Issue 12 – May 2016

BITS AND PIECES FOR AND FROM WIVES, PARTNERS AND FRIENDS OF FREEMASONS

Hello there! I hope this finds you all well. The autumn breezes are very much

with us now but some days still remind us of summer. This really

is a lovely time of year ‘though we know winter is just around the

corner. It’s amazing to think that the shortest day is only a

month away – and so good to have some rain at last!

Visits during the last months: this issue is a little longer than normal as there has been a lot to cover! In the March issue of Snippets, I talked about the Installation of Brother John Aldcroft, District Grand Master,

North Island New Zealand, of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, which

was conducted by Bro Charles Gordon of Esslemont, Grand Master

Mason of Scotland. The formal Installation Dinner was most

enjoyable and colourful, too, with the traditional parade and

ceremonial address to the haggis and, very appropriately, the

singing of Auld Lang Syne at the end of the evening. It was a very

memorable event made more so by the attendance of members of

lodges from the different Constitutions.

At the dinner, I was fortunate to be seated next to Jean Knapman,

wife of the District Grand Master, John Aldcroft (on the left of this pic), who has very kindly sent me her report of

the occasion and thoughts about Freemasonry:

“Sometime early in 2015 my husband John Aldcroft informed me that he was being groomed and had a

very good chance and opportunity of becoming the next “District Grand Master North Island”. I

thought to myself what is that going to mean for us and what will that mean in particular to John. I

realised that although John had been a Mason for many years, I was almost totally in the dark about

what Freemasonry was. I was always of the opinion of, “Honey you do your thing and I’ll do mine.” Now

I was being asked to get involved and thought I had better understand it just a little

bit more or maybe a whole lot more!

So I set about doing some research and read a few books on the subject only to fully

understand how beneficial this possible promotion to such a distinguished rank was going to be

for John and maybe a little for me as well. I found out that Freemasonry is one of the world’s

oldest and largest non-religious, non-political, fraternal and charitable organisations. It

teaches self-knowledge through participation in a progression of ceremonies. Members are

expected to be of high moral standing and are encouraged to speak openly about Freemasonry.

Freemasonry is a society of men concerned with moral and spiritual values. Its members are

taught its principles (moral lessons and self-knowledge) by a series of ritual dramas – a progression of allegorical

two-part plays which are learnt by heart and performed within each Lodge – which follow ancient forms, and use

stonemasons’ customs and tools as allegorical guides. (Now I know what all the mumbling is that John continually

does around the house, out in the garden etc., he is learning his ritual.)

Freemasonry instils in its members a moral and ethical approach to

life: its values are based on integrity, kindness, honesty and fairness.

Members are urged to regard the interests of the family as

paramount but, importantly, Freemasonry also

teaches concern for people, care for the less

fortunate and help for those in need.

Who wouldn’t want to be involved in such a

wonderful set of values!

Therefore, when John was later nominated and

successful in becoming the new “District Grand Master North Island New Zealand” I was

ready to step up to the plate and help out in as many ways and as much as I could possibly do.

to Mark Winger,

the Grand

Master elect!

The lead up to the big day that was set for 20 February 2016 started in

2015 with many of his fellow brethren rallying around to ensure that the

day was a huge success. To try and name everyone here would be

impossible but I know there were a lot of brethren that certainly went

above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that the day went well.

John and I both thank you all for your help, support and ongoing advice

and direction and for everything you contributed to make the day and

evening a wonderful success. Special thanks go out to the stewards who laboured the entire evening making sure

wine glasses were filled, plates cleared and that everyone was having a good time.

When you get involved in such an event it certainly makes a person stand back and be thankful that we have such

wonderful people in our lives. I’m sure many people will remember for many years this installation as will John and

I. We certainly have very fond memories right from the lead up to the big day and especially the day itself and

the evening when all the ladies were able to join in and celebrate at the dinner.

