Over the next few weeks, Stig Hokanson will showcase some of the history, work and quirks of a number of organisations which help make Logan a better place. Most are charities, some dating back to the city’s early beginnings. This week, he taps into the rich history of the Freemasons at Beenleigh.
Freemasonry began in Beenleigh in 1878. The exclusively male membership Order built its first Temple in James Street. Since its humble beginnings it has attracted a cross section of the region’s population and featured aldermen, cane farmers, police, undertakers, distillers, publicans, fishermen and local business owners, to mention but a few.
In 2001 The Beenleigh Masonic Temple burnt to the ground causing Freemasons to look for new premises. These were found in 58 George Street where current lodges and allied Orders regularly meet.
The building’s ground level is occupied by two tenants, East Coast Cycles and Australian Business Printers, while the top level is a specifically designed Masonic Temple with adjacent supper room.
Organiser and promoter, electrician Paul Kranen, works tirelessly behind the scenes for his lodge Southern Queensland No 29, one of the oldest Masonic lodges in Queensland, established in 1878.
Mr Kranen and facilities manager Wayne Bell also look after a sizeable library, treasured heirlooms and mementos, correspondence and minute books dating back to the area’s early settlement.
“In the early days meetings were held on full moon nights so that ‘brethren’ could safely ride their horses on the way home,” he says, while sorting faded photos from a bygone era, photos currently being digitised for posterity.
Presently a number of lodges, chapters and allied Orders meet in the centre. Some cater for girls, such as Job’s Daughters, others for young men in the Order of de Molay.
Some lodges meet during the day while the majority hold their meetings in the evening. A mixed-gender chapter known as the Order of the Eastern Star also meets monthly in the Beenleigh Temple.
The main body of Freemasonry in Queensland is the United Grand Lodge of Queensland, (UGLQ) which was founded in 1921 and currently celebrating its centenary. It is located in the heritage listed Ann Street Memorial Temple erected in 1930 in honour of the fallen during WWI.
Charity is one of the principal tenets of the Order. Masonic charity is distributed through Hand, Heart Pocket, Freemasonry’s brand of substantial donations to worthy causes such as women’s shelters, youth at risk and counselling services. It also supports a grass roots grants program for one-off donations.
Freemasonry in Queensland peaked following World War II and maintained numbers in the region of 30,000 statewide. These days the active membership is around 5000, spread from Papua New Guinea to the NSW border.
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