Tour audio Masonic Sites of Sydney

In the beginning

Sydney is a wonderful city. Its sparkling harbour, its bridge and its famous Opera House are recognised the world over and represent, in the minds of many, the gateway to Australia. Sydney is the mother city of the nation. Here is where it all began with the arrival from Britain of Captain Arthur Phillip RN and the people of the eleven ships of the first fleet on a warm summer’s day on the 26th January 1788.

One of the Marines to step shore was Worshipful Brother Thomas Lucas, a Past Master of the Lodge of Temperance which met at the Black Horse Tavern in Coventry Street, London.

The first fleet initially arrived in Botany Bay were Lieutenant James Cook in HMS Endeavour had anchored in 1770 and where a botanist, Brother Joseph Banks Esq, a member of the Old Horn Lodge, London , became the first Freemason to set foot on Australian soil .

Established purely as a penal colony to accommodate the overflow of unwanted British prisoners, Sydney slowly expanded and, as free settlers began to arrive, the small outpost on the other side of the world from London began to find its own identity.

There were many outstanding colonists, some of whom were Freemasons and a number of them had been remembered in stone, steel and statue.

Freemasonry is an integral part of the social fabric of the community and it is, therefore, not surprising to find memorials to outstanding men who are members of the world’s greatest fraternal organisation.

"Masonic details in this tour were obtained from the book 'Masonic Sites of Sydney" by Graham Cumming PDGM"