We were lucky enough to have some wonderful distinguished guests from Scotland who

could not have been move lovely. A big thank you to Charles, Angela (pictured here on the

right), and David (Grand Secretary) for making our job so easy and the time we spent with

you so memorable. The evening was a great success! John is now fully engaged in the new

role and is looking forward to the next 5 years of service.

Congratulations to all of you that were part of John’s big day, we couldn’t have done it without you!

Jean - and with support of - John Aldcroft (District Grand Master North Island NZ, Scottish Constitution)

At the end of February, John and I were invited to one of the most enjoyable birthday parties I have ever been

fortunate to attend. It was to celebrate the 100th birthday of Reece Rogers, a member of Lodge Tuakau. Reece

is very well known in the area, being a member of the local golf club and still playing 9 holes regularly. On the

afternoon of our visit, Reece took the chair at the Lodge Meeting receiving the GM, who presented him with a

certificate of

appreciation, before the

men joined the ladies in

the local RSA hall where

the party was being held.

Reece was the star of the

occasion. He was

presented with a pocket

watch and Lynne Houston baked and iced a beautiful cake, while her husband, Graham - Michael

Bublé’s understudy ! - serenaded us throughout the evening. It was a wonderful, very happy

and very memorable occasion.

Reece still drives his car and mows his own lawns, and can now add “TV celebratory” to his very long list of

achievements as he appeared on TVNZ’s news programme some weeks ago. Check it out at https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-

news/sport/golf/meet-100-year-old-still-owning-golf-course?autoPlay=4857112860001. Here Reece demonstrates his golf

swing and excellent putting, informing listeners that he took up golf at just 85 – there’s hope for a lot of us yet!

Divisional Conferences: – The Central Divisional Conference took place at Palmerston North and was the first of

the three to be held this autumn. While the menfolk were discussing the business of the day, the ladies were driven

by Trevor Hardy to the Herb Farm at Ashhurst. There we experienced a ‘hands-on’

workshop where

we were able to

create our own

little pot of

natural cream to

take home. We

had a most

informative

time, learning

about how

herbal extracts were made and the

properties of the nutrient rich oils and

essential oils that went into the cream,

which we were able to individualise. It

was great fun! Later we were able to

walk round the herb garden, and also the 14 themed gardens covering a total of two acres.

Next, came the Southern Divisional Conference in Queenstown in mid-March. The weather was fantastic and a

lovely trip on the lake had been organised in the afternoon for the ladies. We were treated to wonderful scenery,

and given a fantastic commentary on the area, hearing all sorts of stories, facts and history.

Lastly, in April, the Northern Divisional Conference was held in Auckland. The conference venue was the Novatel

Hotel next to the International Airport, and in the morning the ladies went to Butterfly Creek just outside the

airport. There we enjoyed

butterflies

settling on our

heads, arms

and shoulders,

and viewed up

close some very interesting

creatures.

From there we visited

the Dinosaur Farm which

is such a delight for

children.

In the afternoon some of the ladies tried their hands at mini-put. I’m not sure who had the best score!

The weekend’s transport was a bus with a very special number plate!

The Victorian Grand Installation in Melbourne was another exciting event that took place over four days at the end

of March and beginning of April. The long weekend started with a Meet and Greet on the Thursday evening where

we were able to renew

old acquaintances and

meet others.

On

Friday

morning the Ladies’ Morning

Breakfast was held, when we all

farewelled the outgoing wife of the Grand Master,

Sue Benedykt

(on right of

this picture),

and welcomed

Mya, partner

of the soon-to-installed new Grand

Master, Don Reynolds.

We were entertained by a

magician who performed

amazing card tricks and

left us dazzled with his talent.

Later that day we all attended the Grand

Installation. John and I were delighted to

be accompanied by so many Freemasons

from New Zealand and a number of partners and wives. That support meant a lot to us and the delegation looked a

very impressive sight at the Installation ceremony.

On Saturday evening the traditional banquet was held, together with dancing provided by a very talented band called

BABBA who played the music of Abba and certainly

got most of the guests on the stage dancing.

The weekend then

finished on Sunday

with a visit to the

Open Day at Box

Hill Masonic Centre where lunch was provided, and some rather different

entertainment.

Barry Millage from Waikanae has kindly provided his reflections on the weekend’s activities:

Pamm and I were part of the Grand Master’s NZ Delegation to witness the Installation of the new Grand

Master for Victoria, MW Bro Don Reynolds. MW Bro John Litton was accompanied by Diana, and this was

his second to last Australian Installation during his term of office. It was pleasing to see that there were

16 other Brethren plus their partners/wives and we found that the arrangements for a weekend of

Masonic activities well organised by the Grand Lodge of Freemasons Victoria.

As many of us know, Melbourne is a vibrant city with, not only a good transport system, exciting eating

places, good shopping, interesting and notable architecture, many sports stadia and a melting pot of cultures. The majority of us

stayed at the Rendezvous Hotel which is located centrally and convenient to the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre where

the Grand Installation and Banquet were held. Freemasons Victoria provided shuttle buses to transport us, all dressed up to the ‘nines’

between the hotels to the Installation venue.

Some of our newer Freemasons should take note that these Grand Installation ceremonies in other Masonic Jurisdictions are very

worthwhile and enjoyable to attend. In our modern world there are not many other places where one can witness Pomp and

Ceremony. They are not only for Grand Lodge officers but they are great experiences for newer members to our Brotherhood.

Barry Millage PGW

AN INVITATION! The next Australian Grand Installation will be held in Brisbane in the first weekend of July. This

will be the last occasion when John will represent Freemasons NZ as the Grand Master and we would be delighted if

any readers of this newsletter would consider joining us – so please do give it some thought! Thank you.

Back at home in NZ, our next visit was to Hawera where John presented a 60-year badge to

Bruce McNaughton of Lodge Manaia. We are very grateful to Rosemary and Graeme

Harvie (pictured here) and all of their team for looking after us so well.

Bruce McNaughton has an impressive Masonic career, filling several roles within the Lodge

over many years. He was Master for three consecutive years 1996-9, follwed later by

another two consecutive years 2000-2, and then again in 2005-7. He was admitted to the Roll of Honour in 2001.

He was also involved with the printing and distribution of the Taranaki Freemason magazine for over 17 years.

Graeme wrote of Bruce’s

Masonic career: “With Bruce’s

contribution to Freemasonry as

outlined he can indeed be very

proud of the 60 years of

membership of our organisation

which he has recently completed

and we wish him many more

successful years of contribution to the betterment of his community.”

After John made the presentation to Bruce of his 60-year badge, he was very pleased to

receive an unexpected gift of a picture of the bread icon that appears at the entrance to the

town of Manaia, which is known as the ‘bread capital’ of New Zealand.

ANZAC Day is always a very special occasion, and the weekend this year was a time of

commemoration and reflection to mark 100 years since the first Anzac service in New Zealand.

John and I were very privileged to be invited to Timaru to the Lodge Koranga ANZAC service.

It is traditional for the Lodge meeting in April to be held close to ANZAC Day and for the

Recessional Hymn to be sung. The service was indeed very moving and it was good to see other

representatives of the community – the RSA, ladies’ groups and the Te Aitarakihi Maori Culture

Group – and later, at refectory, we were entertained by some wonderful singing by the Group.

MASONIC LODGES OF THE TARANAKI DISTRICT - LADIES COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT MARCH 2016 – by Rosemary Harvie

Thank you all for attending our Annual General Meeting and a special thanks to Dulcie Chainey for having us hold it at her home.

Thank you Dulcie. Our thoughts are with Tom and Audrey Mason at this time. Audrey is unwell and our thoughts are with them and

their family. My sincere thanks to you Ladies for your continued support. It is very much appreciated. I am particularly appreciative

of our Secretary Lorraine Yateman who does an awesome job and also our long standing Treasurer Margaret Thompson who also

does an awesome job. These two Ladies are very dedicated to their roles. Thank you both for your help and dedication.

