Our Lodge Trowel
Australia Felix News
Monthly Newsletter for our
Members & Ladies
Edition No 2016-01 (March
2016)
Editor Jim Puohotaua
Lodge Australia Felix’s trowel was originally
presented to the Lodge by Brother Isaac Hinds the 2nd Master of the Lodge
on Saint John’s Day 27th Dec 1840.
The Trowel was used to lay the foundation
stones of the following structures:
Melbourne Court House 25th July 1842
At the corner of King and Bourke
streets stood a rude brick-walled, shingle-roofed building, was home for the Crown Lands
department. When it became known that a branch of the Supreme Court was to be
established in the district of Port Phillip it was decided that this structure
should be fitted for the purpose, and here Mr. John Willis, the first resident judge,
administered justice in the early days of Melbourne. This building was
eventually replaced with one near the new gaol at the corner of Russell and
Latrobe Streets
Princes Bridge 20th March 1846 (see
below, Ed.)
Melbourne
Hospital 20th March 1846
Peace
Memorial Block Freemasons Homes of Victoria 313 Punt Road Prahran 19 Feb 1950
The
Commemoration Stone Freemasons Hospital by MWGM General Sir Dallas Brooks
Governor of Victoria 21st October 1956
Grand
Lodge Memorial Temple 300 Albert Street East Melbourne 18th March 1967
Centennial
House Raleigh Street Windsor 31st March 1967
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Mystery about the Trowel - Can you
help be solve this?
A Victorian Government web
site has 20 March 1846 as the date the “The foundation stone of Melbourne's
Princes Bridge is laid.” That agrees with the above article "Our Lodge Trowel" (or if you're on a bigger screen - the one to the right), yet look at the
current foundation stone of the Princes Bridge which reflects many other sources
giving an 1886 date.
Perhaps an explanation is in the below;
... at the
southern end of Swanston Street... Started in 1846 and completed in 1851, it
was opened on 15th November that year. It was known as Lennox's Bridge. The
gold rush in 1851 and subsequent booms in the 1880s saw the Lennox Bridge
straining to cope with the increasing traffic. The width and course of the
Yarra River had been changed and the bridge was hampering shipping and water
flow, so a new broader bridge was designed by John Grainger and constructed
between 1886 and 1888. This bridge was named Prince's Bridge in honour of
Edward, Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII. In 1924 it underwent
modifications to accommodate the new electric trams and its name was changed to
Princes Bridge. This is the beautiful, majestic bridge that crosses the Yarra
today.
Could it be Australia Felix’s Trowel laid the stone
for the Lennox’s Bridge and not the “Princess Bridge” which stands today on the
same site?
Let’s hear from some readers !
From one of our readers who is a member of Australia Felix Hi Damien, You are correct. The bridge was known as the Lennox Bridge and it was the predecessor to the Princes Bridge.
Cheers
Graham
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