Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Luke Kirkness: My night with the Freemasons, what I found behind closed doors

Luke Kirkness
By Luke Kirkness
Sport Planning Editor·Bay of Plenty Times·
4 May, 2021 06:53 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

A variation of a master's apron. Photo / George Novak

A variation of a master's apron. Photo / George Novak

What do Winston Churchill, George Washington, Mark Twain, and Colonel Harland Sanders have in common? They were all Freemasons. Little is known about this society that has roots in the Middle Ages. They are men — and only men — from all walks of life. They have secret handshakes and wear strange clothing but as Luke Kirkness discovers first hand, much more goes on behind closed doors.

My night with the Freemasons didn't go as expected and to be honest, I didn't really know what to expect.

I have friends and family all with different opinions and theories and there is an endless supply of rumours online too.

However, I can confirm there were no sacrifices, I couldn't find a connection to the Illuminati and there was nothing to suggest they faked the moon landings either.

I was given a unique and rare opportunity to spend an evening with Lodge Te Papa at the Tauranga Masonic Centre last week.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The newspaper was invited to witness, along with a group of other guests, a ceremony called 'The Empty Chair' which originated back in 1875.

The seldom-seen ceremony came about following the end of the American Civil War to commemorate the lives of those who died during the conflict.

The Empty Chair ceremony is linked to 1875 and the American Civil War. Photo / George Novak
The Empty Chair ceremony is linked to 1875 and the American Civil War. Photo / George Novak

It was held on April 27 to coincide with Anzac Day and was an "extremely rare" occasion non-Freemasons members were invited inside the Masonic Centre.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Freemasonry is one of the world's oldest fraternal societies with the precise origin lost in time, however, its traditions date back to the Middle Ages and the stonemasons who built the cathedrals and castles of Europe.

The connection to stonemasons is behind their logo — a compass and a square.

Discover more

New Zealand

Should this New Zealand suburb change its name?

02 May 06:00 PM

Luke Kirkness: We love it but is it time for a coffee break?

29 Apr 10:00 PM

First-time attendee to Mount Maunganui Anzac Day: 'It's magnificent'

25 Apr 05:00 AM
New Zealand

Luke Kirkness: How I spent two months living in a laundry

15 Apr 10:00 PM

Only men can be Freemasons.

Freemasons keep their cards close to their chest about the goings-on behind their closed doors and would not tell me about their ceremonies.

They did confirm there was a secret handshake, however, and there's not just one but a variety which is all based on one's rank.

While there are a number of different positions within each lodge — a local organisational unit — there are three main degrees of medieval craft guilds.

A variation of a master's apron. Photo / George Novak
A variation of a master's apron. Photo / George Novak

The three degrees are apprentice, fellowcraft, and master — of whom all wear different aprons which pay homage to stonemasonry.

Apprentices wear plain white aprons, fellowcraft aprons have two rosettes towards the bottom, and master aprons have metal tassels.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

When asked if they were a secret cult, the faces of Lodge Te Papa's members quickly soured with what appears to be a common misconception.

"We aren't a secret society, we are a society with lots of secrets," one member explained.

The ceremony was run to coincide with Anzac Day. Photo / George Novak
The ceremony was run to coincide with Anzac Day. Photo / George Novak

They also reminded me their meeting place was right beside State Highway 29A and had their name branded in bold capital letters above the door — hardly incognito.

Freemasons claim to provide a code of living based on moral and ethical standards and to be an organisation driven to live by integrity, goodwill and charity.

Part of this is keeping their rituals and ceremonies secret from non-members which doubles as a test of good character.

In the centre of the ceremony room was a tiled rectangle of blue and white squares, which were bordered by black and blue tiles shaped into triangles.

The directions of the compass were found on the border, with the master of the lodge's chair located at the room's east wall.

The rectangle located in the middle of the room featuring the different directions of the compass. Photo / George Novak
The rectangle located in the middle of the room featuring the different directions of the compass. Photo / George Novak

At the centre of the north, west, and south walls were other masonry members with distinguished positions within the organisation.

A capital G hung from the roof at the east-side of the rectangle and was said to mark the centre of the room.

For the ceremony, the Freemasons were wearing their different aprons — which are a small rectangle worn around the waist and covering the groin, not like a kitchen apron.

They were also all wearing sashes, meanwhile, some wore other regalia like rings, gloves, and pins on their suits.

An empty chair was carried into the room and placed in the centre of the rectangle with the United Tribes of New Zealand flag draped over it.

War time speeches were read aloud and Freemasons laid leaves on the flag and guests were invited to lay poppies on it too.

Master of Lodge Te Papa, Neil O'Brien. Photo / George Novak
Master of Lodge Te Papa, Neil O'Brien. Photo / George Novak

The night ended as any ceremony should — with some grub, tea, and even a beer if you were up for it.

While the ceremony itself was interesting but hardly eventful, the night as a whole was a bit of an eye-opener and a lot of questions were answered.

They dressed a bit funny and had interesting titles for each other such as Worshipful Master but it all appears to be a nod towards tradition.

If you were to take away all of their regalias, they'd just be an average group of blokes who meet semi-regularly.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Current hotspot': Back-to-back national titles for Tauranga basketballers

10 Jul 06:13 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Kaitiaki fight pathogen endangering iconic Mauao pōhutukawa

10 Jul 06:03 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Highly venomous': Deadly sea snake washes up on Coromandel beach

10 Jul 05:38 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Current hotspot': Back-to-back national titles for Tauranga basketballers

'Current hotspot': Back-to-back national titles for Tauranga basketballers

10 Jul 06:13 AM

The Under-18 and Under-20 women's teams won their championships.

Kaitiaki fight pathogen endangering iconic Mauao pōhutukawa

Kaitiaki fight pathogen endangering iconic Mauao pōhutukawa

10 Jul 06:03 AM
'Highly venomous': Deadly sea snake washes up on Coromandel beach

'Highly venomous': Deadly sea snake washes up on Coromandel beach

10 Jul 05:38 AM
Heavy rain warning likely for BoP – MetService

Heavy rain warning likely for BoP – MetService

10 Jul 12:40 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP