Yeronga Lodge

Third Degree on Bro Peter Watson

On Wednesday this week we raised Brother Peter Watson to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason.

Peter was very well prepared and proved an outstanding candidate. We were pleased to welcome a number of visitors which made for an even more pleasant evening.

Bro Mike Alafaci was also invested as a Steward of the Lodge and both he and Bro Kamaran Jbar received their Master Mason's Certificates. Bro Keith Redman, our talented organist, also received his Affiliation certificate.

Pictured are Brethren of the lodge with Pete Watson front and centre standing alongside WM Simon Bell.

NEWS FLASH ... Lodge St George No 246 UGLQ

The Most Worshipful Grand Master has approved us to resume our original lodge name of Lodge St George and retain our roll number of 246. This change takes effect immediately.

We have worked on this project for some years and are greatly appreciative of the MWGM's consideration.

The image above shows our current Warrant and demonstrates that Yeronga went into the union of 1921 as St George. Between the time of  entry and the issuing of the Warrant, the lodge name was changed for reasons revealed below.

Included here is some background on the origins of the St George name and the reasons why Yeronga was adopted.

Background

Yeronga Lodge was originally consecrated Lodge St George No. 1152 on the Roll of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1915. A proud and strong name that would have been chosen carefully by our founding Brethren, who are listed below:

Phillip William MOSES (R Wor Master)	Toowong 2306 EC
Thomas James FORSYTH (Dep Master)	Hope 1134 SC
Charles Robert MORTON (Sub Master)	Fassifern Kilwinning 808 SC
Thomas Harvey JOHNSTONE (SW)	Fernberg 1091 SC
Robert PAINE (JW)	Fenwick 2378 EC
George KIRSHAW (Sec)	St Andrew 435 SC
Arthur George DORE (Treas)	Mt Gambier 35 (South Australia)
Richard Arthur LESLIE (SD)	St Andrew 435 SC
Charles Henry DEANE (JD)	Fenwick 2378 EC
Richard Ezekiel BIDDLE (IG)	Fenwick 2378 EC
Joseph Kenneth McPHAIL (Org)	Fenwick 2378 EC
Arthur Frederick JACKSON (Chap)	Tullibardine 1124 SC
Isaac Richard HANAN	St Andrew 435 SC
Henry BAXTER	St Clair 824 SC
George KINGHORN	Fenwick 2378 EC
Henry RANKIN	Fernberg 1091 SC
John George TREW	St Andrew 435 SC
Frederick G BUTLER-WOOD	Aberleigh 1133 SC
Joseph McCULLAGH	Dundonald 303 IC
James Alexander Cadenhead BAXTER	Morningside 1079 SC
Thomas MAWHINNEY	Tullibardine 1124 SC

 

The most obvious question that is asked is why a Scottish Lodge was named St George in the first place. It has been the subject of a substantial amount of research but no definite answer can be found. A couple of things are clear however. With 13 Scottish Ritual Freemasons in our original Lodge of 21, there can be little chance they simply made a mistake. Perhaps, as Wor Bro Flynn once speculated, this name associated with warriors was chosen particularly in the months of the Gallipoli campaign. The timing is almost exact as the lodge was formed in July 1915.

Recent research has uncovered another interesting possibility.  When James II was deposed he fled to France where he established a base for the ongoing Jacobite cause.  His son, James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales (10 June 1688 – 1 January 1766), often called the ‘Old Pretender’, was also known in France as ‘the Chevalier de St George’. This, along with the believed Jacobite connections to the origins of the Rite of 25 Degrees (later the Ancient and Accepted or Scottish Rite), suggests that this could be another story to underpin the choice of Lodge name. In discussions with RW Bro Trevor Stewart during his recent visit to Queensland this proposition was discussed and he concurred that there could be a logical connection.

Attached is a scan from the Lodge’s original minute book which reports on the choice of name but is silent on the reason for that choice

 

St George (c. 275/281 – 23 April 303) was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian. He is remembered as a Christian martyr. Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic (Western and Eastern Rites), Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox churches. He is immortalised in the tale of Saint George and the Dragon. His memorial is celebrated on 23 April and he is regarded as one of the most prominent military saints. His English connection is only one of many.

 

There have actually been two Scottish Lodges St George established in Queensland Freemasonry. The first was established in 1897 as Lodge St George 853 SC in the town of St George. It disappears from the record however in 1906, shortly after the formation of the breakaway Grand Lodge of Queensland. Prior to that in 1885, St George Lodge No 1978 English Constitution was established in Herberton and, as the English lodges did not join the GL of Q, it continued with that name and number until 1920 when the Queensland Grand Lodge was formed as a means of leading towards unification. St George 1978 EC became St George No 28 QGL.

Our lodge, Lodge St George No 1152 SC, was formed in 1915, nine years after the previous Scottish Lodge St George folded. Was there are connection between the two? Our surviving documents don’t shed enough light on that although interestingly we were not the daughter lodge of an existing Scottish Lodge but had Lodges such as Woolloongabba and Hope as sponsors.  Our brethren were drawn from a number of existing lodges.

Our lodge joined the Queensland Grand Lodge in 1920 and was renumbered Lodge St George 180 QGL. In 1921 we joined the newly formed United Grand Lodge of Queensland and originally kept our name and number 180. However the other St George Lodge No 43 UGLQ at Herberton (28 QGL & 1978 EC) had seniority and so our Brethren decided to take the name of the locality in which they met – Yeronga. On the name change we were renumbered 246 UGLQ. Disappointingly St George 43 UGLQ (28 QGL & 1978 EC) at Herberton then within six weeks merged with Lodge Evelyn 39 UGLQ (39 QGL & 685 SC) to form Lodge Herberton No. 39 UGLQ. We thus lost our name in that first year after the formation of UGLQ and our Brethren continued with their new name.

The displeasure of our early Brethren at this turn of events was something that was carried down through the years and remembered by our more senior members to this day.

We have sought to return to our original name as we near our Centenary to honour our founding Brethren and also to choose a name less confusing as we now have little connection to our original suburban location.