Kevin Walsh enjoys spending time with like-minded people and raising money for charity.
The Rotorua man is part of a Rotorua Freemasons group and is encouraging other men who are interested to join.
Mr Walsh moved to Rotorua from Britain six years ago.
"While I was in the UK, friends of mine were
part of the Freemasons and I went to some functions with them, so when I came to Rotorua I applied to join Lodge Arawa."
Lodge Arawa is one of two Rotorua Freemason groups, the other is Lodge Rotorua.
Mr Walsh is now the master of Lodge Arawa.
He said he enjoyed being with like-minded people.
"We have a moral and a code which we live by and you don't find that too often these days," he said.
"It is something which I feel comfortable with."
The most important thing about the group was the friendships formed with other members, he said.
"We are a group of men who look after each other."
He said the group was involved in a lot of charity work, which benefited the local community as well as national and international organisations.
"We give scholarships and donate to several different groups. The difference is that we don't shout about it."
Mr Walsh said the Freemasons dated back to the Middle Ages and to the stonemasons who built the cathedrals and castles of Europe.
Despite common beliefs, Mr Walsh said the Freemasons was not a secret society but the organisation did regard some parts of what it did as confidential.
Mr Walsh said anyone who was interested in joining the Freemasons should visit the group's website to find out more about what was involved.
For more information about the Freemasons and information about how to join visit www.freemasons.co.nz or www.lodgearawa.org.nz
