Freemasonry Victoria Magazine Summer Issue #145

SUMMER 2016 ISSUE ISSUE 145

Freemasonry Victoria New Beginnings: The Lord Somers' Organ and Geelong Grammar Family Violence On The Rise Pontiacs Pistons, Ploughs and Pumps

Our Principles Make a Difference

2016 GRAND INSTALLATION The 2016 Grand Installation of RWBro. Don Reynolds is fast approaching.

Dates and venues have been confirmed for the following associated functions.

DAY AND TIME Thursday 31st March 7:30pm Friday 1st April 9:30am Friday 1st April 6:00pm Friday 1st April 7:30pm Saturday 2nd April 6:30pm Sunday 3rd April 11:00am

EVENT

VENUE

DRESS

Delegates Reception

Rendezvous Hotel Flinders Street Heritage Lounge

Ladies After 5

Ladies Breakfast

Rendezvous Hotel Flinders Street King Edward Ballroom

Quarterly Communication

Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre Plenary 2

Formal with Regalia

Grand Installation

Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre Plenary 2

Formal with Regalia

Grand Banquet

Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre Melbourne Room

Farewell Celebration

Royal Freemasons Homes Coppin Centre

Our principles make a difference

Lounge Suit

Day Wear

Ladies After 5

Ladies After 5 Formal Ladies Evening Wear Smart Casual

In this issue beginnings: The Lord Somers' 2 New Organ and Geelong Grammar 4 A Sneak Peek Inside the DBC 5 Our Order of Australia Recipients 6 Running Cam 8 Uniting Freemasonry at Sea

10 14 16 18

Next Ne xt issue: The Grand Installation of MWBro. Don Reynolds is celebrated We pay tribute to the selfless and generous efforts of our Order of Australia Medal recipients Vision Australia brings one of the rarest books in our Library & Museum to life Artist in residence: WBro. George Zindilis, Duke of Sussex Lodge No. 48 Baden Powell celebrates in blazing colour

Emotional Intelligence helps aged care workers Looking after our women Family Violence On The Rise My Story: Bro. Nesan Naidoo

Freemasonry Victoria Magazine Issue 145 The official magazine of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria (Freemasons Victoria) Website: freemasonsvic.net.au FaceBook: facebook.com/freemasonsvic Twitter: @freemasonsvic YouTube: youtube.com/user/freemasonsvic LinkedIn: Freemasons Victoria Google+: Freemasons Victoria Telephone: (03) 9411 0111 Toll Free: 1800 068 416 Editor Gabrielle Forman (03) 9411 0101 Contact Us Email: editor@freemasonsvic.net.au Fax: (03) 9416 1468 Mail: The Editor, Freemasonry Victoria Magazine W.A. Tope Building, Coppin Centre 45 Moubray Street Melbourne Vic 3004 Editorial submissions: Article or photo submissions for each issue must be received by the end of the month, following the release of the previous issue.

Email submissions are preferred and images must be 300dpi or higher. Submissions should be addressed to: The Editor: Freemasonry Victoria Magazine PO Box 553, East Melbourne VIC 8002 Telephone: (03) 9411 0101 Email: editor@freemasonsvic.net.au Disclaimer: Freemasonry Victoria is distributed by mail direct to the homes of all members and is published by Square One Publications Ltd, (ACN 005 631 470).

W.A. Tope Building, Coppin Centre 45 Moubray Street, Melbourne Vic 3004 Publisher: Freemasonry Victoria is distributed by mail direct to the homes of all members each quarter and is published online at issuu.com/freemasonsvic by Freemasons Victoria.

Freemasons Victoria invites your comments and feedback on our magazine - we aim to make this publication as interesting and appealing to our audience as possible. If you have any constructive feedback or comments on how we can improve your reading experience please get in touch. Please keep your comments respectful and in line with the values of our organisation.

Please contact us by email editor@freemasonsvic. net.au or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ freemasonsvic

Letter from the Editor ...

W

elcome to 2016! Now that the year is in full swing, a number of great stories have been received focusing on charity and benevolence, Lodge achievements and community exposure.

Last year, many were inspired by the work of the Mornington Lodge in its quest to support the Luke Batty Foundation and putting a stop to domestic violence. At the December CBD Luncheon we heard from CEO of Domestic Violence Victoria Fiona McCormack who broke the issue down and helped us better understand some of the reasons why family violence occurs, and what can be done to educate others that it is not acceptable.

The topic prompted us to feature two very important stories in this edition of Freemasonry Victoria Magazine, one being a member profile from Bro. Nesan Naidoo who has openly and honestly told his story.

In this edition, we also hear from Past Grand Master, MWBro. Bob Jones’ son Cameron about the incredible mental and physical strength it took to run the Melbourne Marathon, in an effort to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Australia.

Cameron details the struggles, the pain and the exhilaration of crossing the finish line in front of his parents and friends, having raised more than $20,000 towards the cause.

Freemasons Victoria’s Library and Collections Manager Samantha Fabry has successfully found a home for the Lord Somers Organ, and we find out what has been going on at sea – yes, there is a ‘water’ Lodge, thanks to VWBro. Jeffrey Carswell PGIWkgs.

We are very close now to the next Grand Installation, so if you haven’t already registered to attend, please contact High Profile Events on 9596 6662 or visit www.hpe.com.au to book your tickets today.

Thanks must go to the members and partners who have diligently provided their time in some way to contribute towards this edition of Freemasonry Victoria Magazine.

Gabrielle Forman Editor

HISTORICAL

New beginnings: The Lord Somers’ organ and Geelong Grammar

D

irector of Music/Head of Arts at Geelong Grammar School, Mrs Jodie Townsend has recently contacted Freemasons Victoria in thanks for its donation of the Lord Somers’ Organ to its music program. The Organ, removed recently from the Dallas Brooks Centre will enable organ students to experience a different kind of organ to the one the school currently uses, and it is hoped it will encourage more students to learn the instrument.

“We would very much like to thank Freemasons Victoria for this extremely generous donation. Our existing organ is central to the life of our students and the school and I know that this instrument too will become part of the GGS family. It will be well looked after, cherished and play regularly which I would think is everything an organ would love,” Jodie said.

The Story of the Organ…

O

pened in 1969, the Dallas Brooks Centre was designed to maintain five Lodge Rooms, equipped to have organs, the largest and most majestic being placed within Lodge Room 1, also known as the Lord Somers’ Room.

Officially known as the Right Honourable Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Tennyson SomersCocks, he was born in the UK and served with distinction in the Army and was twice decorated for bravery, before being appointed as Governor of Victoria. He held the position of Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria between 1927 and 1932.

The Lord Somers’ Room was designed to “provide a good acoustical environment which permitted full bodied singing and a quiet background to allow for atmospheric music”. 1 Constructed to maintain up to 400 Freemasons, this Lodge room was built on two separate levels with an operating Lodge room on the lower floor and gallery seating on the upper. As the size of this organ within this 1 Ibid, pg. 39

2

Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

HISTORICAL

space was much larger in comparison to those within the other four Lodge Rooms, the organ pipes were constructed upon a 4-inch concrete slab which was cantilevered high on a side wall.

The main organ pipes were hidden behind a façade which was designed with burnished and lacquered zinc pipes. These were symmetrically placed on either end of the façade with the zinc pipes gradually descending into a smooth curve towards the centre which continued to decrease in size on one side. The organ and pipes within the Lord Somers’ Room were constructed by esteemed Australian organ builders George Fincham & Co. In 1866, Fincham was awarded 100 pounds by the Victorian Government for establishing a business in organ production.

He constructed approximately 200 organs for the State of Victoria (which was to include the organ at Freemasons Hall, at 25 Collins Street) as well as within other states and abroad including South Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and New Zealand. His most famous piece was the grand organ which was constructed for the Exhibition Building in Melbourne for the Great Exhibition of 1880 at a total cost of £ 5,262.18s.2 George transferred 2 Grand Organ, Exhibition Building Melbourne 1880, Available at: http://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/ Exhibition.html, (Accessed on 2nd February 2016).

the business to his son Leslie in 1900 who took control and renamed it George Fincham & Son. The company continued to operate until 2006 when it was sold by the Fincham family. 3,4 For over 40 years, the Dallas Brooks Centre was home to the United Grand Lodge of Victoria and the main office of Freemasons Victoria. It is currently under redevelopment with plans for a new Head Office, Lodge Rooms and offices.

As a consequence of this redevelopment, the Fincham organ from the Lord Somers Room was officially donated to Geelong Grammar School in December 2015 and will be placed within the main conservatory of the school. Through this gesture not only will the life of this organ continue to entertain and give great enjoyment to many, it will also continue the history of Lord Somers, the United Grand Lodge of Victoria and the Dallas Brooks Centre.

3 The Organ Historical Trust of Australia: George Fincham: 1828 (London) – 1910 (Melbourne), Available at: http:// www.ohta.org.au/profiles/fincham.html, (Accessed 2nd February 2016) 4 Peter McBride: Antique and Old Tools, Available at: http:www.petermcbride.com/fincham, (Accessed on 2nd February 2016).

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria 3

A Sneak Peek Inside

B

the DBC

y this stage, you might all be wondering about the status of the demolition of the Dallas Brooks Centre.

From the outside driving past, scaffolds and fencing have been erected to cordon off entrance and pathways into the Centre, but the exterior is largely still intact. We’ve heard that large amounts of asbestos has been removed before anything else could be done, and that the rooms we once worked in, rehearsed in or performed in, have now been ‘gutted’.

Thanks to VWBro. Peter Shellie GSuptWks, let’s take a sneak peek inside…. This work will keep going until August, at which time the main structure will start to be dismantled.

4

Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016 16

OUR O.A.M. RECIPIENTS

Our Order of Australia

Recipients

Let’s congratulate our wonderful Order of Australia Medal recipients, who have spent their lives dedicated to the welfare of others and their communities.

Bob Orr Retired Forest Scientist RWBro. Robert (Bob) Orr, PDGM was awarded an Order of Australia Medal this year for his service to the community of the Shire of Hepburn. He has been a member of Creswick Havilah Lodge No. 26 since 1973, having been initiated into the Victoria Felix Lodge No. 86 in 1953. He has received his 60 year jewel. RWBro. Bob was instrumental in the establishment of the Charity Challenge while a member of the Board of Benevolence from 1995 – 2009, and has voluntarily served on many Boards including the Creswick District Hospital, Western Highlands Health Service, Hepburn Health Service and John Curtin Aged Care. He was the Mayor of the Shire of Hepburn from 1997 – 1998 and was awarded Australia Day Citizen of the Year for the Shire of Hepburn in 2007.

Dr Sajeev Koshy Plenty Valley Community Health’s Clinical Director, Bro. Dr Sajeev Koshy was awarded an Order of Australia Medal this year for his service to dentistry in Victoria. Currently a member of Diamond Valley Lodge No. 252, Sajeev’s introduction to Freemasonry was originally in India where he was initiated into Lodge Minchin No. 2710, EC. Moving to Melbourne in 2004, Sajeev soon made his mark on the industry, being awarded the Victoria Public Healthcare Award in 2007 and the Dentistry Achievement Award in 2008. Today, Sajeev and his high performing team are responsible for reducing the dental waiting list in Gippsland from 57 months to less than seven over the course of three years.

Darryl Wagstaff Dedicated Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteer, WBro. Darryl Wagstaff was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal this year for his service to the Maryborough community. A member of Maryborough Lodge No. 22, Darryl is passionate about supporting the Maryborough community, volunteering as President for the Maryborough Arts Society and playing in the Maryborough City Brass Band. A Brigade Captain for 27 years and a Group Secretary for nine years with the CFA, WBro. Darryl has experienced some challenging but rewarding times with the CFA, attending the Black Saturday Bushfires in February 2009 as part of a strike team entering King Lake. WBro. was awarded Citizen of the Year for the Central Goldfields Shire in 2009.

David Pratt A man of compassion for the underprivileged, VWBro. David Pratt has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal for his service to the community of Ballarat. VWBro. David has been a member of Letchworth-Kilwinning Lodge No. 2 since 2013 having been initiated into Sturt Lodge No. 427 in 1957. He has four 50 year jewels from the Craft, Ark, Chapter and Royal Arch Chapter. David was a founding member of LifeLine Ballarat in 1969 and has been a member of Uniting Care Ballarat Parrish Mission for 42 years. He is Life Governor of Ballarat Base Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Home and was made a Paul Harris Fellow for his service to the Rotary Club of Ballarat East of which he has been a member since 1982.

George McPherson Inventor, mentor and advocate for services for the disabled, WBro. George McPherson was awarded an Order of Australia Medal this year for his service to disabled winter sports and to the community of Myrteford. WBro. George has been a member of Myrtleford Lodge No. 222 for more than 60 years and was Master of the Lodge in 1968 and 2004. WBro. George received an Australian Sports Award for his work with disabled ski-ing and a Tattersall’s Award for the development of the Sit Ski – a piece of equipment that allows those with paraplegia the opportunity to ski. He is an avid scout, and mentor, and has been involved with State Emergency Services (SES) and Country Fire Authority (CFA) as a volunteer for more than sixty years. He formed the Myrtleford unit of the SES in 1979 and is a Life Member of the CFA. WBro. George is also a member and on the committee of the Myrtleford Men’s Shed.

WBro. George’s wife Valerie has joined him this year in being awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her service to the community of Myrtleford.

Valerie has been a member of the Ladies Committee of Myrtleford Lodge No. 222 since 1955 and a member of the Auxiliary Committee of the Myrtleford CFA since 1952. She has joined WBro. George as a Venturer Leader for Scouts Victoria, and is Area Coordinator for the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.

Each Order of Australia Medal recipient’s story will be published in full detail in the Autumn edition of Freemasonry Victoria Magazine.

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria 5

RUNNING CAM The night before the race, he checked the tally and donations to his challenge were at $19,500.

His goal was to raise $20,000 so he was feeling pretty happy with the total achieved.

In the morning, he woke bright and sparky, ready for the day, ready for the race. He wasn’t feeling nervous, anxious or worried, just calm. When he checked the tally for the last time, it had risen overnight to $20,000! He’d made it! Now it was time to run the race!

With some last minute words of advice from Australian former world champion marathon runner Robert de Castella the count-down began.

Setting a comfortable pace and listening to his heart rate, Cam departed from Rod Laver Arena, headed down Flinders Street then left onto St Kilda Road. The city was quiet, apart from the sound of the 7, 000 footsteps around him. Cam began to focus on his rhythm.

Running

Cam

H

“I knew it would be tough. The furthest I’d run during training was 32 kilometres, so this was going to be a stretch, but I was up for it,” Cam said.

Making his way around Albert Park Lake, Cam said he was looking forward to seeing his parents and friends at the 15km mark, on the corner of Fitzroy Street. His brother Robbie had made big signs of support so he was encouraged to keep going.

Still feeling good at this stage, and still on pace, he headed along the esplanade to Port Melbourne, hit the turnaround mark, and started the journey to Elwood. Friends, Freemasons and family were all there cheering him on along this stretch, but he said that this was the point when he felt his legs getting heavy.

itting the streets at 6am on Sunday 18 October, Cameron Jones was well prepared for the 42 kilometre marathon he had ahead of him. Having trained for six months prior to the Melbourne Marathon, and having run in excess of 25 half marathons in preparation, Cam was fit, healthy and up for the challenge. Cam joined the 7,000 other participants who were all eager to make it to the finish line at some stage later that morning.

“I started to become worried that I was hitting the ‘wall’ well before I had expected to. I still had 17 kilometres to go, but feeling the weight of support pushing me on kept me focussed,” he said.

Many participants were running for many different reasons. Some were using the marathon for fitness, others as a way to challenge their own endurance - Cam was running for a very important cause, close to his heart – his Mum. In a campaign that he had been working on for the duration of his training, Cam was raising funds for the Alzheimer’s Australia Dementia Research Foundation.

For the next 20 metres, he and his best friend Darren, who, along with Cam’s partner Katrina, had been riding beside him from the beginning, walked the course, then began to run again. “You can do it,” Darren kept saying, “…there’s only 200 metres to go of incline!”

6

Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

At the 37 kilometre mark Cam became flustered.

“I was really struggling. I hadn’t prepared for the hill around the back of The Tan running track.

I just had to stop. Everything was starting to bother me.”

Cam said that Darren was correct, he did only have 200 metres to go, to the Domain Gardens round-about that is, where the incline flattened

RUNNING CAM out a bit. But then it was all uphill again for another kilometre!

Turning onto Domain Road, Cam suddenly cramped up but said that all he could think about was his ‘under four-hour’ goal. He continued walking but the cramping started again. Taking a few deep breaths and stretching it out, Cam started running again and regained his focus.

Cam ran the last leg down St Kilda Road, back up Flinders Street and onto Wellington Parade. It was here he thought “I’m nearly there!”

“The last 10 kilometres was carnage – there were people on stretchers, people sitting down, people walking. Even in the last 100 metres people were still stopping because of cramp. One man even crawled across the finish line!” Cam said.

Eager to make it inside the MCG without stopping, Cam said that he had run this part of the race in his head 1,000 times.

“More than 5,000 roaring supporters were inside the complex cheering everyone on.”

Cam ran across the finish line in 3 hours, 58 minutes and 27 seconds. 1 minute and 33 seconds inside of his goal of four hours!

Cam said that seeing his Mum and Dad was a very proud moment.

“I was quite emotional. Dad knew exactly what I had just put myself through, he himself running a 42 kilometre marathon in the 80’s when he was around my age. And seeing mum so excited was amazing and made it all worth it,” he said.

“We went to the Peninsula Hot Springs the next day

for some R&R, and by Monday night I could barely walk! By Wednesday I was back playing basketball though, still in disbelief that I’d done it.”

Cam said that if there was any advice he could give anyone who is about to take on a marathon, it would be ‘don’t underestimate the power in surrounding yourself with positive people and keeping a positive mindset’.

Cam said he saw a performance psychologist during training to help him with his mental stamina and endurance. He said he was struggling to get past the half marathon distance, so worked on trying to find the drivers that would push him that bit further.

“I realised that my drivers were about helping people and facing my challenges. So if you can relate any activity back to your drivers, you can do anything”, he said.

“And when you feel yourself lacking confidence, always remember to trust your competence.

Finding your zone can only come from understanding and accepting your competence.

Confidence will only get you so far if you’re not prepared”, he said.

In total, Cameron Jones raised $21,482.

Contributions came from Lodge of St. Mark No. 591 as well as other Lodges, the Freemasons Public Charitable Foundation, individuals as well as the Grand Director’s Society, Swords Society, and Recar colleagues.

All were in attendance on Friday 13 November when Cam was formally recognised for his efforts at Lodge of St. Mark with a cheque presentation and celebration.

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria 7

AROUND THE WORLD

AT SEA VWBro. Jeffrey G. Carswell PGInspWkgs

I

t is well known, Freemasonry is a significant international organisation with Lodges in many countries around the World.

Brethren join a Lodge, attend a meeting and then go home again to then, hopefully, repeat the same process next month.

They’ll enjoy meeting their (in many cases) life-long friends that they’ve made, enjoy the fellowship and at the same time in all sorts of ways contribute towards something worthwhile within their community.

As we also know, all Freemasons are encouraged to visit other Lodges to enjoy the fellowship that the Craft makes available.

8

Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

Visiting other Lodges can be very interesting, and also exciting. I have had the good fortune to be able to visit many Lodges during my years as a Freemason, including quite a few visits overseas when I have had to travel for business.

It has never ceased to amaze me that when you enter a Lodge that you have never been to before, in particular when it is in another country, you feel as if you’ve been there before, being received with genuine warmth and usually some excitement because the Lodge members enjoy having a visitor, especially from another country.

I have visited Lodges in Canada,

Denmark, several States in the USA, Belgium, Greece and Bulgaria, to mention a few.

In the case of Bulgaria, the visitation has now extended to me joining the English speaking Hiram Lodge in the Capital of Sofia. These days I actually live in Bulgaria’s second largest city of Plovdiv, some 125 kilometres from the Capital.

For the last more than ten years, I have been sailing the oceans in my capacity as Senior Executive on one of the largest cruise ships in the world. My current ship, the Navigator of the Seas, is 140,000 tons (around 3½ times the size of the Titanic) and has a capacity of 4,000

AROUND THE WORLD guests. I am responsible for 1,220 crew members. Although I have spent a couple of years in European waters, over the past several years I have been based in North America, mainly the Caribbean, sailing to places such as Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman, St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Haiti, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Panama, Colombia and Aruba from a home base mainly in either Texas or Florida.

Having thought for some time about ‘doing something Masonic’ on board, since I am unable to attend Lodge meetings on terra firma, in 2013 I decided to start holding Masonic Get-Togethers on the ships I am working on. The format is very casual with an invitation every Sunday on the main notice-board on the Royal Promenade, which runs most of the length of deck 5, (we have 15 decks!), advising all Freemasons cruising with us on that particular cruise to meet for a casual get-together at 2:00pm on the first day at sea.

This meeting is also included in our daily Cruise Compass, a publication provided to all guests listing all activities planned for the day. Then I wait to see what will happen.

These meetings are only arranged on my ship, being one of 23 ships in the fleet and are only held when I am onboard which means that over the two-year period since I started doing this, I have been onboard for 16 months.

Throughout this period, I have had the pleasure of welcoming 368 fellow Freemasons from places such as Ireland, Cuba, England, Scotland, several Canadian provinces, Norway, Mexico, Israel, South Africa, Turkey and of course, many States of the USA. It has been a pleasure to be able to welcome such a significant number of

Brethren to my Get-Togethers, in particular as a representative member of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria.

Part of the excitement and pleasure of doing this is to see the big smiles on the faces of the Brethren when they join me at the meeting – in most cases having been ‘sent’ by their wives who seem to be the ones who see the notice of the Masonic meeting! Having an opportunity to meet other Freemasons and talk about the ‘things’ we talk about when we get together is clearly very exciting for them, as it is for all of us. The size of the groups each week vary from one to 32 Brethren.

One of the questions I get asked

quite regularly is if I have plans to start a Lodge onboard. Certainly, that thought has crossed my mind several times but the logistics of doing so in an environment of around 65 different nationalities and where there is a constant turnover of crew members would make this a huge challenge and probably impossible – although it would be an amazing event to have the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria and his team come onboard for a week or two and consecrate such a Lodge.

So I shall remain content with doing what I am doing; uniting Freemasonry no matter which stretch of water I am in, and no matter which border I may cross.

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria 9

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Emotional Intelligence helps

T

aged care workers

he 2015 Royal Freemasons Research & Innovation Forum, held in Melbourne in December last year, has presented updates on three key research programs, all designed to deliver tangible benefits for the aged care workforce and the older persons in their care.

Guests from the health and aged care sectors heard from Royal Freemasons' research partners La Trobe University, Alfred Health and the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), presenting results of studies that impact the lives of thousands of older Australians.

10 Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

The first presentation by La Trobe University's Professor Sandra Leggat and Dr Leila Karimi described the results of their study "Feeling Good, Working Well: Transforming Health Services through Emotional Intelligence (EI) training", based on data collection and training provided at two Royal Freemasons aged care facilities.

EI staff training was proven to have significant effects on skills development, quality of care (both self-reported and resident-reported), workplace wellbeing and teamwork.

Significantly, EI is a trainable

skill and Royal Freemasons is now investigating how it will equip staff to improve their emotional intelligence.

EI staff training was proven to have significant effects on skills development, quality of care (both self-reported and resident-reported), workplace wellbeing and teamwork.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

The second forum presentation

by Dr Seema Parikh, Consultant Geriatrician Alfred Health and Adjunct Senior Lecturer Monash University, covered "The impact of mobile bone density assessment (DXA) scanning in a residential care setting on diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis."

...the Research & Innovation Forum is a wonderful way for Royal Freemasons to demonstrate thought leadership in the area of aged care.

Information about osteoporosis was provided to residents, staff and general practitioners at Royal Freemason's Coppin Centre and Emmy Monash Aged Care, followed by six onsite mobile DXA scanning

sessions involving 127 residents over a two-year period. The study results show that this practice significantly improves rates of osteoporosis diagnosis, and the rates of evidence based pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical fracture prevention strategies.

Royal Freemasons Senior Geriatrician, Associate Professor Samuel Scherer, and Dr Steven Savvas, NARI Research Fellow, presented the third study "Transitions Mapping as a tool for facilitating improvements in care."

A major component of this program is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary professional review of each resident’s condition involving a general practitioner, a nurse, an allied health practitioner and individual lifestyle considerations. The transition maps developed from the review offer an effective, tailored approach to placing residents at the centre of their own health and aged care journey.

Royal Freemasons Chief Executive, Felix Pintado, says that the Research & Innovation Forum is a wonderful way for Royal Freemasons to demonstrate thought leadership in the area of aged care.

"We partner with leading researchers from around Australia to conduct leading edge research that has beneficial outcomes not just for our customers, but for the whole Australian aged care sector," he said.

"Through collaborations such as we have seen at our Research & Innovation Forum, Royal Freemasons is able to deliver cutting edge results that are directly targeted at improving quality of service and care.

For more information on the presentations or on the research and innovation work of Royal Freemasons, contact Bruce Trengove, Marketing and Communications Consultant, on (03) 9452 2267 or visit http://www.royalfreemasons. org.au/ Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria 11

Inner Sanctum In My Words

December 2015 Quarterly Communication – Grand Master’s Address

Membership Raising the Profile of Freemasonry in the Community

Philanthropy Philanthropy in the Digital Age

Mark and Chapter …and God Commanded Noah

Cover image: Tom McGuire, FossilBluff.com

Our Principles Make a Difference

IN MY WORDS

M

MWBro. Hillel Benedykt addresses the membership at the December 2015 Quarterly Communication

ost Worshipful Past Grand Masters and Brethren, or as Most Worshipful Brother Sebo once addressed you, my Brothers.

This Quarterly Communication is often when the Grand Master would reflect on what has been achieved during his term. This is because at the next Quarterly Communication, the evening will be about the new Grand Master, and my remarks will be in the form of thanks.

I have had a great deal of feedback, some of it quite judgemental, so I think it’s inappropriate for me to judge myself. I would rather reflect on the thoughts I have shared with you previously and trust something within those words sparks something in your thoughts.

The Prime Minister of the State of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, who was attending the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in November, met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and when they met, the two leaders shook hands for the first time in five years.

Imagine my surprise Brethren, when following the September Quarterly Communication as I was greeting Brethren at the supper, I extended my hand to a Brother who refused to shake my hand. Imagine earlier in my term, when I received anonymous correspondence

ii

Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016 2016

addressed to me at my home, the content of which was both threatening and offensive.

These are not the only negative experiences during my term, and I ask you my Brothers, and I don’t just mean Ron and Simon, how would you have felt in these situations?

If you are going to judge me Brethren, judge me on my resolve to positively serve this wonderful, vibrant and exciting organisation and to do so with dignity, integrity, humility, respect, dedication, commitment, enthusiasm and pride.

I have also enjoyed the unwavering support of my family during this period, particularly my wife Sue – a far better Freemason than some I have met. Now, allow me to give you a retrospect of my former addresses.

My first address to any Communication was as Grand Master Elect in September 2013. You may recall I reminded you that you were first made a Freemason in your heart, and I also posed the question ‘Do you feel anything?’ which was prompted by an incident when I was literally pinning a jewel on a Brother. In my mind, the question still stands.

I also stated that respect would be a recurring theme during my term.

At my Installation as Grand Master in March 2014, I stepped onto the floor of Grand Lodge,

sharing some of my personal and cultural background, then dramatically sealed the public pledges I had made by breaking a glass. The intention was to symbolise that the pledges were as irrevocable as that broken glass. The sound of the glass shattering was deafened by cheerful shouts of Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov. In June, Freemasons Victoria celebrated its 125th birthday and we shared thoughts about yesterday, today and tomorrow.

New display cabinets were used to show off various artefacts that were part of our rich history. Those same cabinets are now part of our new look Library and Museum, and what a rich and extensive range of items are now preserved as part of our wonderful heritage.

I suggested that if we think of ourselves as the custodians of this magnificent fraternity, treat it with the respect it deserves, appreciate and preserve our heritage, ensure the community is well informed about what we do and that we are an integral part of those communities, then let each of us try in our own way, to leave things just a little better than we found them.

Then we will have honoured yesterday, enjoyed today and look forward with great anticipation to tomorrow.

In September, I launched the concept of Freemasons Victoria being an ‘amazing place’, the essence of which was that Freemasonry is an organisation

IN MY WORDS

steeped in tradition which offers friendship, personal development, community involvement and participation in meaningful ceremony. I also shared with you a Psalm in Hebrew and English attributed to King Solomon’s father, Psalm 133 which in English is; Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in unity!

This time last year, my message and thoughts were all about perspective and where Freemasonry should be positioned relative to your family and your work – it comes a clear third. I mentioned a young Pakistani girl who had just become the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala Yousafzai.

She had survived being shot in the face by the Taliban for her support of the right for all children to have an education.

She is now 18 and her latest quote is ‘With guns you can kill terrorists, with education you can kill terrorism.’ I also referenced a story found on the wall of Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta, known as Do It Anyway, an inspirational list of items on how you should positively deal with various forms of negativity.

In March this year, the final Grand Installation took place in the Dallas Brooks Centre. As I will do in March next year, I thanked a range of people, but in particular, I expressed my appreciation to the Great Architect of the Universe for giving me the health and strength for my first term and prayed it would be maintained during my second term, which it has. I also pointed out that I had made some mistakes during my first term and assured all of you that I would continue to make

mistakes in my second term.

Brethren, I have kept my word.

I also took the opportunity to restate the pledges I had made a year earlier.

The June 2015 Quarterly Communication became the final Quarterly to ever be held at the Dallas Brooks Centre and a few fitting words of farewell were expressed. It had been 40 years since the date of my initiation into Freemasonry and I reminisced over that milestone. I gave a practical example of empowerment in the form of challenging each Lodge to set aside $1 per day from that moment until the end of October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month) so that we could achieve on average, $130 per Lodge, thereby raising the same amount of funds raised in 2014. Well Brethren, you raised approximately 15 per cent more than 2014 and over the next few months, with the support of our Foundation, we will be donating in excess of $80,000.

What an outstanding result achieved by you, Brethren.

Our most recent Quarterly Communication was held at the Melbourne and Olympic Park Function Centre and while there were some minor teething problems, it very much had the same look and feel we are used to at every other Quarterly. That night, the Deputy Grand Master became the Grand Master Elect and the Deputy Grand Master Elect was announced. I used a Swiss watch to exemplify the different perspective one experiences at the front of house versus back of house, and went on to discuss how we all need to recharge our batteries, in the context of describing our leadership model. I concluded with the Socrates triple filter test, which suggests that if what

you want to tell me is neither true, nor good, nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?

Brethren, I trust that something I have said either tonight or in any of my previous addresses has got you thinking, thinking about yourself and thinking about Freemasonry. My inspiration comes from you, Brethren. My experiences with Brethren, Lodges, Districts, the Grand Secretariat and all other stakeholders associated with Freemasons Victoria, have been and continue to be overwhelmingly positive.

You inspire me to research and produce these addresses each quarter.

I plan to conclude this address as was done this time last week, at the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of England, where the Most Worshipful Pro Grand Master Peter Lowndes concluded his address flying in the face of today’s extreme political correctness as follows: ‘In recent times, Brethren, we have tended to refer to Christmas as the Festive Season. In Paris last weekend at the Grande Loge Nationale Française, we were wished a Happy Christmas by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel during his speech… and afterwards I was wished the same by several Brethren from other religious backgrounds. They all consider us to be grossly over sensitive on the subject.

So, Happy Christmas, everyone!’

MWBro. Hillel Benedykt

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria iii

MWBRO. HILLEL BENEDYKT - THANK YOU

MWBRO.

Hillel Benedykt

D

edication, commitment and friendship are words that describe character in a person.

They are words that are linked to a true leader. They are words that express admiration.

They are words that we attribute to our Grand Master, MWBro. Hillel Benedykt.

His leadership of Freemasonry in Victoria over the last two years has been inspirational and thought provoking. He has challenged all members to think about how they can both individually and collectively improve and preserve our great institution.

