Initiations,           movements over the last 5 years the
Full year estimate: 53. That                 change last year was just 0.68%.
is a 228% increase over the
same period last year and a
                                                We guess there has been
                                            a fair amount of speaking   We need YOU and every
2018 full year estimate up 71% on 2017.     up going on in this District
Well done Auckland.                         too! Keep it up Hutt       Kiwi Freemason to make
                                            Wairarapa.
                                                                      Freemasonry great again!
12                                                  www.freemasonsnz.org
Speak Up for Freemasonry
is on TV                                           FREEMASONRY
                                                                 FOR

                                                                                                          FOR FREEMASONRY

Some said it couldn’t be done. But they It especially allows community groups                  reaction from Freemasons throughout
didn’t take Barry Rushton‘s drive and 4ofSpeech
                                            all types  the opportunity to put their
                                                   bubble                                      the country   with an online
                                                                                                           5 Horizontal open survey and
enthusiasm into account. The PDist organisations on television and offers the                  results indicate at this early stage that it
GM North Shore has made it happen. A facilities to produce the programmes.                     has been received well by members.
national half-hour television
                       Master  programme    With limited resources Barry and his
                                  colour variations                                               Full marks for initiative and well
bearing ‘Speak Up for Freemasonry’ team have worked very hard and used                         done to Barry and his workers who have
as its title is being broadcast on SKY all their talents to find the funds to even             brought Speak Up for Freemasonry to
Channel 083 FACE TV. In a pilot series of begin to construct the programme. And                television.
five weekly episodes the first programme found it among themselves. Production
                                                                                               Start watching. SKY Channel 083 every
went to air on Thursday June 14.          costs are many. Our own ‘stars’ on the
                                                                                               Thursday at 8pm. If you miss out you
    Barry and a small group of similarly screen avoid the cost of ‘talent’ and are
                                                                                               can watch On Demand at facetv.co.nz.
determined Freemasons started on their working hard to capture the public imag-
quest over two years ago to publicise ination! Grand Lodge Office is testing the
Freemasonry through television and de-
spite many hurdles their plan has come
into being with the Speaking Up project
being the perfect title.                           FOR                                                               FOR

                                             FREEMASONRY                                                       FREEMASONRY
    The programmes purpose is to pub-
licise Freemasonry telling the story by
using both our famous faces from histo-
ry and the accomplished everyday men
among our members in today’s world to 7 Gold                                                              8 Light blue

demonstrate its appeal. And FACE TV
is the obvious Channel for the purpose.
                      For ultra small spaces                                                                                        Colour p

                                                Barry Rushton PDistGM is the programme’s on-air host.

Let your hat do the
speaking up!
                                              10 Small                 11 Smaller              12 Smallest
Our enterprising Freemasons from the           field – giving you your opportunity to
Southern climes have the gear that will        speak up!
spark the questions that Speaking up for          Caps and beanies are available to
Freemasonry is looking for – and you           individuals or maybe your Lodge might
can answer!                                    arrange a bulk purchase for all your
   Just the thing to avoid needing to          members.
speak first but guaranteed to prompt lots         Get all the details about quality, deliv-
of questions in the street or at the sports    ery and prices from:

                                               Caps
                                               (your Lodge name included)
                                               andy.wrighton@ xtra.co.nz
                                               The Havelock Lodge No 104

                                               Beanies
                                               WBro Rowntree
                                               samrowntree42@hotmail.com
                                               Christchurch

                                                         www.freemasonsnz.org                                                           13
Freemasons in action
Timaru Freemasons Centre Re-dedication and a smoking hot donation!

     Serving a local need
Our Grand Master Mark Winger lead the District South Island Masonic Trust and      The Midland Masonic Choir provided
Re-dedication Ceremony of the Timaru The Freemasons Charity (with its usual some musical items and Freemasons,
Freemasons Centre after it had previous- subsidy) provided 150 Smoke Alarms partners and friends came from around
ly damaged by fire.                      (photoelectric with 10-year batteries) the South Island including the Sister
      Lodge Te Puni organises                  a variety show to fund bladder scanners
   It was appropriate that Midland to Fire and Emergency New Zealand in Constitutions and the Royal Arch.
Masonic Charitable Trust, Sophia Street Timaru for use in homes in need.
      On Wednesday
Car Park   Trust, English5th  March members of Lodge Te Puni presented two bladder scanners
                            Constitution
     to the CEO of the Hutt Valley District Health Board. This was the result of a fundraising
     effort by the combined Lodges of the Hutt Valley.

                                                                                           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.

     A     couple of Lodge members’
           immediate family, who work for the
     DHB, had indicated that staff were fund
                                                Craft and outside, including
                                                his very own successful
                                                singing son and his Group,
     raising for equipment that was in short    ‘The Auzzie Boys.’ A plethora
     supply for their Patients. The nurses of   of acts was assembled, from
     Mapu Unit and the Community Health         juggling, dancing (ballroom,
     Services had started selling cakes and     rock-n-roll,        traditional
     undertaking other fundraising efforts to   Polish), musical acts and                     As always it was a tight knit team,
     purchase a bladder scanner.                even the piping in of a Haggis with        encompassing members of the Lodges
        The members then brought the Units’     the traditional address. Audience          from the Hutt Valley, wives and partners,
     plight to the Lodges and a number of       participation was encouraged and,          and the nurses from the DHB that made
     Brethren also indicated that they had      during intermission, food and drink was    this occasion the success it was. Thanks
     been hospitalised recently and had to      available for purchase.                    are due for the support of local businesses,
     wait for the only scanner to become           Along with some very sought after       individuals and the performers along
     available for their treatment.             prizes for raffles, the support for the    with The Freemasons Charity for help
        Lodge Te Puni decided to hold a         show was outstanding. The money raised     in providing such necessary equipment
     Variety Show to raise funds to complete    on the night was, with the help of The     for the health and wellbeing of the wider
     the purchase of at least one bladder       Freemasons Charity, able to purchase       community.
     scanner. WBro Ray Keenan approached        two bladder scanners valued at over                             WBro Mac McKenzie
     many talented artists both within the      $13,000.00 each.

                  Publicity for your community events – 3 steps
              Ensure someone is responsible              Seize good photo                        Act quickly to spread the
     BEFORE

                                                DURING

                                                                                           AFTER

              for publicity, arrange for                 opportunities, concentrate              word, send press release and
              a photographer, plan                       on ‘action’ not ‘satisfaction’,         captioned high resolution
              photographs, involve recipients            get names for captions, make            photo, focussing on a
              and find a hook that would                 notes. If media comes ensure            newsworthy aspect to local
              interest local media.                      that they are looked after and          media, district and divisional
                                                         opportunities set up.                   newsletter and NZ Freemason.

14                                                        www.freemasonsnz.org
Lodge Katikati No 295 hosts NZ Male Choir
To show support for the move to “Speak      undertook ticket selling and prepared the      The Lodge has received plaudits from
Up” the members of Lodge Katikati No        Hall in time for the afternoon rehearsals   the officers of the Male Choir, and the
295 in the Bay of Plenty District decided   and dismantling the following day.          Lodge is proud to have brought such
to invite the NZ Male Choir to visit the       A non-stop 2-hour programme pro-         talent to its town.
town and perform.                           vided the audience with a truly memo-          As a result of the concert, the cam-
   An organising committee was set up       rable evening and the feedback from the     paign has meant the all the town and
and with the invitation being accepted by   community has been extremely positive.      outer district have an appreciation of our
the Choir, preparation began in ear-                                                         Lodge, the Male Choir left with a
nest. For a small country Lodge this                                                         strong sense of achievement having
was a big undertaking but the aims                                                           performed to a capacity crowd, the
were to provide everyone involved                                                            audience witnessed our charitable
with contact with Freemasonry                                                                side in passing profits to the Choir,
through the local Lodge.                                                                     written inserts in the programme
   A musical programme was com-                                                              gave an insight into Freemasonry,
piled that would be readily received                                                         Lodge ladies were involved with
by a mature aged audience and be                                                             floral tributes and support artists
affordable, The Local town choir,                                                            gained deserved exposure.
(Mural Town Singers) a violinist and                                                            Lodge Katikati members are
a 14yr old soloist provided support                                                          proud to have achieved every aim
acts for the Male Choir.                                                                     planned and will ensure its name is
   Local businesses were fully sup-                                                          to the fore in Katikati.
portive in selling tickets, displaying                                                          If any Lodge wishes to host the
posters and providing staging                                                                NZ Male Choir, we are ready to help
components, the local Lions club as-                                                         you with any information you may
sisted with carpet, the RSA provided                                                         require. It’s a great way to “Speak
the sound system. Lodge members                                                              Up”

