District Grand Lodge of Carpentaria Archive
Discussion on the formation of a District Grand Lodge of Carpentaria began in August 1921 and in December 1923 twenty-six lodges from the district petitioned for it to be formed. By 1 March 1924, Freemasons of the Cairns and district lodges succeeded in forming a Grand Lodge for the far northern district, the District Grand Lodge of Carpentaria, which then enabled local governance. Delegates representing the Freemasons’ Lodges in Carpentaria gathered at the Masonic Hall for the purpose of electing a District Grand Lodge Master. William Henry John Mayers, who was first initiated in 1889 as a member of the Comet Lodge, was unanimously elected to the position. The Consecration Ceremony and Installation of District Grand Master were held in Cairns on 19 April, with special train services arranged to allow country members to attend. Over three hundred members from all parts of Cape York, Cairns district and officials from Brisbane attended. These ceremonies were followed by a banquet at the Oddfellows’ Hall, with many speeches delivered and musical and elocutionary items rendered.
References:
Freemasons’ United Grand Lodge of Queensland Hundred Years’ History Committee. (1959). 'The “Centennial Story”: The History of Freemasonry in Queensland Australia Over the First One Hundred Years, 1859-1959.' Brisbane: United Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Queensland.
Cairns Post (various issues), March – April 1924.Archive Location: 3R
Detailed Listing
DGLC/1/1 - DGLC/1/3 Authorised statement to be read and assented to (before signing Form of Proposition but afterwards to be attached thereto) by every person applying for admission to the Craft. Printed by Cairns Prompt Printery. 3 copies.
DGLC/2/1 - DGLC/2/226 Forms of Proposition including applications for joining, initiation and affiliation; references; reports of the Committee of Enquiry; and (some) attached Authorised Statements 1911-1936.
DGLC/3/1- DGLC/3/4 4 clearance certificates 1916-1933
DGLC/4/1- DGLC/4/3 3 dispensation certificates 1924-1926
Officers Election results
DGLC/5 30/6/1949
DGLC/6 30/6/1950
DGLC/7 30/6/1951
DGLC/8 30/6/1952
DGLC/9 30/6/1953
DGLC/10 30/6/1954
DGLC/11 30/6/1955
Miscellaneous documents
DGLC/12 Instructions for making out returns
DGLC/13 Elevation records
DGLC/14 Notice re Masonic Ball 9/8/1921. Typescript. 1p.
DGLC/15 Notice re Building fund levy. Typescript. 1p.
DGLC/16/1-DGLC/16/3 3 Harvey C. Smith Masonic Regalia pamphlets. Printed. 1p.
Accounts
DGLC/17 Profit and loss A/C, 1925/1926. Typescript. 2p.
