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Chances are, if most people hear the word ‘Freemason’, thoughts involving strange handshakes, secret rituals and the Da Vinci Code might spring to mind.
Those images almost certainly won’t include a group of men and women in Santa hats and reindeer ears, trailing tinsel up stepladders, as they decorate children’s wards for Christmas in an Auckland hospital.
Yet that’s exactly what the current chairman – or Worshipful Master, as he is known – of Warkworth’s Rodney Lodge, Ron Pemberton, was doing recently with a group of fellow Masons and their families.
He’s the convenor of a group of Auckland Masons who raise money and buy treats and equipment for Kidz First in South Auckland, including books, pyjamas, soft toys and, last year, 20 sleep apnoea monitors for premature babies.
“We do a lot for charity, but we haven’t really talked about it much in the past,” he says.
Nationally, this includes raising thousands of dollars for Ukraine, sponsoring the recent NZ Special Olympics National Summer Games and providing a range of scholarships and grants.
Closer to home, the Rodney Lodge sponsors a prize for senior boys at Rodney College and Pemberton is keen to organise a golf tournament this year.
In that regard, they seem similar to many other social and charitable community groups, such as Lions Clubs, Rotary or Probus. Where they differ, or have in the past, is in the tradition of keeping what goes on at initiations and meetings a closely guarded secret.
However, that is changing as the organisation seeks to move with the times, remain relevant and attract younger members in order to survive.
“We’re a lot more open these days,” Pemberton says. “I’m quite happy for people to come and have a look if they want to see the lodge room or are curious about Freemasonry, and I’m happy to explain why we have secret handshakes and words.”
Ah, yes. Those handshakes – what on earth is all that about? Well, it’s a hangover from the very origins of Freemasonry around 300 years ago, as indeed are all the symbols, regalia and rites involved in initiation and membership.
In those days, stonemasons travelled from place to place to work – as free masons – and they were given a special grip, or handshake, and a word so they could identify themselves and prove their level of experience. Today, masons are still given a special handshake and word as they are admitted to each of its three levels – apprentice, fellow of craft and master mason.
“They’re meaningless outside masonry,” Pemberton says. “It’s really just a test of your trust – your integrity – that you don’t disclose them. And our rituals are like morality plays that you learn, designed to teach and to make us better people.
“That’s the crux of Freemasonry – we take men and we make them better.”
Pemberton himself wasn’t remotely interested in joining when a friend suggested it to him 23 years ago.
“I said, ‘You’re joking, no way, all those funny handshakes and lifting your trouser leg’.”
But when curiosity got the better of him, he happily joined what is one of the world’s oldest and largest non-political, non-religious fraternal organisations, where members come from all races and all walks of life.
“The best thing I’ve got out of it is friendship. Since joining, I have more friends, more knowledge and I can go around the world and go in to any lodge and be welcomed.”
He joined the Rodney Lodge three years ago and was made Master in 2021. Since then, he’s been on a mission to spruce up the premises off the Baxter Street carpark and spread the word.
“We’re just trying to build the lodge back again. Like most clubs these days, we are short on numbers,” he said. “This is a growing area, but it’s tough for any organisation now. We’ve got to keep plugging away and talking about it.”
And, he adds, there are even women Masons these days – they just have to start their own group.
Info: Call the Rodney Lodge on 425 8975 or visit Rodney Lodge 1171 EC on Facebook
Rodney Lodge 1171 was established in May 1877, with a grand ceremony that began with a special steamship trip to bring visiting Freemasons from Auckland the night before and warranted a lengthy report in the New Zealand Herald.The first lodge room was sited near the Warkworth Hotel, where a post-inauguration banquet was held, followed by a celebration ball that went on until 3am the next day.
In 1882, a new Masonic hall was built in Baxter Street, with a grand opening concert in July, 1883. A report in the NZ Herald quoted the Rev. R. McKinney as saying the Greek revival style building was recognised as one of the best halls north of Auckland.The building served as a town hall for Warkworth until the present facility was built in 1911, and was used until the current Lodge was built across the road around 30 years ago.