Masonic Winter food top up
Lodge Erewhon No 200 Masonic mem-           Lodge to have a top up as the food bank        He said a number of the membership
bers have recently conducted a winter       has heavy demands by families during        come from the Philippines where pov-
food top up for the Salvation Army Food     the cold months.                            erty and hunger is commonplace. There
Bank.                                          Funds were raised to purchase goods      are no comparable organisations to our
   Master of the Lodge Jeffrey Sostinto     from the membership and Thistle Lodge.      foodbank so his relatives back home
said winter was a good time for the         Food gift cards were also given.            manage on meagre rations and aid sent
                                                                                        home to them from New Zealand.
                                                                                           Jeffrey said the Lodge has some com-
                                                                                        munity projects in mind for his term as
                                                                                        Master including, giving blood to the
                                                                                        Blood Bank, having a reading project for
                                                                                        School Children and a Rubbish Clean up
                                                                                        Drive.

                                                                                        FROM LEFT Raymond, Noel Lowe, Salvation
                                                                                        Army manager, Judith Lilley, Salvation Army
                                                                                        volunteer, Catherine Harris, Alwyn Loquias,
                                                                                        Master of Lodge Erewhon Jeffrey Sostinto
                                                                                        and baby Chloe, Brian Reodique, Roland
                                                                                        Bustamante and Teudulo Mendez.
                                                                                        Noel Lowe

                                                   www.freemasonsnz.org                                                          15
Freemasons in action
Dunedin Masonic Charity Bowls
This year 2018 we had a lawn bowling            which was thankfully received and faith-     Dunedin received $1,500 for the day
tournament, nothing new in that. We             fully applied. Then at the presentation of   which blew them away.
had 14 teams, which equal 56 men and            the prizes, one member of the winning          Yes we spoke up for Freemasonry in
women participating, nothing new in             team gave his cash prize to the Hospice,     word and deed, nothing new in that. We
that. The day and greens were first class,      which blew everyone away. Hospice in         were content.
nothing new in that. Sixteen businesses
around the city donated gifts which were
raffled for funds, nothing new in that.
   In fact there was nothing new at all,
only put them altogether and we had fun
galore.
   We gave $1,000 to The Otago
Community Hospice. St Patrick’s Lodge
No 468 IC came to the party with $500

                                                                                                              Rob, Jim, Ben, Ian and Sam.

