(by Guy Williams, Otago Daily Times, 25 May 2025)
The curtain has come down on nearly 150 years of Freemasonry in Arrowtown.
About 50 Freemasons from throughout Otago and Southland went to the final meeting of the Arrow Kilwinning Lodge in its historic Wiltshire St building on Monday.
Its last 10 members will now join their Queenstown counterparts at the Lake Lodge of Ophir, based in their equally historic building in Marine Parade.
Member Kent Dow says the loss of Arrow Kilwinning Lodge’s identity is sad, but its membership’s dwindled to the point where it didn’t make sense to continue.
“We need to share the load.”
On the bright side, the move will boost the membership of Lake Lodge of Ophir to about 60.
Its numbers are on the rise, sustained by the Whakatipu’s growing, multicultural population, Dow says.
The Heritage New Zealand-listed Arrowtown lodge building will remain in Freemason hands though, and they’re on the…
read more:
Member Kent Dow says the loss of Arrow Kilwinning Lodge’s identity is sad, but its membership’s dwindled to the point where it didn’t make sense to continue.
“We need to share the load.”
On the bright side, the move will boost the membership of Lake Lodge of Ophir to about 60.
Its numbers are on the rise, sustained by the Whakatipu’s growing, multicultural population, Dow says.
The Heritage New Zealand-listed Arrowtown lodge building will remain in Freemason hands though, and they’re on the…
read more:
On the bright side, the move will boost the membership of Lake Lodge of Ophir to about 60.
Its numbers are on the rise, sustained by the Whakatipu’s growing, multicultural population, Dow says.
The Heritage New Zealand-listed Arrowtown lodge building will remain in Freemason hands though, and they’re on the…
read more:
The Heritage New Zealand-listed Arrowtown lodge building will remain in Freemason hands though, and they’re on the…
read more:
