ODDFELLOWSHIP IN NELSON.

Colonist, Volume LI, Issue 12469, 19 February 1909, Page 4

ODDFELLOWSHIP IN NELSON.

AN INTERESTNG REVIEW. Some time ago. the District Committee of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows in the Kelson district was requested by the Registrar of Friendly Societies 1 to have a record of the founding and progress of the order prepared, for..; incorporation in ._ a work dealing with friendly societies in New Zealand. • P.P.G.M. Bro W." Moyes /undertook the task, and at the last district meeting he ' pre-. sented the : following interesting his-tory--of the' Lodge in Nelson: — -, '. Ilie. founding of ' thei order of Oddfellowship,, Unity in Nelson was practically contemporaneous with the. foundation of the settlement • and -first took form amongst the passengers on- board the ship March* Ridgway, which left England in 1841 with emigrants for the intended settlement."'.,.' It . is unnecessary to dwell upon: the -incidents that occurred, on the. arrival of the skip with emigrants .in this country beyoud,saying that Nelson was the.secorid settlement formed directly _ by tho Now Zealand Company, on Feb. Ist, 1842, the/ settlement of Wellington having been formed by the same company some twelve months previously. Tho ship Martha Ridgwuy left England on November 6th, 1841, arriving at Nolson Haven on April, 4th 1842. Amongst the passongors was Bro T. Sullivtin, an enthusinstic Oddfellow of many years oxponence in England,- who associated himself with eight other Oddfellows ou the passage out, and- as a rosult or several meetings, held on board shift) , the long-boat doing duty as the pla«" of meeting, it was decided to estallish a Lodge of Oddfellows, as somt as convenient, on arriving at tho home of their/adoption. The following are the names of those Brethren, to whom the honour is due, as being tho original promoters of the. intended Lodge, ; vi2i., -Bros- T.^SuUrran, .fc.^ P Kearns.- A. McGee, .E.Nicpl,, %. Cropper, J.; . Singley, J. Hanley, G. Groathead and A.. /Patterson. mimber was increased by- the tollowing 'passengers joining later: Messrs Butterfield, Thos. Raiclifre, Jas Rbwbottom, Thos. Waterhouse and John Waterhouse, making lowtec-i membeis all told, who thus formally originated the Loyal Nelson Lodgo, and subscribed the' requisite amoui t of "money, to forward to Sydney, i) enable the necessary dispensation m be procured, as authority to open, and work the Lodge Jn. due .form. The first meeting /in Nelson-, was held on Thursday, April 7th. 1842, on_tne hill side amongst the fern, a. short distance from the /site of the present Saltwater Bridge, on the main ; road to the " Port, and then^adjpurned ti J tlie 'following Monday evening, . when it was held in a- tent, "further along the beach At 1 the meetingMt wa.sresolved to- apply through the Sydney district (as being the. nearest) fora dispensation to open", a lodge connection : with . the - Manchester Unity. It may interest members of the present .time to know that the name originally decided upon wasthe : "Strangers' Ref uge" ;,. n0 ... doubt .1 name fraught" with much meaning to those,'\vho, at' that early day. of the settlement had left friends and as- j sppiations far "behind them, and who were about to face the future in • a now, arid to a great extent, unknown land.' By a strange coincidence, the Pioneer Lodge of the Sydney district was known as the "Strangers' Refuge" and Ueing contrary to them'eSj of the -Order, that no two Lodges . W ' any one district can hear the same name, it was decided to designate the j "new Lodge as the Loyal • Nelson Lodge; The dispensation applied for reached Nelson in the year 1844; and was the first granted to aLodge in New Zealand/ the irregular communication having caused the delay. ' The Lodge meetings ; after a time were held in a small room in the "Red House," where now stands the Central Hotel. We are given to understand the name "Red