The Tranz Alpine Scooter Safari 2018
A Freemason Team made up from                       From here battling a head wind found         A final short break before the last 20
four different districts (including two         it was difficult to maintain any kind of     km’s along the coast, reaching Hokitika a
divisional Grand Masters) took part in          speed at all and that was before we even     little over 9 hrs from the start.
this year’s Tranz Alpine Scooter Safari.        reached Porters Pass. Testing the gears          I am pleased to report that all five
The event involves riding 250 km’s              and using all the power we could find        team members and their machines ar-
from Christchurch to Hokitika on 50cc           we made our way steadily upwards at          rived safely at the finish, albeit slightly
Scooters to raise funds for the New             little more than walking pace. The relief    damp and feeling a little worse for wear.
Zealand Cancer Society. It was billed as        of making the summit evident on more             The Six previous events raise just over
“It’s not for the faint hearted” it certainly   than one or two of the competitors faces.    $789,000 and with the addition of this
lived up to its reputation and it wasn’t            A short break on the shores of Lake      year’s event, an amazing $320,000 that
just hard on the riders, as these tiny          Lyndon, then on through the pass. It’s       brings the figure up to a grand total of
machines where pushed well beyond               not until you attempt the ride through       $1,109,000. With the money still coming
anything they were designed for, made           the Alps on a 50cc bike that you realise     in they expect that figure to surpass
evident by the steady rate of mechanical        just how often the gradient changes. At      $1,120,000.
attrition throughout the day.                   least we got a chance to see the beauty          There is still time for you as an indi-
    It began with two records for the Mike      that road through mountains has on           vidual or your lodge to make that figure
Pero Motorsport Park, firstly the largest       offer.                                       even higher. So if you haven’t already
number of motor vehicles ever recorded              Lunch in Arthurs Pass village was very   done so please donate what you can into
racing at the same time (270) and second        welcome. Unfortunately the thought it        the events account, every little helps:
the slowest race in the circuit’s history.      being all downhill to the finish was short
                                                                                                 Widows Sons Charity Account
Out on the open road our four man               lived, as we first had to climb our way
                                                                                                  BNZ 02-0876-0001948-03
team made its way across the Canterbury         to the head of the pass. Descending the
plains and soon enough found the                over the viaduct would be a test of nerve    All money raised goes to the Cancer
Sheffield Pie Shop and the first chance to      on 30 years old bikes, on skinny tyres       Society for scientific research and cancer
refuel both man and machine. There was          and poor brakes. With the rain setting       patient support.
even enough time for a little TLC for one       in the road down to Kumara would offer          For more photos visit the Safari
of the bikes.                                   a few more challenges before the end of      Facebook page: www.facebook.com/
                                                the day.                                     scootersafari/
16                                                      www.freemasonsnz.org
Freemason support to Tauranga Boys’ College Robotics Club
A message for the NZ Freemason mag-                then score the base stations in various             We setup a Facebook page at facebook.
azine to shout out our boys’ success and           zones around the playing field.                  com/tbcrc and Braden Smith worked on
show what our sponsors are making                     The VEX season runs from April to             a website to summarise the work of the
possible.                                          April, culminating in a world champi-            Robotics Team and this can be viewed at
                                                   onship event in Kentucky, USA. Our club          https://bs17078.wixsite.com/robotics.
2017 saw the successful launch of
                                                   started partway into the VEX season,                There are some very established
Robotics at Tauranga Boys’ College
                                                   which meant that although we were                teams in the NZ competition and we set
thanks to generous funding from
                                                   short on time, we were able to learn from        ourselves modest goals for our first year.
Kiwibots, Tauranga’s Masonic Lodges,
                                                   the early season robots that other teams         An early-season reconnaissance trip to
e-Strategies, Brother and Tauranga Boys’
                                                   had revealed.                                    watch a scrimmage in Auckland had the
College (TBC).
                                                      Our team of four had specific roles:          team buzzing with ideas, and we were
   Our first team of four boys creat-
                                                   a builder (William Bruning), program-            stoked to take out 3rd place in a local
ed a robot, affectionately known as
                                                   mer (Joshua Badshah), and two drivers            BOP scrimmage in September.
Moonbeam, to take part in this year’s
                                                   (Cesar Vargas-Tuerlings and Braden                  In December, the biggest robotics
VEX EDR competition. The name of the
                                                   Smith). In reality all of the boys learned       competition ever held in the Southern
game this year is “In the zone”, and the
                                                   building skills and while Joshua pio-            Hemisphere took place in Rotorua.
robot needed to be able to pick up cones
                                                   neered the coding, the rest of the team          300+ teams from 10 countries com-
and put them on mobile base stations,
                                                   were competent understudies.                     peted in the Asia Pacific Robotics
                                                                                                    Championships. Team Moonbeam
                                                                                                    excelled in our first outing with placing
                                                                                                    20th overall and an additional 19th plac-
                                                                                                    ing in the special ‘Driver Skills’ category.
                                                                                                    To add to this, they were honoured with
                                                                                                    a trophy for the ‘Judges Award’ which
                                                                                                    was given to the most outstanding team
                                                                                                    for Sportsmanship, Attitude and Team
                                                                                                    Spirit.
                                                                                                       Huge thanks go to our teacher
                                                                                                    Annmarie Lawler, support teacher David
                                                                                                    Jackson, and parents Darren Bruning
                                                                                                    and Kathie Mackie-Smith for the awe-
                                                                                                    some support for the Robotics Team
                                                                                                    which wouldn’t have happened without
                                                                                                    their efforts. We’d also like to acknowl-
                                                                                                    edge the support of Paul & Toni de Rijk
                                                                                                    at the House of Science Robotics Club,
Representatives of the Masonic Lodges in Tauranga after their $1,100 donation, topped up to         for allowing us to join in their “build
$1,500 by Nelson Tkatch (eSuccess Strategies), to the Tauranga Boys’ College Robotics Club.
                                                                                                    sessions” on Saturday mornings and who
From left: Joshuah Badshah (year 12), William Bruning (year 10), Cesar Vargas-Tuerlings (year 9),
Nelson Tkatch (Junior Warden), William Kennedy (Treasurer & Webmaster), Braden Smith (year          have generously shared their robotics
9), John Denne (Lodge Master), Rodney Graham (Senior Steward), Ron Pibworth (Past Master),          expertise with our team.
Darren Bruning (Robotics Team Leader), John Lever (Secretary), Annmarie Lawler (English and                                    Darren Bruning
Design Teacher, Tauranga Boys’ College).

