The Lodge was formed on December 9th 1909, in Freemasons' Hall, Princes street, Auckland, by brethren representing the four Constitutions in NZ, and given the number 167 in the register of the Grand Lodge of NZ. This is the sovereign Grand Lodge formed in 1890 from some of the English, Irish and Scottish registered lodges. The Founders numbered 124, the largest number 95 from NZ lodges, including Lord Plunkett the Grand Master, 9 English, 10 Irish, and 9 Scottish. In the high membership years of the Craft, the number of members reached 3,600.

The Charter, which was signed on November 15th, stated the Lodge '. . . had to engage in study and research regarding the history and traditions and teachings of the Craft, among all nations and in all ages throughout the world, and to practice and exemplify such ritual and ceremonial as may have received the sanction and approval of Grand Lodge.'

From its inception until 1930, the Lodge continued to meet at Freemasons' Hall, and in that year moved to the new Masonic Centre at St Benedicts Street, not far away, where it remained until 2008. It is now located still in Auckland not far from its previous location at No 181 Khyber Pass Road. (see map)

The principal activity of the Lodge throughout its existence has been the presentation of lectures which are printed in the "Transactions". These are distributed to members and discussed at the next meeting. This gives a rounded picture to the subject under discussion.

A feature of the Lodge from earliest times has been the answering of general questions of a masonic nature. These are recorded in the Transactions as they occur.

A well-known feature of the meetings has been re-enacting old Masonic meetings. The first of which was an English meeting of 1760 in 1964 in Auckland, followed by repeats all over NZ in the following five years. In 1980 an 18th century Russian ceremony was enacted, and in 1987, a Schroeder (German) ritual took place.

The Lodge remains at the centre of Masonic research in NZ, and is known world-wide for its standard of work and preservation of historical material.

The history of the Library and Museum is given in the pages about the Library and Museum.

We store and display any Masonic item of a historical nature, which includes current material, for this will become historic in due time. Apart from the aspect of making these things available to be seen and enjoyed, our aim is to preserve as much as we can of our heritage.

Lodges and individuals are encouraged to donate (or lend) any Masonic material to us, from whatever Constitution they belong. We have a detailed inventory of the Museum, numbering over 7000 items, including some which are not masonic.

Masons are welcome to visit the Museum with potential members for their lodges,
to introduce them to Masonry,
with family members too.

Visitors to the Museum are encouraged to view the quality and ingenuity of design of the artifacts on display, without needing to know the masonic significance of any of them.

The Lodge history book is available for sale by contacting the Secretary.