House" originated from the great number of red gih cases' that had been used in the- construction; of the building. The increasi ng membership . soon necessitated larger conveniences, and short-ly-afterwards a • new building was erected on the site of the "Red House," and called the Oddfellows Arms, one room" on .the top floor being set aside for /Lodge purpbses.P.P.G.M. Bro. T. Sullivan was installed .as the first Grand Master, and rapid progress, in keeping with -the. progress of the . young settlement," was made. ..in the introduction of ■members ; a "great • rdany of those, who either at that time,- or a year af-^ torwards, occupied.', prominent posi- 1 tions. as. public- men, becoming members" of the_ Lodge;- " A perusal oi' the proceedings of these early years afford numerous incidents of an amusing character. Carrying oil operations in a ~ new and- unsettled country channels of trade and commerce being of a new order -of, •things altogether, -one of the chief, means employed of investing their capital; /being in 'live stock; a ■ way of treating 'trust monies, which nowadays would entail serious responsibilities on the shoulders of; those; so. doing;' However, ;with '.the deyjelop-': ment'of/'the; colony, things generally righted /themselves, and one anomaly after' 1 the .other was swept, away. The. Wairau massacre on June .17th, 1843, caused a break in the ranks -of the-touriders. •■* Bro E. Cropper being/one of those who 'lost their lives on; ;?tha-t : fearful > occasion. . The Widow and Orphan Fund was started in 1845, actuated no doubt by , the sympathy extended towards the wife' and child ; of the unfortunate Brother referred to/above. This fund was not compulsory on members / until 1874 when it became incorporated ■jvith* the district /f undsj to which all inombors • must .' contribute 1'wo: gears' afterwardsj. .in 1847, the Loyal Travellers 1 Rest, /and Loyal Howard; Lodges were formed, the despensation numbers- being ,4206. and : 4207 respectively. The work of ; the How-, ard Lodge was carried /on in a room in the Wakatu Hotel/a well;knoWn hostelry of .%. gone days, : and situated at the corner of. Bridge and ; Trafalgar- streets, where now •stands the premises of the Bank of iNew South Wales. The Travelers; Rest Lodge was opened at the Plough Inn, Richmond. / Great assistance was- given in carrying . on "the: work of this Lodge by Bro : C. /McGee, Jphn Waterhouse, and Rob t. Burns %ho transferred their membership from the town iLodge. . lhese Brethren were actuated by a love of the .work, /and at great inconvenience and- physical' toil, to /enable them, to attend the x meetings of •■ . ; the_ .^ Lodge, ■ walked, from Nelson to .Richmond and- home / again, whan.in- those days there were no formed roads; yet they traversedthe distance in, air weathers jumped from flax bush , to flax bush and often up to' their- knees in mud aud water. The .-discomfort and hardship was undergone, f or the good of the cause, and' a sincere ******> help on the young Lodge w. -^tort stages of. existence. ;Ot these Brethfor many years past ceased, to. De a subscribing member, ;butßro. m OMcGee is- a -full subscribing memljer ot the Howard Lodge and' ha^ the.sat-isfactibh-of being tho oldest remaining Brother-' of that earnest band, who :-.in the oarly^ days of this settle"tkment, determined to. thoir new home in the Southern Seas,, tho ■• noble vorder ; of ■ pddfellowsmp, -, wTiicli had proved so: successful in the-; land of their birbli. . ■-..The meetings of^ the Lodges continued to bg held- ; m tho rooms of' the' publip houses, previously namedj/for; some years, but dissatisfaction arising/ \ the ; . ,-town ■ Lodkes decided to build a /Lodge room ■ apart from such' surroundings .and . inconveniences. January, 6th, ..10.54, mared the laying of . the foundation stone of the- Oddfellows' Hall, .which i was laid; with ; greaf ceremony .by his j Honour the -Superintendent rqf _the , j Province, Mr /E^Wrf Stafford, afterwards Sir E. W. Stafford, This hall ser- t