MWBro. Hillel has also demonstrated his dedication to Freemasonry by forward thinking and decisive decision making, cognisant of the needs of members today and the likely future needs of members.

He has presided over a period of change and considerable Masonic and personal challenge.

The ongoing development of Masonic meeting

iv Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

places, particularly Box Hill, Ballarat, Williamstown and East Melbourne have given Freemasonry an invigorated positive external image and secured the Craft fraternally for years to come.

Fundamental changes to the structure of our philanthropic activities has secured funds and provided greater scope for Community and Masonic giving.

Strategic community partnerships have been initiated and strengthened, linking Freemasonry to well respected organisations such as the Blue Ribbon Foundation, Epworth Hospital, the Think Pink Foundation and Melbourne Youth Music.

MWBro. Hillel has been pivotal in leading these important strategic initiatives through his term of office.

For this and also his personable style and ability to relate to all members, we sincerely thank him and his wonderful wife Sue. Freemasonry is deeply indebted to both of you for your dedication, commitment and friendship.

Amicus cArnevAle cArnev le

Amicus Carnevale Hits the Streets!

T

he Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre recently received $100,000 in funds for lung cancer research, raised by more than 460 guests who attended the Lodge Amicus Carnevale Ball on Saturday 6 February.

Heading off from Spring Street and through Lygon Street in horse and carriage, thirty of the guests all dressed in Venetian costumes and masks, made their way to the San Remo Ballroom in Carlton.

Guests were treated by The Cursio Show Band and dancers, including Paul Gulinello and Michelle SerretCursio who featured in the wonderful floor show. The dance floor was jumping throughout the night, right up to the last encore by the band.

Tony Tardio of 3AW was a well suited MC for the evening, saying that he was proud to be involved in an event aimed at raising funds for the community.

With a silent and live auction that included a Bali holiday for eight people, a corporate box at the MCG and premium Di Giorgio wines, guests were keen to bid to raise money for lung cancer research.

Sponsors included the Winley Insurance Group (Gold), Peter Fusca - P&C Excavations (Silver) and a large number of others; Racing Victoria, Eurolux, Brazilian Butterfly, PaperCorp and Kogan to name a few.

On Friday afternoon prior to the event, WBro. Mario Zanetti was interviewed by Tony Tardio on Italian radio and several mentions of the event were made on 3AW. The interview covered what Freemasonry meant to Mario, his reasons for joining and importantly, why Freemasons Victoria is involved in raising funds for the community.

The Freemasons Foundation contributed $44,000 of the total donation.

This event demonstrated to the community the principle tenets of Freemasonry, of charity and friendship.

Top: Bro. Roger Chong and his wife Christina Chia with WBro. Mario Zanetti with his wife inside the carriage.

Middle: Entertainer, Paul Gulinello.

Bottom: Grand Master MWBro. Hillel Benedykt and his wife Sue.

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria

v

MEMBERSHIP HISTORICAL

Raising the profile of

Freemasonry in the community Being held in the masonic centre, the community come in to see the event but are exposed, incidentally, to Freemasonry. We need to make sure we have plenty of information on hand for those who enquire, pick up a pamphlet or want to look in the Lodge room.

Advertising Events

RWBro. Bruce Stockdale Manager Membership Services

A

n open day at a Masonic Centre is likely to only attract those who have had a connection, some knowledge of or are curious about Freemasonry.

Also, an Open Day is an event that can be run once every year or so.

Success comes from simple steps – repeated regularly One viable and realistic option may well lie in running regular, weekly, monthly or bi-monthly events, at the Masonic Centre, specifically to raise funds for a local cause/s.

One excellent example is the Colac Lodge running a bimonthly jumble sale. The funds raised recently contributed to the purchase of a trailer for the local Sea Scout Group. Future targets include Girl Guides, Scouts and the local schools.

vi Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

• Brand the event as a market, car boot sale, swap meet, food festival or jumble sale; • Prominently state that all funds raised go to the community; • Permanent signage on site.

Working with the community group/s In selecting the group you work with look for: • a group with a good number of potential members for Freemasonry; • a group willing to work with you to help themselves who will • increase attendance as buyers • participate as stall holders Schools can definitely meet these criteria.

Distributing the money Work within your community, raise the money locally, then distribute the money locally.

Look for projects that will have a lasting legacy, generate future awareness and ongoing exposure of Freemasonry.

Work with the group to identify a piece of equipment, a project, a room… that can carry our name into the future as this will multiply the benefit of the donation.

When it comes to the option of providing a branded trailer or handing over a cheque – the trailer wins every time.

The Outcomes 1. Regular exposure in the community of Freemasonry 2. Demonstration that we support the community 3. We achieve our charitable aim 4. We create activity, momentum and interest within the Lodge membership 5. We socialise with each other and the community 6. New friendships and support groups are formed Observations from a recent visit to a local Farmers’ Market: • A strong flow of people through the gates • An ‘honesty’ donation from all who entered; a ‘gold coin’ or two was standard • People were happy and relaxed • There were 25 or so stall holders (being summer the number was diminished) • There was a variety of stalls – food, fresh produce, bread, honey, some handcrafts

MEMBERSHIP

• a stall selling coffee, breakfast rolls and homemade pies and sausage rolls • A busker adding some entertainment and atmosphere • There were tables and chairs under cover to sit, drink, eat and chat • Stall holders paid $75 each for a 3 x 3 metre site • There were a number larger stalls run by ‘professionals’ • A minimum of staff were required to run the event • Good parking was available on site • Yoga and meditation classes were held in parallel with the market.

My estimate of income for the day was $2,000 plus.

Five minutes on the market website displayed good planning: • a website exists • information was displayed about the beneficiary of the funds raised • location, dates and times were displayed • stall holders who would be present each week were listed • information for prospective stall holders was clear • a link for food vendors to register for health purposes was provided

WBro. David Dickson presents the trailer to Sea Scouts Leader Jonathan Graham.

The Colac experience The Warrion St. John Lodge No. 83 had raised funds through a jumble sale in the Masonic Centre and applied to the Freemasons Foundation for additional funds to enable the purchase of a trailer.

The Lodge organised a sausage sizzle for the Sea Scouts, leaders and parents at 6.00pm to present the trailer. After the presentation we took the opportunity to invite the Sea Scouts, parents and leaders to look through the Masonic Centre.

The informal discussion led to discovering that one of the leaders was involved with the local community radio station. This resulted in a plan for an on-air interview with Lodge members and a possible outdoor broadcast from the Masonic Centre on the day of a future jumble sale.

The reactions of the non-masons present was interesting – at least

two had family connections with masonry but no current connection or knowledge, there was a general curiosity and interest in what Freemasonry is about and surprise that we would ‘open the doors’. Some did not know Freemasons existed in the Colac area and there were several comments that they had absolutely no idea what Freemasonry is about.

This was summed up by one lady stating that she thought ‘you just made tombstones’.

There are many templates that can be used, and many types of events that will attract people.

Look for something that will fit and suit your Masonic Centre.

Above all keep it simple, duplicable and not burdensome on members.

Success in most things comes not from some gigantic stroke of fate, but from simple, incremental progress.

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria vii

DAYLIGHT LODGES SURVEY

Perception

A

and Reality

major part of the answer to the question as to why there is a dichotomy between attendance and or membership of Daylight Lodges and our member’s age distribution lies in the difference in perception and reality.

The statistic of the recent Daylight Lodges survey tell only part, a small part of the tale, the major part of the answer comes from in the freeform responses to some questions; in particular in reference to why members had or had not joined a Daylight Lodge and what could be said to encourage members to participate in Daylight Lodges.

Indicative of some of the answers was a phone discussion with one member, who had been a foundation member of a Daylight Lodge, but was no longer a member. In the course of that discussion he expounded that there were ‘too many grumpy old men’ in Daylight Lodges – a perception.

A significant number of respondents who were retired, still attending Lodge meetings, have not and will not consider joining an evening Lodge – expressed a variety of negative perceptions as their reason.

Friendship Survey responses of members have consistently shown ‘friendship’ as the predominant reason for continuing to attend, month after month, year after year. It is fairly simple to therefore extrapolate that to the conclusion that members would rather; stay in the Lodge where their friends are, and are reticent to join a ‘new’ Lodge where they would need to form new friendships – a contention which is supported by comments in the survey.

Research prepared for Beyond Blue into men’s social connectedness reveals that in answer to a question on ‘what would prevent you from taking

viii Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

part’; 39 per cent would not feel comfortable fronting up for the first time and 32 per cent felt that they would not fit in.

Access and Spousal Participation The issue of ease of driving during the day and not leaving a spouse at home alone during an evening were quoted by many as the reason for joining and enjoying Daylight Lodges and for some have outweighed the friendship factor. The majority of respondents, who indicated that they had joined a Daylight Lodge, indicated these two factors as the major reason/s.

Other Common Perceptions Some of the perceptions expressed are that Daylight Lodges; are social clubs, do endless demonstration degree ceremonies and have poor standards of ritual.

A significant number of respondents who were retired, still attending Lodge meetings, have not and will not consider joining an evening Lodge – expressed a variety of negative perceptions as their reason.

Variance of Need There is also a disparity, almost to a point of polarization, in what some members want from Masonic meetings – at one end of the scale there are those who want to see more ceremonial work and other who are comfortable with less, so long as it is of a reasonable standard. The balance of opinion of respondents was for interesting meetings, some ceremonial, good speakers, social activity and engagement.

DAYLIGHT LODGES SURVEY

Why worry?

Daylight Lodges are providing a significant number of our members with the opportunity to continue to enjoy their Masonic journey; continue to build existing and new friendships, participate in community and charitable endeavours, learn, develop, keep mentally active and engaged with others and the community as well as continue to experience the unique ceremonial which distinguishes Freemasonry from all other organisations.

Paraphrasing the words of one member ‘without Lodge I have nothing, I’ve lost my wife and Freemasonry gives my life meaning”.

The current hump in the age distribution of our membership will inevitable mean, through age and increased frailty, a greater proportion of members will have issues which mean attendance at an evening Lodge is no longer an option or a comfortable experience.

himself out of the chair, the odd word or prompt may be needed but importantly the delivery is done with meaning and understanding.

All Lodges are responsible for their own destiny; they must plan and then implement strategies that will engage, retain, reactivate and recruit members. Freemasons Victoria offers a broad range of support to districts and Lodges that are taking initiatives.

We need to ‘dig the well before we need it’.

RWBro. Bruce Stockdale Manager Membership Services

We need to ‘dig the well before we need it’.

The Way forward.

Number one is for Daylight Lodges to engage with the evening Lodges, specifically their members – especially those that are not attending and extend the hand of friendship. It requires evening Lodges and Daylight Lodges to work together, placing the welfare and support of the member who isn’t attending, as well as Freemasonry in general, above the interest of the Lodge itself.