This year past in July we had a Mid-winter luncheon at the Midhurst Tavern. It was very well supported and the luncheon was

delicious. It was extended to include anyone who belonged to one of the various Lodges in Taranaki. The Annual Garden Safari was

centred around Hawera. After Morning Tea at Rosemary and Graeme Harvie’s residence we ventured forward to view a number of

lovely gardens. Fortunately, the weather was glorious. We viewed five lovely gardens in all: Alf and Bernie Christiansen (Gabots),

Janet, June, and Hugh Hartwell (Ard Lui), Clive and Joan Robinson (Robinson’s), Ross and Jan Dunlop (Dunlop’s), and Keith and

Shirley Smith (Shireth). The lunch break was held in the woolshed at the Dunlop farm on Ohawe Beach Road where they also had an

art gallery display. Ross and Jan Dunlop are the Mayor and Mayoress of the South Taranaki District. All the gardens were a delight to

visit. My special thanks to all those people who supported the Safari, a very enjoyable and relaxing day.

Our Annual Ladies Committee Christmas Dinner was held at the Midhurst Tavern and proved to be another lovely relaxed evening

with husbands and partners. The Christmas cake was cut by Lorraine and Margaret. Lucky number prizes were shared during the

evening and the “Mystery Parcel” was won by Dulcie Chainey’s Daughter Dianne. “Goodie” bags were distributed to all who

attended as they left to go home at the end of the evening.

To conclude I thank you all very much for your support, enthusiasm, and friendship over the past year. It is very much appreciated.

Keep well, and keep smiling. Rosemary

Farmers car park project: While we were in Timaru we were well looked after by Ruth and John Kinvig, District GM, and also the Secretary of the Lodge, Paul Johnston, who kindly took us to the carpark at the Farmers Trading Company. The carpark is rather special, being operated by the Midland District as a service to the community and as a source of donated revenue which is then returned to the community. In these photos are, from left to right – John Taggart (Manager), Peter Smith (Supervisor), Paul Johnston and Eoin Dryden. In the 2nd photo, John shows the numerous community organisations who have benefitted from the donations made by the public who use the carpark. Other supervisors who give much of their time and effort to the cause - and definitely warrant mention - are Bruce McDuff and John McAra.

Paul has very kindly written the following article for the readers of Snippets:

Our most recent visit in May has been to Advance Mawhera Lodge in Greymouth where we

enjoyed tremendous hospitality and many visits to local attractions. We were shown the

famous Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki by the incoming Master of the Lodge, Mel Woodgate

and his wife, Norma. I had seen many pictures of the Pancake Rocks, which look like

giant pancakes, being limestone formations, and are especially spectacular at high tide in a

westerly sea. We were very lucky as the sea was very rough when we visited and the

blowholes were spectacular. The tourist brochure told us: “The

rocks were formed 30 million years ago from minute fragments of dead

marine creatures and plants landed on the seabed about 2 km below the

surface. Immense water pressure caused the fragments to solidify in hard

and soft layers. Gradually seismic action lifted the limestone above the seabed. Mildly acidic rain, wind

and seawater sculpted the bizarre shapes”.

Freemasons and Timaru Car Parking - The Freemasons of the Midland District have been managing the Farmers’ carpark in central

Timaru since 1988. The management of the 30 space carpark, behind the Farmers store, was offered to the Midland Almoners’

Association by Paul Johnston, the then manager of the store. The offer was promptly taken up, solving a problem for the store and

providing funds to be used for charitable works. The Farmer’s carpark was situated adjacent to the Timaru District Council carpark

which was unmanned and serviced by an unreliable machine. Following approaches to the Council, and some considerable time later,

the offer to manage both facilities was taken up. The Council did the ground work to join the two carparks into one, built a centrally

located attendants’ booth, and the Freemasons operated the combined unit easing the frustrations of Timaru’s shoppers.