ved for many years, the purposes of the town Lodges, aB also the requirements of the town itself, for theatrical and other functions, Tip to the time of the erection of the Theatre Koyal on the adjoining site in Waimea Road. , April 7th, 1892, -which marked the \ sQth anniversary .of the founding of ( Oddfellowship in JNelson found the \ members of the ,-order, housed in a j more up-to-data and . commodious -j building. The old hall having been \ demolished, on its sight was erect- ] ed .the present ' handsome structure ] which now constitutes the central ] office; of. the order in the Nelson dis- 2 trict,: and it may fairly be consider- ( ed a satisfactfiry result of their 50 ] ypars .work. ; May the spirit and en- I thusia«m, which characterises the 1 first igp^years. continue "in "the future ( years and ;l«iad to still greater' results. To" Celebrate the jubilee" of Oddfellowship in, this "district as also : of New .Zealand a. conference - was , held at Nelspn ou April 7, 1892, at , ■which all tho districts in New Zea- ( land were represented by delegates. , A cordial we-lcomo was . extended by • •the Nelson Brethren; and a pleasant ] and ' profitable meeting resulted. In i 1846 *. Nelson was constituted a separate district, it haying been j found for many reasons impractible ; to continue with the Sydney district, i Tho first district officers were elected as follo\vs : — Prov. G.M. 13ro. K ', Lloyd ; Prov. IXG.M , Bro.D. Rich- ■ ftidsonj Prov. C.S., Bro. T. Sullivan I'.P.G.M., -tho first meeting being ; j-qoordod as held on January stli, ■ 1847. 'lie Nelson district has been ' uu'ablo to. retain the Lodges from i fchno to time established withiu her boundary. The absence of roads in. i tho past daj'B, the expenses of tra^- i olling t as also the responsibility o-' exercising efficient control- over diitricfc Lodges,; rendered the work dim- ( cult, consequently, the ' Marlborougli, ' Motueka,- and North Westland Dis- ( tricts, were each allowed to control ! own. ■• management, as. soon as I jAey desired it. The. Lodgesr which : - gotnf t jtji^ s3%g- , jSf©lsoniiDi4tnct' : ayq < as follows-I-^-Loyal Nelson Lodge, J Neludn,- Travellers Rest Lodge, ltich- ■ mon>'d ;. J Howard Lodge. Nelson ; Man- ] sion of Peace, Wakefield ; General i Camei'on, Bright water ; Mataki, Mvi;- ] chison v .j and Tadinor. The two < last nanied Lodges are of recent crea- i tion^ bui?-, showing strong indication^ i of vitality apd no -doubo with the in- < creased ■ settlement rapidly tajkiii!; ] place, will add increased strehgtii ] to the olden established part of tho ( district. The : Loyal Evening < Star Lodge : .was started in the yea^: - ,1881, at Waimea West, hut only con-tinued-its career for a iew years anil was eventually' at the district meeting held in^February, 1887, amalga- ■■ mated ; to - -the Mansion of Peace , : Lodge. : ' Ini compiling the foiegoiiij', narrative of events in connection with tM i early,' his;tory of Oddfellowship iv this district, some difficulD, v has ariesri from the want of reliable information, in the hope of the orig,- . inal' minute book of --the Howard LodgeVv'The.' information as notccl has Wen gleaned mainly from some" very interesting letters sent in by Bro. McGee;, supplemenied by~ notes from Messrs J. WaterhouEe and R>, Burns, as also from the inter f ; "estinjg.'sketch. supplied by our former !■ Correspondence Secretary, Bro. 'VV. . Besley, "who at. the time of' the; jubile. of the province an 1892, was- . .goo> enough :to , collect' a great deal of ir teresting- matter, which was inserte in the Jubilee -history of Nelson, cdi - ed by the late Judge Broad. llic above sources from which the' lnt'orjnjvfcion." has been deriT-ecl. are gratefully acknowledged and the wish expressed.'that' the information 1 so far supplied- will- to some extent be apj predated. f Nelson, February Sth. 1909.