Arrange reciprocal visits between evening and Daylight Lodges will be the first step in breaking down the barriers of fronting up for the first time or being able to fit in.

Lodge programs need planning to ensure a balance between ceremonial and non-ceremonial; this isn’t limited to Daylight Lodges.

The option of not opening the Lodge, using the option of a non-ceremonial meeting (refer Code of Conduct) should be planned a number of times during the year, particularly when a talk or lecture will be the main part of the meeting. This also improves the environment to invite Freemasons into, don’t hold your guests outside a closed door.

Ceremonial standards – in my experience the spring in the step of the deacons may not quite be what it was, the odd warden may need to lever

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria ix

PHILANTHROPY

The Freemasons Foundation – Philanthropy in the Digital Age Freemasons Foundation Director Bro. Timothy Clark explains why a strong online presence will help grow the Foundation’s brand within the philanthropic sector.

G

ranting almost two million dollars to various causes every year, the Freemasons Foundation is a formidable contributor within Victoria’s philanthropic space.

One of eleven Directors of the Foundation, Bro. Timothy Clark is keen to see that the operation of the Foundation is reflective of the digital age in which we live, ensuring that information about Freemasonry’s charitable work is spread diversely and to a variety of audiences.

“Society has rapidly changed over the past few decades, and the world is a much different place today than it was when my Masonic mentor, WBro. Mark Field was my age. My late grandfather, Mr Fredrick Smythe – also a Freemason - would hardly recognise the way society conducts business today. That is

x

Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

because almost every aspect of it relies on digital communications,” said Timothy.

“Charity is no different,” he explained, “which is why the Foundation has taken the step to create a strong online presence, right from its inception.

This presence is made up of a number of elements, which include our website, social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and video marketing on outlets such as YouTube.”

The impact of post and page sharing on social media cannot be denied. “A promotional video was published on the Freemasons Foundation Facebook page. Within 48 hours, it was viewed over 2,000 times. A day later it was published on the Freemasons Victoria Facebook page and within 24 hours was viewed over 5,000 times on their page. We reached 7,000 people in three days,” Timothy said.

PHILANTHROPY

If each of the 7,000 viewers shared this video with their own social networks - which typically average around 300 - then within a single week, the Freemasons Foundation would have reached over 2,000,000 people. Instead of targeting random audiences, messages are shared with the networks of people who already have an association with Freemasonry. It’s free, targeted word-of-mouth viral marketing!

For this style of marketing to be successful, Timothy is urging members to help. “We need members to help extend our reach, to help deliver our message, and importantly grow the profile of Freemasonry in Victoria. If you aren’t already following and sharing our social media streams, please do so. Or ask someone to help set you up with an account!”

“In order for Freemasonry to remain relevant, we must adapt to the modern way of marketing, branding and extending our reach within the community.”

“As a boy, I remember helping my grandfather set up the Lodge Room. Thirty years on, I’m setting up the Lodge Room. In another thirty years, I want my own grandson to help me set up the Lodge Room. However, for this to happen, we as an organisation must remain relevant and open to change. Nothing dramatic, just what is necessary to survive. This will ensure that generations to

follow will experience the wonderful ritual and friendship that takes place within Freemasonry.

Having a strong online presence is a big part of seeing us thrive into the future.”

A promotional video was published on the Freemasons Foundation Facebook page.

Within 48 hours, it was viewed over 2,000 times.

Bro. Timothy Clark is also a Director of Beehive Foundation (Youth Suicide Prevention) and a Committee Member of Life Education Victoria (Drug & Alcohol Education). He is involved with Rotorac where he took part in a Humanitarian Tour of East Timor in 2012, and also with the Bali Children Foundation where a similar Charity Tour took place around the remote parts of Bali in 2011.

For more information on the Freemasons Foundation, please visit: www.freemasonsfoundation.org

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria xi

Freemasons Foundation Victoria Limited NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

This philanthropic body was set up to carry out a number of charitable functions on behalf of Freemasons in Victoria. Among them is the support of Lodges in their charitable objectives.

WHAT CAUSES WILL MY DONATION SUPPORT? Scout Groups, local bands, Aged Care Facilities, Men’s Sheds, school programs and many similar community programs.

HOW ARE DECISIONS REGARDING FUNDING MADE? Based on charitable objectives and availability of funds.

Lodges who need more than dollar for dollar - ask for more.

IS A SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE REQUIRED? A specific objective for the use of the funds will be helpful.

DONATIONS CAN BE TAX DEDUCTABLE If you wish to make a tax deductable donation, you should stipulate that your donation go to The Freemasons Public Charitable Foundation. If you wish to make a bequest, a member of the Foundation will be happy to discuss the matter with you.

WRITE The Directors Freemasons Foundation Victoria Limited ABN 159 528 122 PO Box 553 East Melbourne Vic 8002 WEB www.freemasonsfoundation.org

Lodge SpotLight

Lodge Spotlight –

Derrimut Daylight Lodge

W

ith the majority of members over the age of 80, it could be easy to assume that Derrimut Daylight Lodge No. 905 is on the way out.

Quite the opposite is true, which is why we’re shining a light on this vibrant, harmonious and proficient Daylight Lodge.

Daylight Lodges naturally attract members who no longer have daytime work commitments, or who find it hard to get out at night. The average age of Daylight Lodge members is higher than evening Lodges. But in the case of Derrimut, age is no barrier to operating a successful Lodge with higher than average attendance, an excellent standard of ceremonial work and well-attended social occasions.

Freemasons Victoria’s Membership Manager, RWBro. Bruce Stockdale, was invited to one of Derrimut’s social events where he was pleasantly surprised by what he saw.

page newsletter every month – paid for by the advertising contained within it.”

“Members with health issues are supported to perform their roles. One member attends every month in a wheelchair, aided by fellow members so he can still enjoy a high quality of Freemasonry.

These are true examples of brotherly love. The Lodge embodies everything that Freemasonry is all about,” said Bruce.

“Derrimut Daylight Lodge has the balance right. By organising social events outside of regular Lodge meetings, members and their families feel engaged, connected, and able to enjoy true fellowship.”

“Derrimut Daylight Lodge has the balance right.

By organising social events outside of regular Lodge meetings, members and their families feel engaged, connected, and able to enjoy true fellowship.”

By getting together outside of the regular Lodge meetings and practising the art of fellowship, Derrimut has taken control of their destiny.

“At the social function I attended, there were 50 plus members and guests, a great lunch at senior’s prices, and a truly warm and welcoming atmosphere.”

“I would encourage all Lodges to take control of their futures. Derrimut is outperforming many evening Lodges and it’s because, above all, they enjoy being together.”

“Attendance at their regular meetings is over 60 per cent, above the state average. They invite partners and wives to their meetings, hold a regular program of Lodge work, and issue a 24-

Help is available. Please feel free to contact the membership team at Freemasons Victoria for further information on how you can emulate the success of Derrimut Daylight Lodge.

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria xiii

MARK AND CHAPTER

‌.And God

commanded Noah

R

oyal Ark Mariner Lodges in Victoria, of which there are 27, are administered by the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Victoria. There are three Grand Officers of the Degree being the Grand Commander, Deputy Grand Commander and the Grand Scribe - the Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master and the Grand Secretary of Grand Mark respectively. A number of Grand Mark Officers are appointed each year as Enthroning Commanders (Past Deputy Grand Commanders) and Enthronement Officers to assist the Most Worshipful Grand Commander at Enthronement Ceremonies when the Commander of each Royal Ark Mariner Lodge is placed into the Chair. There is no actual connection between the workings of the Mark and Ark Mariner Degrees; Grand Mark administering the Ark Mariner Degree as is the English custom. The teachings of the Degree are derived from the Biblical legend of the Deluge, and that event and its difficulties are used to

xiv Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

represent the hazards of our own lives. Emphasis is given to the providence and mercy of the Deity, to the promise of salvation, and the need to practice the Cardinal Virtues.

The instruction or Elevation Ceremony, points out that the chaos caused by the Deluge, while disastrous, was not the end of all things; and we, working together and facing the reality of our situations, can rise above the difficulties that we encounter. The importance of the family, the need for each individual to work in such a way to provide benefits for all, and the importance of assisting those less fortunate, are also emphasised. Only Mark Master Masons have the privilege of becoming Royal Ark Mariner Masons.

Further information can be obtained from www. royalarkmarinersvic.net.au

(W. Kirk MacNulty – Freemasonry Symbols, Secrets, Significance)

LODGE NEWS

Pontiacs, Pistons, for Commonwealth Lodge’s Annual Charity Day

T

he make-shift car park of 170 Huntingfords Road, Boorool was packed on Sunday 22 November, for the Commonwealth Lodge’s Annual Charity Day.

Held at the property of WBro. Norm Geary and his wife Sandra, the Charity Day was a great opportunity to showcase Norm’s incredible museum of past era memorabilia as well as raise funds.

Norm’s museum, located two hours from Melbourne in South Gippsland, boasts four large sheds jam packed full of farming and mechanical equipment dating back as early as the late 1800s.

One of the most interesting items is the 1928 Regent Theatre crude oil lubricated engine which Norm had much pleasure in cranking up for all to witness.

“When the engine was in use, it would have only done about 100 hours because it was rarely needed, and when it was required, there was no one there to start it! So it’s basically new!”

Norm said.

Among the collection, a number of 1920s Pontiacs in varying conditions were on display as well as tractors, harvesters, generators, diesel oscillating saws, pumps and a huge collection of glass bottles, electrical generators and switchboards. Visitors wandered the sheds in ore of just how many items have been saved or restored over the years.

Norm, who has been collecting since the late 60s, said that his interest in such things comes from a passion for all things mechanical.

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria xv

LODGE NEWS

“I just look at an engine or anything mechanical, and it just makes sense to me”, he said.

The Gippsland Freemasons Social Network (GFSN), headed by Norm’s son WBro. Andrew Geary was there to support the charity effort, coordinating competitions for children, and making sure barbecue and kitchen facilities were available for all to use.

Later in the day, WBro. Jim Geary joined the party; making up three generations of Geary’s, all members of Commonwealth Lodge No. 186. WBro. Jim (88) had just come from a wood turning workshop and said that he is still very active in Lodge.

The Charity Day raised $1,400 and saw 120 people walk through the gate, with WBro. Andrew Geary saying that he was impressed with the turn out.

“This is a great example of how Freemasonry can bring together members of more than one Lodge, members of the wider community as well as support local charities”.

For more information on how you can get involved in the Gippsland Freemasons Social Network contact Bro. Andrew Geary on 0400 527 689, email: Gippsland.Freemasons.

Network@gmail.com or visit the GFSN Facebook page at https://m.facebook. com/GippslandFreemasonsNetwork/ Top left: The Gippsland Freemasons Social Network (GFSN) crew, from left: Bro. Craig Moon, Bro. Simon Reynolds, WBro. Robert Billing, Bro. Russ Anthony and Bro. Andrew Geary.