Today, the site is occupied by a multi-level parking building, constructed in 2008, including barrier arms, an automatic ticket dispenser,

a computerised reader and system to calculate the parking fee, and now gives the public covered access to the main shopping area

through the Farmers store. The Midland District lodges, including the English Constitution lodges, are rostered on duty twice a year

and brethren travel up to 100kms, each way, to give freely of their time to provide this service. Some wives and partners also attend

to the duties in the booth.

The carpark is administered by a charitable trust that provides a manager and three supervisors. A supervisor hands over the carpark

to the lodge in the morning and takes back control in the afternoon and reconciles the takings for the day. The supervisor remains on

call, by telephone, to deal with any issues that may occasionally arise. The generosity of the travelling public is astounding with

thousands of dollars being gifted to the charitable trust by way of ‘keep the change’ donations.

Many thousands of dollars have been distributed, in conjunction with the Midland Masonic Charitable Trust, over the years. Funds

have been given to provide nursing bursaries, assistance to schools, kindergartens, churches, youth groups, health groups such as the

Cancer Society, Stroke Foundation, Blind Foundation, and the Alzheimer’s Society. A district project, in conjunction with the Midland

Masonic Choir’s Charity Concert, raised $42000 for the South Canterbury District Health Board’s appeal to purchase an MRI Scanner

for the Timaru Base Hospital. The two charitable trusts contributed significant amounts of money towards this project.

The most recent initiative is a musical scholarship for outstanding musicians at the eleven high schools in the Midland District. Each

high school is asked to nominate their top musical scholar, each year, and a $500 grant is given at the Choir’s annual concerts in Timaru

and Ashburton. The students each provide an item, demonstrating their ability, at one of the concerts.

The Freemasons of the Midland District continuous and unstinting support to the carpark will ensure that charitable donations will be

made in the name of Freemasonry for the foreseeable future. Paul Johnston

Later the same day, Norm and Sandy Young showed us the Hokitika

Gorge and the lovely turquoise water. This amazing blue colour of glacial

water is caused by rocks, high in the mountains, being ground into a fine

powder by the movement of glaciers. The suspension of white powder in

the blue water creates the intense turquoise colour. The next day we ladies were given a tour around Shantytown while the

men were attending Mel’s installation. It was constructed in the early 1970s with 30 re-

created

historic buildings making up a

19th century gold mining town.

It is staffed by volunteers

who are really dedicated to

their work and do a lot of fundraising

in support of its development.

There is a church, a bank, hotel, a

butcher’s shop, shoe shop, barber’s,

carpenters, and a blacksmith. The

town also contains a hospital, train station, fire station, a church, a jail, and the Masonic Lodge where the

Installation was held. John is pictured here, below on the left, congratulating Mel after his installation.

Gill Knox will be well known to many of you, especially in the Wellington District. Gill is the wife

of Keith, ,,,,, a very prominent Freemason, but Gill has her own very important role to play in

Freemasonry as she is Assistant to the Almoner for Lodge Mana 352. Gill is well recognised for

her tremendous work of supporting the widows of the Lodge and assisting any members who are

unwell or in need of help. She writes her own story here:

“Assistant to the Almoner”

How did it all start? 16years ago at my husband’s Lodge there arose a situation that the Almoner

felt he wasn’t able to handle. The Master at the time didn’t feel like handling it either so he asked me to go and visit the

wife and “see what you can do”. Men! when you can’t cope, ask a woman. After visiting and chatting, the whole thing

was put to bed over a cup of coffee and so began my life as “Assistant to the Almoner” for Lodge Parirua.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the visits I have had with the widows of the Lodge and when Parirua joined Mana I continued

albeit with a greater number of widows. These lovely ladies have become my friends and I have had many a cup of tea

and a chat over these years. One of them reminded me of my Scottish grandmother and our “wee cracks” wandered

over Scotland and New Zealand, places she had lived in and places I had visited. When she went into a home I began to

ring her after I had done my ironing asking her how many shirts I had ironed, this was to keep her memory as sharp as it

had been and even now at the age of 96 she still asks me how many shirts I have ironed.

As a Lodge we have our widows and OBE’s (Over Bloody Eighty) to an afternoon tea midyear and of course they all are

invited to the Christmas function. At the afternoon tea especially they reminisce as you do about how it was in their day

and how that Freemasonry has become more “user friendly”.

To go back to the original reason I took on the job, I wish that there had been

copies of “Plain Guide to Freemasonry” available then. I feel that a copy

should be given to all new Masons and they should show it to their partners

to dispel a lot of unease about Freemasonry. Well done to

those who put it together and well done to them for having

the first Introduction from a woman. My title is honorary

but I was very humbled to receive an Almoners badge from

the Grand Master at our last Christmas Party. Gill

Did you know that the Freemasons Charity …

has given over $4 million to NZ students since 1978

has given over $1.5 million to the NZ Paediatrics Research since 1988

has given over $2.6 million to NZ Gerontology Research since 1990

For more information, visit www.freemasonsnz.org

Hi from Betsy Bryant! - Betsy of Waipa Lodge tells of her experience of the

Otago Rail Trail: At the beginning of March a group of 8 oldies from the North tackled the Otago Rail Trail starting from Clyde. We had a blast! The photo on the right is of two Freemasons in full cycling regalia for meeting at Mt Ida!! Out of the four couples who took part, all had links to Freemasonry. We were picked up in bus by one but yet another one took us to Naseby. There we went Curling and our friendly bus driver who is well known came and made sure we saw that Freemasons had helped build the Curling Rink!

We had amazing 5 days with great company, great accommodation and great food, along

with fantastic scenery – we could recommend it. Shows you are never too old!

Betsy’s Lodge’s Social Committee organised a visit to the ‘Zealong Tea Plantation’:

“We were taken by a guide on a tour around the Plantation, and the making of tea was explained to us. The guide gave a very informative account of the processes involved, and when we arrived at the tea pavilion we were shown videos of the

making of tea, and samples were provided, along with a lovely plate of goodies for afternoon tea.

The guide told us of the history of the Zealong Tea Plantation and how long it took to get established in the Waikato. The plantation was started over 20 years ago with only 100 cuttings to propagate from and has grown from there, with over one million plants now producing. They import about 100 expect pickers to pick the leaves and they work for about six months of the year. The Waikato has a perfect climate for the growing of tea with high humidity and lots of fog conditions.

While we were there we saw a highly specialised machine applying organic fertiliser down the rows of tea bushes. Everything was operated by hydraulics and it was fascinating to watch working. I think the biggest surprise for everyone present at the tea ceremony was when we were told that they don’t make tea with boiling water. Apparently, they say that boiling water brings out the tannins and other bad flavours. Food for thought. All who attended found the visit very interesting – a great afternoon!

29th February Panther Rock Restaurant Luncheon an article from Ruth Kinvig, wife of John, District GM

The Midland District Ladies groups had a great day all joining together for lunch. A total of 42 Ladies from

Ashburton, Timaru and McKenzie Lodge's met at the Panther Rock Restaurant in Mayfield for a fantastic, bubbly

reminiscence of Chantel O'Brien's days in NZ Master Chef, a few years ago. What a great colourful story she

shared and we all agreed we wouldn't be up to taking part in such a demanding TV show! Chantel’s cooking

demonstration was enlightening and I

am sure everyone gained some cooking

tips and ideas. She has done so well

since her experience from Master

Chef and we all wish her well for her

future whichever way she chooses to

go. The Ladies all donated to Ronald

McDonald House which Chantel

supports. Ruth

A photo from Marion Kendrick of Ruapehu: Ladies attending the installation of Tony Rich, a railway man invested by the

Railway craftsmen, a lovely morning tea followed by a ride on an Art Deco bus.

This is an extra-long issue of Snippets because I have had so much to report . I still have more articles to print

and they will be in the next issue. Please keep in touch. I always love to have contributions for future newsletters –

they can be sent to diana.litton@freemasons.co.nz. Thank you – and with warm regards to you all, Diana