Sir William J Clarke – First Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria

The foundation stone of the Freemasons Hall in Melbourne was laid by him in March 1885, the finished building being consecrated by him to Masonic purposes in March 1887. In 1889 he became the very first Most Worshipful Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria, an amalgamation of the three bodies that had operated at that time under their own constitutions. In 1885 he had largely financed the building of the Freemasons’ Hall at 25 Collins Street.

Freemason & Bishop Percy Mark Herbert

Bishop Percy Mark Herbert was born on 24th April 1885 at Shrewsbury where the family of the Earls of Powis, of which he was a member, held hereditary liberties. His father was Major-General the Hon. William Henry Herbert who had seen distinguished service in the Crimean War and who was a son of Edward Clive, 2nd Earl of Powis and Sybella Milbank

Oscar Wilde – A University Freemason – by W.Bro. Yasha Beresiner

Today no one will deny the genius of Oscar Wilde. Yet during his own lifetime he was spurned and humiliated in spite of the success of much of his work. He was a victim of the society into which he was born. The Victorian middle-class, whose sacred institutions of morality Wilde was to infringe, simply had no patience or tolerance for him. The saddest of the tragedies that Wilde was to write could not match the events that were to unfold and Freemasonry, which did play a significant part during his time at Oxford

The Man who designed The White House & The Capitol Building in Washington.

james-hoban-whitehouse-architect-obverse The White House, then known as “the President’s House,” was the first public building to be erected in Washington. In 1790, the Commissioners of the District held a competition, seeking designs for the future executive mansion. A prize of $500 would be awarded to the winning architect. Hundreds of hopeful American architects participated–including Thomas … Read more