WBro. Norm Geary cranks up the old Regent Theatre engine at the Commonwealth Lodge’s Charity Day in Boorool.

xvi Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

Lodge newS

Swan Hill Recognised on Australia Day The Acceptance Speech Thank you for the presentation of this Award.

We are delighted and thrilled to be chosen as the recipient of this prestigious award, as we were with the outcome of the event which not only raised the amount of $35,000, but raised the awareness of the need for a Hospice for Swan Hill.

The event was the brainchild of one of our members – namely Cameron Smits – who incidentally works for Brian Wood, (who was heard to remark after the event that he “might now get some work out of him”.

WBro. Norm Mathiske, Bro. Cameron Smits and RWBro. Jim Thompson with Mayor Cr. Les McPhee accepting the award on behalf of Swan Hill Lodge for 2016 Community Event of the Year.

T

he Swan Hill Masonic Lodge Goods & Services Auction which helped raise $70,000 for the local hospice was named Swan Hill’s 2016 Community Event of the Year at this year’s Australia Day breakfast on 26 January.

The concept of the event had its beginnings about 12 months ago when Cameron turned up at one of our think tank meetings and suggested that we should support the establishment of the Hospice in Swan Hill, and that we should run a “Goods & Services Auction” as a way of raising funds for the cause.

And so the wheels were set in motion.

Over the next few months the committee worked tirelessly to bring the event to fruition, which as we all know was an outstanding success.

The auction, organised by members of Swan Hill Lodge, raised $35,000 for the Swan Hill Hospice fund when it was held at the Town Hall in July last year.

We have to acknowledge the great support from the many organisations and individuals who contributed so much to the success of the evening.

In December the Freemasons Foundation doubled the amount raised, bringing the total to $70,000.

Freemasonry has always been a part of the social fabric of the community of Swan Hill, having been established here in Swan Hill in 1889 and have continued to be part of the community ever since.

RWBro. Jim Thompson said the Swan Hill Lodge was thrilled to be recognised for their efforts in organising the profitable fundraiser.

“We consider it to be one of the worthy things needed for the town and district” he said.

“And with the success of the auction it seems everybody else had the same thoughts. The whole community got behind it”.

With their long-standing history within the local community, the auction signalled the largest single fundraising event the Swan Hill Lodge has ever organised.

And following its success, another similar event may be on the cards.

“We’re still absorbing this achievement, but we’ll have to have another meeting soon” RWBro. Jim said.

We are proud of the fact that we have donated in excess of $120,000 over the last few years to many community organisations.

We can now also announce that that the Victorian Freemasons Foundation has agreed to match the $35,000 raised at our auction night with a further $35,000.

Mr Mayor, this award will take pride of place in our building.

WBro. Norm Mathiske

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria xvii

recO rec OgNisiNg service

Jewels Presented ~ October Name

NO.

LOdge Name

50 Years RWBro

IB

Chittick

364

Caulfield Grammarians

WBro

BE

Clark

905

Derrimut Daylight

RWBro

BL

Davenport

117

Albert Victor

WBro

EH

Dingey

834

Lara

RWBro

J

Fraser

654

Lodge Observance

RWBro

WJ

Hayes

662

Doncaster

WBro

JR

Grieve

160

The Mornington Lodge

Bro

CF

Hall

389

Spring Vale Lodge

VWBro

RJ

Horne

327

United Memorial & Merbein

WBro

DJ

Hood

261

Peace and Loyalty

RWBro

P

Hope

867

Lodge Leawarra

RWBro

GH

Leete

607

Maroondah Daylight Union Lodge of North Gippsland The Installed Masters of the East

RWBro

GE

Lind

62

WBro

NM

Marten

910

WBro

IG

Mayes

30

Heathcote

WBro

DA

McGuffie

886

Lodge of the Great Ocean Road

RWBro

NJ

Pryor

7

Golden & Corinthian

Bro

HF

Toplis

922

Guiding Star

RWBro

WE

Wood

855

Allara

WBro

W

White

389

Spring Vale Lodge

VWBro

RR

Young

111

Lord Carrington

60 Years VWBro

AG

Campbell

209

Outtrim

WBro

DM

Christie

279

Henty

VWBro

RS

Crofts

389

Spring Vale Lodge

WBro

AG

Grigg

607

Maroondah Daylight

VWBro

J

Holt

1

Australia Felix

RWBro

WJ

Mundy

307

City of Geelong

VWBro

RA

Turnbull

153

Benambra

886

Lodge of the Great Ocean Road

Bro

AM

Young

65 Years WBro

OR

Edwards

144

Dimboola

WBro

AJ

Heriot

153

Benambra

WBro

DF

Nixon

706

Keysborough St.Andrews

Bro

F

Pocock

66

Wangaratta Lodge of St.John

Bro

P

Stanley

753

Lodge of Concentration

xviii Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

RECOGNISING SERVICE

Jewels Presented ~ November NAME

NO.

LODGE NAME

50 YEARS WBro

VC

Billing

382

Ringwood

VWBro

SF

Dale

59

Albert Edward

RWBro

P

Du Guesclin

34

Warrnambool

WBro

LR

Graydon

920

Lodge of Rapport

VWBro

KA

Hough

217

Frankston

WBro

DL

Madder

217

Frankston

WBro

RA

McAlister

926

The Revival Lodge

VWBro

GE

McCann

591

The Lodge of St.Mark

WBro

WT

Page

681

Hearts of Oak

Bro

JI

Plant

867

Leawarra

Bro

E

Thompson

938

Monash

WBro

DL

Wilkin

924

Brunswick United

WBro

LP

Witherden

277

Woolamai Daylight

60 YEARS WBro

HL

Cox

87

Seymour

RWBro

GW

Dykes

202

Morwell

RWBro

ELG

Giraud

771

Jonadab

WBro

FK

Hayes

279

Henty

WBro

JF

Macartney

742

Mitchell River

WBro

SH

MacKenzie

107

The Lowan Lodge

RWBro

JF

Scott

89

Richmond

RWBro

G

Townsend

718

Bacchus Marsh Daylight

WBro

FR

Ahern

RWBro

EJ

Cameron

70

Wimmera

RWBro

BC

Jackson

647

Lodge of Good Companions

Bro

PK

Kitchin

323

Koo Wee Rup

RWBro

MW

Morse

7

Golden & Corinthian

VWBro

VJ

Samarias

331

Lodge of Cordiality

65 YEARS 90

The Clifton Hill Lodge

70 YEARS VWBro

RF

Graham

587

Lodge of Quest

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria xix

RECOGNISING SERVICE

Jewels Presented ~ December NAME

NO.

LODGE NAME

50 YEARS WBro

CJ

Brooshooft

933

Sir John Quick

VWBro

GA

Collins

34

Warrnambool

WBro

RC

Fasker

338

Civil Service

WBro

AE

Henman

70

Wimmera

WBro

CJ

Myers

69

Walhalla

WBro

GN

Partridge

225

Kyabram

RWBro

KA

Reid

348

Rosebank

WBro

HO

Robertson

874

Huon Daylight

60 YEARS RWBro

TR

Bates

921

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

VWBro

WD

Brace

41

North Melbourne

WBro

LC

Buttner

836

Lodge of Orana

Bro

LP

Dickman

0

Transition

WBro

NE

Frye

24

Southern Cross

WBro

GJW

Holden

902

Doutta Galla

WBro

BS

Jasper, OAM

188

Rutherglen

WBro

MJ

McClure

24

Southern Cross

VWBro

AJ

McGuiggan

938

Monash

RWBro

KJ

Pask

938

Monash

WBro

IWB

Probert

859

Blue Dandenongs

RWBro

LW

Uhe

380

Samaritan

65 YEARS WBro.

JWA

Driscoll

220

Sandringham District

RWBro

B

Heider

7

Golden & Corinthian

WBro

WGH

Hendy

71

Footscray St.Johns

WBro

CJ

Johnson

727

Lodge Belvoir

RWBro

GB

Lawrence

902

Doutta Galla

Bro

KB

Ross

647

Lodge of Good Companions

WBro

GJ

Stockdale

130

Trentham

RWBro

RG

Wilkinson

5

Geelong Lodge of Unity &Â Prudence

70 YEARS WBro

ER

Chiswell

937

xx Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

Campaspe Valley

NEW MEMBERS

Our newest Freemasons October 2015 - December 2015 Name

Lodge

Bro. Kim Arce

Altona Lodge No. 572

Bro. David Wood

Altona Lodge No. 572

Bro. Oguz Akkus

The Lodge of St. Mark No. 591

Bro. Steven Strang

Glenroy Lodge No. 748

Bro. Alfred Cardamone

Glenroy Lodge No. 748

Bro. Mohamed Elmahrakawy

Glenroy Lodge No. 748

Bro. Rohan Muscat

Lodge of Concentration No. 753

Bro. Benjamin Pearce

Yarra Glen Lodge No. 762

Bro. Cameron Brown

Lodge Epicurean No. 906

Bro. Aaron Kennedy

Lodge Epicurean No. 906

Bro. Peter Brown

Lodge Epicurean No. 906

Bro. William Shanks

The Lodge of Evolution No. 931

Bro. Ramon Valery

The Lodge of Evolution No. 931

Bro. Glen McGarvie

Union Lodge of North Gippsland No. 62

Bro. Andrew Godson

Seaford Lodge No. 720

Bro. Fouad Eljari

Lodge of Orana No. 836

Bro. Evan Sanna

Lodge of Orana No. 836

Bro. Beau Swanson

City of Footscray-Wyndham Lodge No. 239

Bro. Vinit Abbott

Healesville Lodge No. 247

Bro. Travis Dowling

Yarraville Lodge No. 164

Bro. Shane Roche

Morwell Lodge No. 202

Bro. Anthony Schulz

Lodge Devotion No. 723

Bro. David Dominquez Velasco

Lodge Devotion No. 723

Bro. Nicholas Riley

Lodge Devotion No. 723

Bro. Kim Cleaver

Victorian Naval and Military Lodge No. 49

Bro. James Ahsee

Lawson Poole Daylight Lodge No. 916

Bro. Abdala Abdala

Arcadian-Veritas Lodge No. 340

Bro. Jose Goncalves

Arcadian-Veritas Lodge No. 340

Bro. Renato Coelho Da Silva Alves

Arcadian-Veritas Lodge No. 340

Bro. Dory El-Zein

Arcadian-Veritas Lodge No. 340

Bro. Mark D'Apote

Arcadian-Veritas Lodge No. 340

Bro. Panagioti Iliadis

Berwick Balcara Lodge No. 359 Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria xxi

