GRAND MASTER’S
Brethren, I begin this newsletter, with some very sad news. As you may have heard, our 30th Grand Master, Most Worshipful Brother Ronald Lewis Hale Johnson AM, holder of the Carrington Medal of Honour, passed peacefully to the Grand Lodge above on Monday 3 June.
Brethren, MW Bro Ron Johnson was a mentor, and an inspiration to us all. He was a humble, kind and generous man and it was always a pleasure to be in his company.
I know that the Grand Masters will really miss our quarterly meetings with Ron, we’ll miss his conversation, we’ll miss his humour, we’ll miss his guidance, but, most of all, we will miss his friendship.
MW Bro Ron and his wife May were very close friends of our 31st Grand Master MW Bro Noel Fredrick Dunn, his wife Fay, and many others who are all really hurting at this very sad time.
As Grand Master, on behalf of all masons in the NSW and ACT jurisdiction, and beyond, I send our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to his amazing, caring and loving daughter Terrie-Ann.
Our thoughts and prayers are with TerrieAnn and the family during this difficult time, and we will always cherish the wonderful memories of the times we had with her dad.
Brethren; our Deputy Grand Master will be installed as our 41st Grand Master on 28 September this year. Due to the lateness of the Grand Installation it will be necessary to hold our September quarterly Communication as normally scheduled.
Our September communication will be held on 11 September, two weeks prior to our Grand Installation. We plan for this to be a short meeting followed by nibbles and refreshments out in the marble foyer, and I look forward to seeing you there.
As I said, the Grand Installation will be held at the Town Hall on 28 September.
The event will begin with a meet and greet here at the SMC on Friday 27 September. There will be a Ladies Breakfast on the morning of 28 September, and of course the Grand Installation will be held that afternoon.
Following the ceremony of Installation the Grand Banquet will be held from 6.30pm.
The Harbour luncheon cruise on Sunday 29 September, with a capacity of over 200 passengers, will be something spectacular. We would really like to have your company out on the Harbour.
Brethren, the Town Hall is an amazing venue, and to hold a Grand Installation at that venue is something very special indeed. This jurisdiction is returning to the days when masons made a serious impact, and it will be an Installation the likes most of us have never seen before.
There are seats available at the Town Hall at just $20 each so book your place and be a part of what will be a very special and exciting occasion.
Bookings are available online at masons.au, and I look forward to seeing you, your family, and your friends join us as we install your 41st Grand Master. We will showcase to the world this country’s most amazing city and the strength of Freemasonry here in NSW and the ACT.
I thank all the members of our Board of Management, our Grand Secretariat, and our Deputy Grand Master for the co-ordination and added work they are all doing to bring this all together, and I appreciate the added support and understanding required during this busy and exciting time.
Brethren, the closer the Grand Installation gets the busier myself, the ceremonial team and our various boards and committees seem to be. This is an exciting time for our Craft here in NSW and ACT and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to serve our jurisdiction over the past few years.
Since our last Communication, we have attended open days at Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, Grand Installations in Victoria and South Australia, Installations at Lodge Jerusalem, Lodge Ku-Ring-Gai, Lodge Woronora, and Lodge Sutherland.
We attended an amazing Hands Across the Border charity event with our friends from Victoria down at Albury/Wodonga, and we witnessed a very special Debutante Ball out at Narrabri with over 250 people in attendance. I hope many of you will consider joining me for my last official engagement on Saturday 21 September for Lodge Courallie’s Debutante Ball out at Moree.
We had a combined Centenary and Anzac service for Lodge Army/Navy with General Sir Peter Cosgrove and his wife Lady Lynn Cosgrove in attendance, and Narelle and I journeyed up to Willow Tree on a Charity Train trip with the Hunter Valley Freemasons. I made a presentation at the Central Coast Freemasons Annual General Meeting, and, of course, we also made our way down to Nowra celebrating VW Bro Mark Baker’s Re-Installation.
Brethren, the list just keeps growing, and there is no doubt that, as we get busier, not only do we continue to grow, but we are seeing some first-class ritual performed inside our lodge rooms, with large numbers of Entered Apprentice and Fellowcraft Freemasons in attendance.
For me, witnessing such a high standard of work right across the jurisdiction, and feeling the energy that it produces within our lodges, has been an absolute pleasure and a highlight of my term as Grand Master, and for that I must congratulate, and thank you all. There is no doubt in my mind that if we continue to set high standards and be proud of what we do, we will attract even more interest to our Craft, which, of course, also assists our associated Orders, and brings us all together as masons.
So brethren, I encourage you all to set your own high standards, support your Worshipful Master and his officers as they prepare and lead your lodge into an exciting future.
Brethren, Narelle and I will be on leave for a few weeks; we have had a trip to the outback planned for almost three years and we only have a small weather window that will allow us to take it.
Your Grand Master Elect RW Bro Khris Albano will take the reins while I am away, and I ask that you support Khris and the team as they continue to support this jurisdiction’s continued growth and prosperity.
Please … take care and I look forward to seeing you at the Grand Installation on 28 September.
Les Hicks Grand Master