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Freemasons in action
Ride of Respect 2018
The Ride of Respect is the Anzac cere-
mony for the motorcycling community,
where motorcyclists can pay tribute to
our tri-service personnel. It is also an
opportunity to raise funds to support
Military Charities. The ride was first or-
ganised back in 2010 in the UK, by two
grandmothers who grandsons had been
injured on active service. On that first
ride over 22,000 motorcycles took part.
Since 2014 many other countries around          before forming up on mass, for the ride        pleasure to be able to hand over $4480
the globe have hosted the event. It is the      through the town centre then onto Oxford       raised on the day. The United Forces Lodge
privilege of the Widows Sons to host the        and its Workingmen’s club via the Loburn       working in conjunction the district char-
Ride of Respect here in Christchurch.           back road. The food this year was supplied     ities officer were able to use the masonic
    As dawn broke on the morning of 22          by Oxford school (who raised over $1000)       charity system (effectively doubling the
April riders started to descend, slowly fill-   and thanks to all of our sponsors over 70      funds to $8960) in aid of a local forces be-
ing the carpark at The Papanui RSA. By 10       prices were given to the lucky ones. Our       nevolence project. A further $1000 went to
o’clock there would be a total of 365 riders.   last stop would be The Templeton RSA           a major national RSA project. The locations
After the quick talk outlining the event        where a lone Piper played and the group        this year were marshalled by members of
and a short safety briefing the group head-     stood in silence listening to the last post    the Freemasons who did a fantastic job,
ed out. Cutting through the Christchurch        play and hearing the Soldier Ode.              ensuring that entrances remained clear
traffic they soon found their way to The           WBro BJ Clarke National President of        and that everyone was welcomed. Great
Rangiora RSA. A short stop to regroup,          the RSA was present and it gave me great       thanks must also go to the bike shops and
                                                                                               businesses that supported the event, not
                                                                                               to mention all who took part in the ride.
                                                                                               Thank you all for your great support and
                                                                                               the atmosphere you brought to the day. It
                                                                                               was great to see the respect shown for the
                                                                                               event both on and off the roads.
                                                                                                   For more photos and details go to the
                                                                                               Ride of Respect New Zealand Facebook
                                                                                               page.                      “Lest we forget”

Band of Brothers
The Anzac day parade in the town of             the site of the mason apron was a mix-         generic freemason flag in true in rank
Rangiora was a little larger than normal        ture intrigue and curiosity. (There is still   and file. This unit of smartly dressed and
this year to commemorate the one hun-           a little mystery left within freemasonry,      very distinguished members marched
dred year anniversary of the end of the         even in this world of total interweb           with almost military precision as the
Great War. It was the second year that          knowledge). It was a great chance to           music of the local pipe band filled the air.
members of the Ashley Lodge (wearing            engage in conversation regarding the           It was great to see that so many had made
there aprons with pride) had the oppor-         merits of the craft.                           the effort to be a part of the parade.
tunity to lay a wreath on the cenotaph             This year it was decided to despatch           As the last post sounded and the ma-
during the Anzac ceremony.                      an invite for all brethren residing in or      sonic flag was ceremonially lowered, it
   The wreath party headed the proces-          near Rangiora to join in the parade.           showed that we had lost family in those
sion (just behind the band) with the two        The result was that brethren from four         terrible times and that the sacrifice made
masonic representative’s positioned front       different lodges, two districts and two        by our brothers would not be forgotten.
and centre. The reaction from many at           constitutions assembled under a single         After due respect the flag was slowly
                                                                                               raised and held high as the procession
                                                                                               moved back through the crowded streets
                                                                                               back to the RSA.
                                                                                                  Our presence within the parade was
                                                                                               noticed by a great many people and the
                                                                                               bearing of our members during the day
                                                                                               gives true testimony as to the strength of
                                                                                               character found within the craft.
18                                                      www.freemasonsnz.org
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