NEW MEMBERS

Our newest Freemasons October 2015 - December 2015 Name

Lodge

Bro. Steven Sequenzia

Antient York Lodge No. 80

Bro. Eleftherios Veniamakis

Antient York Lodge No. 80

Bro. Brett Hawley

Swan Hill Lodge No. 919

Bro. Peter Walsh

Swan Hill Lodge No. 919

Bro. Travis Trinca

Guiding Star Lodge No. 922

Bro. Dominic Sinopoli

Sunbury Lodge No. 854

Bro. Stephen Truman

The Lilydale Lodge No. 108

Bro. Stuart Loft

Lord Carrington Lodge No. 111

Bro. Damian Larobina

The Revival Lodge No. 926

Bro. Simon Duane

Admiral Collingwood Lodge No. 13

Bro. Sergiy Verkhatsky

The King David Lodge No. 460

Bro. Askar Kadykov

The King David Lodge No. 460

Bro. Steven Guinane

Orbost Lodge No. 402

Bro. Adam Wood

United Service Lodge No. 330

Bro. Joshua Farrington

Henty Lodge No. 729

Bro. William Hickey

St. Andrews in the South Lodge No. 149

Bro. Robert O'Donnell

Seymour Lodge No. 87

Bro. Marlon Elano

Robbie Burns Phoenix Lodge No. 88

Bro. Thomas Chime

Robbie Burns Phoenix Lodge No. 88

Bro. Ernest Tachee

Robbie Burns Phoenix Lodge No. 88

Bro. Joseph Wessner

The Melton Lodge No. 367

Bro. Hilario Sawit

Cohuna Lodge No. 227

Bro. Mathew Younis

North Melbourne Lodge No. 41

Bro. Daniel Farinha

The Lowan Lodge No. 107

Bro. Wiremu Larkins

The Lowan Lodge No. 107

Bro. Malcolm Stevenson

Canterbury Lodge No. 312

Bro. Laurence Jacobs

Pascoe Vale Daylight Lodge No. 483

xxii Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

THE DRESS WEAR SPECIALIST

TAILS

AND ALL ACCESSORIES DINNER SUITS, LOUNGE SUITS & JACKETS

* Supreme quality materials * Professional individual cut * Tailor made to perfect fit

wool rich, shawl collar, adjustable waistband

Call Chris on 9654 2500 on Monday for an appointment

Tailor to Grand Lodge teams since 1968

WHEN ONLY THE BEST WILL DO Please phone for an appointment

9819 7716

5 Naroo Street, Balwyn 3103

Please include Freemasons Hospital in your Will.

If someone you love requires hospital care, you can trust in Epworth Freemasons to provide them with the best possible care, treatment and support.

And every bequest we receive helps to provide the best possible: Equipment World-class, state-of-the-art equipment that ensures Freemasons patients receive the best in medical and technological advances to aid their recovery

Research Practical research that gives Freemasons patients access to cutting-edge, global discoveries in medical treatments, preventions and cures Support More facilities and services that provide a comfortable, supportive and nurturing environment for Freemasons patients while they are in our care

If you would like more information about leaving a bequest to Freemasons please contact the Epworth Medical Foundation:

mail: Reply Paid 84307 (no stamp required) 89 Bridge Road, Richmond Vic 3121

Vanessa Dannock ph: 03 9426 6572 email: emfinfo@epworth.org.au web: www.emf.org.au

Your support saves lives.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Looking after our women

– complete breast cancer service at Epworth Freemasons Hospital

B

reast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in Australia.

Breast cancer is a malignant tumour that originates in the cells of the breast and occurs predominantly in females, although men can also develop the disease. Male breast cancer accounts for about 1 per cent of cases1.

In 2009, 13,668 women were diagnosed with breast cancer as well as 110 men. About one in eight women will develop breast cancer within their lifetime.

Breast cancer can occur at any age however, it is more common in women aged over 60. About one-quarter of women diagnosed are younger than 50.

1 Source Australian Cancer Research Foundation

14 Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

Breast cancer can start in the ducts or lobules of the breast.

When the cancer cells stay in the ducts and lobules of the breast, this is called non-invasive breast cancer. If the cancer cells spread into the surrounding tissue, this is called invasive breast cancer.

Most breast cancers are ductal carcinomas – this means they have originated in the ducts that carry milk to the nipple and are malignant (cancerous). Less common are lobular carcinomas which form within the cells that line the lobules which produce milk.

Breast cancer is categorised in stages, according to how far it has spread and its size.

The stage of the cancer will determine how it is treated. For simplicity, these stages include early, locally advanced and secondary stages of cancer.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE Early-stage breast cancer is an invasive cancer that may have spread to nearby lymph nodes but not to other, distant parts of the body. Locally advanced breast cancer refers to breast cancer cells that may have spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit or other areas near the breast such as the skin, muscle or ribs.

Secondary breast cancer, sometimes called advanced breast cancer or metastatic breast cancer occurs when the breast cancer cells break away and travel through the blood or lymphatic vessels to lodge and grow in another location in the body.

Having a mother or sister diagnosed with breast cancer approximately doubles the risk of developing the disease as breast cancer can be genetic.

However, more than 8 out of 10 women who have a close relative with breast cancer never develop the disease themselves.

Epworth Freemasons hospital provides the only self refer, private breast clinic in Victoria which offers quality and caring services including; • routine breast screening for all women • screening for women who have a high risk of breast cancer due to family history • assessment for women with breast symptoms such as lumps, pain, nipple discharge or infection.

The Breast Clinic at Epworth Freemasons is located on the ground floor, 320 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne.

It provides a private and comfortable space for patients and visitors. It shares an environment with Epworth Medical Imaging, providing a complete consultation and breast imaging service.

Treatment for breast cancer can include a range of modalities including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. All modalities can be provided at the Epworth Freemasons Hospital.

Furthermore, innovative techniques and services are being used to reduce the side effects of treatment.

These include a scalp cooling machine whilst undergoing chemotherapy to reduce hair loss, a wig salon for those who do lose their hair after treatment and a breath-holding technique during radiation to reduce damage to the surrounding tissue.

...more than 8 out of 10 women who have a close relative with breast cancer never develop the disease themselves.

S

everal staff members at Epworth Freemasons Hospital are embarking on a fundraising challenge in Vietnam in March to raise funds to support the fantastic breast cancer service at Epworth Freemasons Hospital. Participants include the Executive Director of the hospital David Nowell, breast surgeon Laura Chin-Lenn, anaesthetist Penny CluniesRoss, acting director of clinical services Suzanne Hawksley, nurse unit manager Sally Morison, peri-operative service manager Jenny Telfer, theatre nurse Paul Townsend and breast care nurse Angela Ardi.

To support their efforts call the Epworth Medical Foundation on 03 9426 6359 or email kathryn. johnston@epworth.org.au

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria 15

FAMILY VIOLENCE

Family Violence

S

eventy eight women are killed each year at the hands of a male.

A woman is hospitalised every three minutes as a result of family violence.

Intimate partner violence is responsible for more ill-health and premature death in Victorian women under the age of 45 than of any other well-known risk factors, including high blood pressure, obesity and smoking.

Violence against women and their children costs the Australian economy $20 million every year.

Family violence is a social epidemic on the rise.

CEO of Domestic Violence Victoria, Fiona McCormack recently addressed a group of Freemasons at December’s CBD Business Luncheon where she explained that the issue of domestic violence has largely been ignored because women have been too afraid to speak out.

A woman is hospitalised every three minutes as a result of family violence.

16 Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

However, with 2015 Australian of the Year Rosie Batty, and other peak bodies driving the issue into mainstream media, community awareness has increased and changes in policy development, law reform, response services and advocacy are being made to support women to gain independence and safety.

“Legislation has recently changed,” explained Fiona, “now allowing the removal of the perpetrator from the home, leaving the mother and the children in the safety of their own environment. But support is still limited. And it’s difficult for some women to act against those who may be financially supporting children.”

Evidence shows that family violence is a social and cultural issue. The most consistent predictor of the use of violence among men is their agreement with sexist, patriarchal, and sexually hostile attitudes. This is why Domestic Violence Victoria and other advocacy agencies believe that the key to stamping out domestic violence is education.

“Education in schools from a young age is needed. Young people must learn that aggressive behaviour towards women is not tolerated in society. And the more men who discuss this issue with other men, the better,” Fiona said.

FAMILY VIOLENCE

Family violence is a social epidemic on the rise.

Grand Master MWBro. Hillel Benedykt agrees.

“Being an all-male organisation, Freemasons are in the perfect position to educate others and lead the change in attitudes and behaviour that must happen before the scourge of domestic violence is eliminated,” he said.

“I encourage our members to promote equal and respectful relationships between men and women, and actively assist, intervene, counsel, nurture and even seek help themselves if they believe a situation warrants such action.”

Ms McCormack believes that while domestic violence generally stems from a family upbringing of abuse, and from the interactions young men have with other young men in proving their masculinity, “it’s not in the genes, and violent behaviours can be un-learned with the right help.”

What is family violence?

Family violence includes not only physical assaults but also an array of power and control tactics used along in conjunction with one another, including: • Direct or indirect threats; • Sexual assault; • Emotional and psychological torment; • Economic control; • Property damage; • Social isolation; and • Any behaviour that causes a person to live in fear.

Family violence can occur within any intimate relationship, age and ethnicity. While it can be perpetuated by any member of a family against another, it is more likely to be perpetrated by men (predominantly by a woman’s current or ex-partner) against women and children.

For further information, contact: 1800Respect – 1800 737 732 (24 hours) Men’s Referral Service – 1300 766 491 Lifeline – 13 11 14 (24 hours) www.dvvic.org.au

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria 17

MEMBER INTERVIEW

My Story

Bro. Nesan Naidoo

Beaten senseless as a child, and witness to his father’s acts of brutality towards his mother, Bro. Nesan Naidoo opens up about family violence, and his tormented childhood as one of ‘God’s rejects’ under South Africa’s Apartheid regime.

The Early Years I was born and raised in South Africa as a third generation Indian from indentured labourer forefathers. In 1860, the first ship of Indians landed in Durban, South Africa. The British, who occupied India at the time, had convinced Indians that there was much wealth to be gained from South Africa. The first arrivals were contracted to tend the sugar cane plantations in Durban – a disguise for what was bonded slavery. The living conditions provided by the English farmers was deplorable. With no running water, water borne sewerage and communal ablution facilities, life was very difficult.

My Parents and Life Under Apartheid My father was a labourer at a tyre factory and my mother was a stay-at-home mum who not only had to care for my siblings and I, but would supplement our family income by cleaning offal and reselling it to our neighbours and friends.

My early schooling years were during the period of South Africa’s racially divided policies of Apartheid. This meant that I attended an Indian owned and run primary school as well as a high school that was only attended by Indian students.

The Group Areas Act dictated that racial groups lived in homogeneous societies within clearly defined geographies.

I also attended a University that was designated for Indian students only. I was a key figure in leading the student resistance movement against the previous 18 Freemasonry Victoria Summer 2016

Apartheid government while at University. I was awarded the prestigious Abe Bailey Academic travel scholarship to the UK and Europe as a result of my leadership activities in 2008.

