DEDICATION OF THE MASONIC HALL, ONEHUNGA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 4852, 5 June 1877, Page 3

DEDICATION OF THE MASONIC HALL, ONEHUNGA.

Tin: dedication of the new hall erected-at Ouehuuga as a Masonic temple took place on May 1.", under the auspieea of the Lodge Mauukau, No. SSG, S.C. The hall is a neat little edilici', just completed or nearly so. It i< complete internally, and is li:iished in a mos; creditable manner. The whole building is 71 feet in length by o! feet in width. There are two ante-rooms and a gallery, and stauc which is 1-) feet in depth. The build-ing"i.-5 in fact admirably adapted, not only to the purposes of Masonic meetings, but is Very suitable for theatrical entertainments, concert?, &c , and will no doubt in future be the public hall of Onehuuga. The consecration of this hall has for some time past btm looked forward to as an event of some interest liy the Masonic fraternity of Auckland and their friends, and aeoord-ii-'ls- considerable uumbers went to OneliunL'a yesterday, to lie present at the ceremony. A good number went by train, but iu addition" to these, two carriages, and a large four-in-hand bus left Queen street i-hortly after '.i o'clock, with brethren of the mvstic tie, representing the various constitutions and Masouie Lodges of Auckland. iiinimst the visitors present, were liro. G. I'. Pierce, U.W.D.G.M., of the Irish Constitution : IJro. 'S. M. Leers, Acting District l> [i '»]', Kn.'lish Constitution: Uros. H:iywar.'l, L'.M. ; Gordon, P.M. ; Hyde, P.M. ; \V It Kobinso:i, P.M. : Clayton, W.M., Piinceof Wales Lodge; IVock, P.M., United Service- Burns, P.M., United Service, and V W M. Mark Lodge K.C. ; Cole, P.M. ; Curlew, P.M. ; I". M- I leu sou, P.M. ; Kev. CM. Nelson; Bros. Ifatswell, Westmoreland, Carson, Dr. l.llis, Dr. Purchas, Burrett, ,i'ud Donr-.ld McKen/.ie. who, ire understand, is the oldest, Mason in New Zealand, having been '■made" iu the year 181' J. He is a Waterloo veteran, and is now a member of the Lodge Manukau. Bro. M. N'lecol, P.M. and 11. W. M. of the Lodge Manukau, ollieiated as Master on the occasion, and there were present besides the following ollicers of Lodge .Mauukau : IJros. W. L'uuwoodie, S. \V. ; J. It Jleiidry, J. it. and Director of Ceremonies; <;i>or"e Codli.i, treasurer; J. W. Waller, «eer-tary ; I!. Scholield, S. I). ; J. •). Austin, J D. iiro. Walker, It.W.M. St. Andrew's Lodge, ollieiated as Deputy-Master, and i;ro."nardiugt<jn as Substitute-Master. Bro. Heiidry'K duties kept him from occupying his portion in the Lodge as J. W. ; his place was occupied by l)i'o. liuniß, I'. M. The Lodge having been opened in form with upwards of 60 brethi en present, it was raised to the third degree 'by the Presiding Master, and called off, when a procession was formed, the Lodge Manukau leading, and the "rand ollicers in the rear. They inarched to St. Peter's Church, when, opening out right and left, the oiiiccrs marched through the centre, and, filing in, they all entered Uie church. The evening service was read by Bio the Kev. Dr. Purchas, the appropriate lessons by the Kev. Mr. Tomlmson (incumbent of the parish), and the sermon was preached by Bio. tile Kev. C. M. Nelson Miss Way laud presided at the harmonium, ami the choir of the church rendered the musical portions of the service very ellicieiitly. Bro. Nelson, having opened his portion of the service with an appropriate Masonic prayer, preached an eloquent sermon from the text—" Be kindly affecuoiiato one to another, with biotherly love ; in honour preferring one another, iloni., c. xii., v. x. _ At the conclusion of the service, during widen the church was crowJed, a collection wa* taken up in aid of the Unei.unga IJeiu-v.ilent .Society, the amount of \\hich we have not ascertained, but ib will prove a very good addition to the funds of that institution. The procession was then reformed, and matched back to the hall, where rhe business of the consecration was resumed. The ode, " Master Supreme, accept our praise," was sung by the brethren, led by the organist of the lodge. i'<ro. Walker, as deputy master, having expressed the desire of the lodge to-have the lud-e consecrated, and the architect, Mr. Waller, having entered his plans, the K. W.M. c.vpicf-sed his willingness to dedicate the hall, and the Grand Chaplain having offered a prayer, the members of the lodge formed a procession round the room. During this procession the

of Old Hundred, the ode, " Genius of Masonry descend," Then followed the obla tiona of corn, wine, and oil, dedicating the lodge in the name of Jehovah to Frui-uiusonry, in the name of St. John to Virtue, ami iu the name of all the brethren, to universal benevolence. The Grand Chaplain Mien invoked the blessing of the Most iligli, and thu JI.W.M., liro. Mc'jul, iu an able and explicit manner, explained the nature of the ceremonies of consecration. The representatives of Lodges Waitemata, Prince of Wales, Ara, United .Service, Uoiluey, ami Sir Walter Scott (Thames) oifcred their congratulations to the ollieers ami brethren of Lodge Manukau, after which the Lodye was lowered, closed, and called off for refreshment. A dinner was provided at Bro. Tregonning's hotid, not at the cost of the Lodge, but at the expense of the individual; and the only discontent evinced during the whole proceedings was in reference to the excessive charge made for the spread. CONCERT AND IiALL. At eight o'clock the brethren and their friends assembled iu the hall to hear the concert which had been arranged. This portion of the proceedings showed that thu hall possessed aceoustic properties such as are rarely possessed by more pretentious buildings. The Ouehunga Glee Club sang " Glorious Apollo" iu good style, and this was followed by a song iu which Mr. Harding, one of our most popular amateurs, gained fresh laurels. It was, "Ye gallants of Englaud." A glee was sung by Messrs. Henderson, Hartley, Skinner, and Howdeu, which was followed by the gem of the evening's entertain aient—Miss Leaf's song of "Jessie's Dream." This was enthusiastically applauded, but although demands for an encore were frequent and loud, compliance with the desire of the audience was persistently refused. The trio, " Magic-wove Scarf," by Mr. Brett, Mr. Harding, and Miss Leaf, was also a very liuished performance, Mr. Brett's line baritone voice sounding very effectively throughout. Amongst the best selections in the second portion of the entertainment must be reckoned Mr. Harding's song, "Here upon my Vessel's Deck," aud Mr. UoUl's

" Humorous Scottish Sketches." Both were encored vociferously. On the conclusion of the concert the hall was cleared for a ball, for which a very large number remained. The programme included twenty dances, aud the terpsiohorean entertainment was kept up with spirit until an early hour in the morning.