The period of Apartheid dictated that communication and interaction between racial groups was discouraged. People were identified by racial classification numbers that were imprinted onto identity documents. The Immorality Act meant that it was legislated ‘immoral’ for people of different sexes and racial difference to enter into personal relations. We (Indians) were referred to as ‘Coolies’ in South Africa. This was a derogatory term that referred to us as slaves.

This term has since been banned in South Africa.

The Struggle Growing up in South Africa was tough. I witnessed violence on many own levels. Firstly, the violence in my home with a physically violent father is still firmly imprinted in my mind. I recall my mother being assaulted and dragged around our home by her hair; being assaulted while pregnant, verbally abused and kicked out of our two-bedroom home in the late hours of the night.

My mother would run into the darkness with only her night clothes on to hide from my violent father. We would huddle together as kids in the dark, crying and helpless, unable to help our mother.

As the eldest child, I felt helpless to support my siblings and mother.

All I could do was to side with my

mother as I unconsciously tried to balance the power play. I grew up in a home where we were beaten senseless. I watched my sisters being beaten with anything my father could lay his hands on, including a whip that he possessed. I still wear a scar on my right buttock from being beaten with the buckle end of a belt.

On one occasion, my sister was being hit by my father and in trying to escape, she fell and hit her head against the corner of a glass coffee table. This resulted in 16 stitches to her head. My sister eventually died from being beaten by her husband when he kicked her in the head whilst wearing steel capped boots. The government agencies at the time were unsympathetic to women reporting violence. In fact, the male would be discreetly notified by the police that a complaint had been made against him, and this in turn would result in brutal revenge on female partners. With no support structures to refer to, violence was a condition I learned to live with.

The Paradigm The constant messages from our government bombarded us - that we were God’s rejects; that we were second grade citizens because of the colour of our skin. I saw the violence around me, often people being beaten by the police, sprayed with rubber bullets, fired upon with water cannons and held indefinitely in police custody without being charged. It was not uncommon to see dead bodies whilst on our way to school, women with beaten

MEMBER INTERVIEW faces and kids that were scarred from their beatings at home.

This was normal everyday living – we didn’t know any better.

In my bedroom that I shared with my three other siblings, I had a picture of Mohammed Ali with a caption that said ‘I Am The Greatest.’ I would often look at that picture and believe that I too could be the greatest; and there began my mental journey of resilience and persistence. I believed that while I may have been born brown, my ethnicity didn’t have to enslave me. It could strengthen me.

I had to dig deep to understand the good in me and my people; that I could choose to be a victim or I could choose to be a victor – this was ultimately left to me. I realised that others could describe me in whatever terms they chose, but I would give myself permission to see the good in me. I could choose to be a slave of my past or I could choose to define myself in terms that I chose. My Hindu spirituality taught me that I was not to be defined by the body that I was born into and rented, but that I was and am the essence of my soul; a soul that has no gender, no colour and no shape.

The Impact In many ways, my need to balance the power play in my early years at home saw me share many of my mother’s interests. I tried to understand her emotions, her world, her way of thinking, her philosophy and show her love. I took on many domestic chores so that I could spend more time with her. I learned to clean the home, to cook and sew; I wanted to know and be able to do everything that my mother did, and to be able to understand her world. This meant that I was often teased by my male friends for being a ‘sissy’. This didn’t faze me. I was toughened to far harsher realities.

Now, as a 50-year-old male, I am still deeply connected with my

female energy because of my experience. While being a father and husband to my wife of 25 years, I have learned to redefine what it means to be a man; to live the essence of my soul - the deep energy that is a substratum from a divine being, that had no shape, colour or gender.

I also realise that being a victim of witnessing violence, has had far reaching consequences. I had been desensitized to the subtleties of life. In many ways this was a protection mechanism to help me survive the harsh years. I often see glimpses of my past, flash backs of my mother being beaten. One image that burned deeply into my mind was that of my mother sitting on a stair in the backyard during an argument. My father ran towards my mother and kicked her across the head with the in-step of his right foot – just like he would kick a ball. That image will stay with me forever.

My next journey into the second half of my 50 years is to appreciate that which is not obvious, the subtle aspects of life. To be a change agent by being the change that I would like to see in the world. My work in the field of gender intelligence is only a small part of effecting a change where all individuals can see themselves as equals irrespective of gender, race, colour, cultural bias or creed.

On 1 November 2015, I called my mother to wish her happiness on her 51st wedding anniversary. I asked her why she had stayed with my father after all the abuse. She cried as she told me that she had forgiven my father and that she stayed for her children. I cried with her as I too shared my memories of what I had witnessed and how much I appreciated her for staying even when it was much easier to go back to her family home.

My View While there are many organisations that purport the view that we should stop violence against women, I hold the view

that this is a flawed attempt.

This only serves to polarise men from women. I believe that what is needed is to lead campaigns against violence in general and promote peace. It is superficial to see violence through a gender lens. It is an epidemic that pervades all sectors of society. This is not to deny that the majority of reported cases reflect that women are largely victims of domestic violence. We need to be mindful that due to the manner in which men are viewed in society, many men feel embarrassed to report domestic violence where women are the perpetrators.

Whilst this is not an easy issue to tackle, we need to ensure that the foundation stones are firmly grounded and not based on popular band-aid suggestions.

I frequently hear the cries of the child victim within me, which reminds me not to forget that “all that is needed for evil to triumph, is for good people to do nothing.”

My Association with Freemasonry While only a new member of Freemasons Victoria, I was attracted to the organisation for its strong sense of brotherhood.

I am particularly attracted to the fact that our principles make a difference; our altruism and our community heart. We uphold the highest ideals, values and principles, that when applied to mankind, make a tangible and positive impact to the lives of others; irrespective of race, colour or creed. This sense of subscribing to a higher architect of the universe takes us beyond the myopic and microscopic view of ourselves towards thoughts about the greater good of mankind.

Summer 2016 Freemasonry Victoria 19

George H. Lilley

Welcome to the Happy Masons Shop

Regalia of Distinction Since 1947

We are committed to providing a one-stop online masonic shop so you can browse and safely purchase quality new and collectable masonic items at ‘real value for money’ prices.

We have literally hundreds of items and are acquiring more stock all the time!

SHOP WITH CONFIDENCE! GUARANTEED AFTER-SALES SERVICE

MASONIC REGALIA CATALOGUE www.ghlilley.com.au Quality Masonic & Fraternal Regalia - All Degrees & Constitutions PM Jewels - Masonic Briefcases - Jewelry - Accessories Medals - Badges - Plaques - Awards - Military Medal Mounting Head Office: 27 Anderson Road Thornbury 3071 T: (03) 9484 6155 F: (03) 9484 6055 E: ghlilley@ghlilley.com.au 9am-5pm Mon-Fri Agency: South Eastern Masonic Centre 270 Hutton Road Keysborough T: (03) 9706 3366 F: (03) 9706 3901 9.30am-3.30pm Mon-Fri

When you need Regalia, now or in the future, you can rely on The Happy Masons Shop!

We offer the best possible quality at the lowest cost anywhere in Australia. We are in partnership with Bro John Hiatt who makes all our Regalia for EAFs and for several Grand Masters by hand.

SERVICES – PLEASE CONSIDER OUR OINTED! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPP visit our online store at: www.thehappymasonsshop.com.au

The United Grand Lodge of Queensland On behalf of Freemasons Queensland, Australia, I have great pleasure in inviting you to attend the Grand Installation of RW Bro Alan Townson, DGM and Grand Master-elect.

Friday 1st July Meet and Greet Cocktail Reception

The celebrations will begin with a Cocktail Reception on Friday, 1st July 2016 and conclude with a Farewell Luncheon on Sunday, 3rd July 2016.

Saturday 2nd July Ladies Breakfast Grand Installation Grand Banquet

Carol and I look forward to welcoming you to Queensland. We encourage you to take the opportunity to extend your stay to visit some of the many attractions that our beautiful state has to offer.

Sunday 3rd July Farewell Luncheon

MW Bro Dr Gary Bacon Grand Master

For more information please contact UGL Queensland: email: installation@uglq.org.au or phone: 07 3229 3533

RTO no. 22434

Wiseman provides individuals and organisations with high quality training solutions.

We aim for our learners to achieve personal and professional excellence through a unique learning experience.

We deliver the following Nationally Recognised training programs to a diverse range of industries, organisations and individuals: • MSF31113 - Certificate III in Cabinet Making • MSF40313 - Certificate IV in Design of Kitchens, Bathrooms and Interior Spaces • MEM30205 - Certificate III in Engineering (Mechanical Trade) • MEM30105 - Certificate III in Engineering (Production Systems) • FDF30111 - Certificate III in Food Processing • FDF30610 - Certificate III in Retail Baking (Bread) • MSS40312 - Certificate IV in Competitive Systems and Practices • TAE40110 - Certificate IV in Training and Assessment

Enquire Today: Dr Joe Husidic: (03) 9314 2502 joe@wisemaninstitute.com.au www.wisemaninstitute.com.au

Be part of a lasting legacy Royal Freemasons needs your support

A Donation or Bequest in your Will makes a big difference to the lives of older Victorians supported by us.

for excellence in care

Founded as a charitable organisation in 1867, it has continuously strived to provide excellence in care for older Victorians.

Assisting the older person to live a secure, dignified and rewarding life is our Mission - our purpose.

Your Donation enables Royal Freemasons to continue its work supported by the latest innovative equipment, the best research and the most up-to-date facilities and services available.

As well as the joy of knowing how beneficial your gift is, all support receives appropriate recognition and acclaim and is tax deductable.

To learn more please contact Christina Chia on 1300 176 925. Christina will be delighted to introduce you to the Royal Freemasons organisation. Alternatively, email her at cchia@royalfreemasons.org.au.

For general information and more on donations projects, visit www.royalfreemasons.org.au

HOWARD SQUIRES FUNERALS

Quality funerals built around 135 years experience.

Servicing all Suburbs

☎ 1300 881 691

www.howardsquiresfunerals.com.au

Terry Clifton

John Fowler, General Manager of Le Pine Funerals with staff members of the Masonic Lodge.

Victorian Freemasons have been relying on Le Pine for more than 100 years. So it is reassuring to know that we have a dedicated team that can help you in a time of need.

John Fowler - Glen Waverley WBro. Rod Sampson - Glen Waverley WBro. Brian Bennett - Glen Waverely RWBro. Trevor Burkitt - Mordialloc WBro. Daimon Whitmore - Glen Waverley Bro. Damian Magee - Glen Waverley Bro. Simon Braid - Glen Waverley

(03) 9587 5700 (03) 8587 5700 (03) 9587 5700 (03) 9580 8447 (03) 9587 5700 (03) 9587 5700 (03) 9587 5700

Celebrating a life takes planning.

We give you time.

www.lepinefunerals.com.au Australian Owned | 24 Hours | All Areas | Prearranged Funerals