Civilised men -- members of the craft : Freemasonry in Auckland to the formation of the Grand Lodge of New Zealandin 1890 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University

The public's fascination with freemasonry seems endless. Freemasons are variously believed to be members of a mysterious brotherhood of enormous influence, a secret society believed to have its roots in the order of the Knights Templar or the Egyptian pyramids and a sect involved in sacrilegious rites. Most will know of the periodic attacks upon freemasonry - claims that it is a secret society of men who conspire to help each other against the rest of the world, that they recognise each other by secret signs and then extend favours, even though this may be in conflict with their public duties - and the response of freemasons that their overriding duty is to obey the law. Their meetings, at which the rich symbolism of freemasonry is displayed in the course of the ceremonies, which are inspiring rituals to their members, may seem to be silly nonsense and play-acting to laymen. Freemasonry was one of the earliest social institutions to appear in Auckland and its members were active and influential. Whenever freemasons are mentioned in Auckland today, almost everyone claims to have had a predecessor who was a freemason. Many people recall seeing a father, grandfather or uncle going to lodge meetings carrying a thin case and wearing a dark suit and wondering what happened when the door of the lodge building closed behind them. On 7th October 1769 Sir Joseph Banks, who paid for his passage on Captain Cook's first voyage, was the first freemason to sight New Zealand. It was inevitable that those who chose to seek a new life in the colony would include a number of masonic brethren who saw themselves as enlightened, peace-loving and the practitioners of social equity, whose purpose was to exert the influence of freemasonry in this new colony which had been claimed for civilisation. As one of the first organised social institutions in the new colony, freemasonry had the benefit of being an already established fraternity with a tried and tested constitution. While the instigators of the first masonic lodges in New Zealand were men of means and influence (early members included lawyers, engineers, architects, civil servants and merchants) they struggled in the first fifteen years to attract members to their fraternity as men used their energy to build homes and businesses. From about 1850, freemasonry enjoyed a period of rapid expansion, and they attracted a new type of membership. Occupations were then recorded as shopkeeper, school teacher, shipping clerk, butcher, carrier and gardener. In the 1870s occupational changes of political or economic origin saw less of the workforce involved in defence and a rising proportion concerned with commerce, transport, trades and services. Local activities began to provide private rather than public services in the processing and distribution of food and clothing and businesses were started by people with very little capital. 1 R.C. J. Stone, Makers of Fortune: A Colonial Business Community And its Fall, Auckland: Auckland University Press, Oxford University Press, 1973, p.3

Managers, Firms and (Secret) Social Networks: The Economics of Freemasonry

This paper studies the relationships between managers a¢ liations with Freema- sonry and companies' performance. Using a unique data set of 410 companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange between 1895 and 1902, I find that Masonic managers were associated with greater access to credit in small and young companies whose se- curities where traded over the counter. These companies earned higher profits, but the effect is not statistically significant. On the other hand, large publicly quoted corpora- tions that were managed by Freemasons did not obtain greater access to credit; they had lower profiys and lower Tobin's Q. These findings help to understand how social networks are related to companies' performances. Although social networks help to resolve agency problems between lenders and borrowers in firms that have difficulties in obtaining debt finance, in larger publicly quoted companies they are associated with worse agency conflicts between managers and shareholders and with worse economic performance.Freemasons;Social Networks;Access to Credit

The freemasonry of the race : The cultural politics of ritual, race, and place in postemancipation Virginia

African American cultural and social history has neglected to interrogate fully a crucial facet of African American political, economic, and social life: African American Freemasonry. The Freemasonry of the Race : The Cultural Politics of Ritual, Race, and Place in Postemancipation Virginia seeks to remedy this neglect. This project broadly situates African American Freemasonry in the complex and evolving relations of power, peoples, and polities of the Atlantic world. The study develops an interpretative framework that not only recognizes the organizational and institutional aspects of African American Freemasonry, but also interprets it as a discursive space in and through which articulations of race, class, gender, and place are theorized and performed.; The Freemasonry of the Race presents a critical cartography of African American Freemasons\u27 responses to the social and political exigencies of the postemancipation period. The study connects the developments of African American Freemasonry in the Atlantic world with the every day culture of African American Freemasonry in Charlottesville, Virginia from the conclusion of the Civil War until the turn of the century. Utilizing African American Freemasonry as a critical optic, the major question this study attempts to respond to is: How can we historicize and (re)present African American Freemasonry in order to rethink the cultural and political space of the postemancipation period in the United States?;Borrowing and blending a number of methodologies from social history, literary theory, and cultural studies, The Freemasonry of the Race : The Cultural Politics of Ritual, Race, and Place in Postemancipation Virginia presents a set of analytic essays on African American Freemasonry, each intimately concerned with deciphering some of the principles that organized and (re)constructed various regimes of power and normality along the fault lines of race, sex, gender, class, and place. By thinking and working through African American Freemasonry in such a manner, this project seeks to open up new interdisciplinary horizons in African American cultural and social history

Justifications of a 21st century wind ensemble transcription of Mozart\u27s Overture to The Magic Flute based upon late eighteenth century ideology

I will create a transcription for wind ensemble of the Overture to The Magic Flute by WA Mozart. By completing this transcription, a standard orchestral work will be available in comparable quality and difficulty for wind ensemble. Although several simplified and one large concert band transcriptions have been made available during the 20th century, these arrangements were not consistent with late 18th century ideals of size and balance. This transcription will remain loyal to the original work through embracing the ideology of the 18th century musical mind. Through treatises, period writings and performance practice of Mozart\u27s time, I will create a transcription that is both authentic and employs 21st century knowledge of the wind ensemble capability

The Material Culture of Freemasonry:A Part of Things not a Thing Apart

Freemasonry is often seen as 'a thing apart' rather than 'a part of things'. This thesis applies well-established anthropological and sociological theories to the material culture of freemasonry, in particular Actor Network Theory. It establishes for the first time that this method binds freemasonry into the broader world of material culture and also provides unexpected insights into freemasonry itself.Centering the examination on my personal experience as Curator at the Museum of Freemasonry in London I consider how the collecting and display or failure to display objects used by, created by and commercially produced for freemasons provides insights in the round on how the material is regarded by society. The perceived secrecy of freemasonry is considered and I show that this is a contested and variable boundary between concealment and revelation. Most of the information needed to study the material culture of freemasonry is accessible to external researchers.I establish the nature of these objects and the way in which the inanimate material culture of freemasonry has innate properties that generate affect and agency on the freemasons and wider society. I show how this material culture is bound into the development of capitalism and consumerism from the early eighteenth century onwards. It forms the first and only continuous example of identity supporting material culture to arise ex nihilo and develop in parallel with the consumer society from the early eighteenth century. This has strong parallels with later material cultures reinforcing identity but is the paradigm and key point for comparison.I view freemasonry's material culture from different viewpoints, firstly its development and relevance to freemasons then establishing its relationship with the broader non-masonic world. I then de-contextualise it by examining its role as collectable giving the material a new agency not always related to its intended function or meaning.The thesis establishes for the first time that masonic material culture has a meaning and significance beyond the specifics of freemasonry studies. I show that a wide range of theories can be brought to bear on this topic and argue that there are multiple significant additional routes to study that have yet to be investigated.I conclude that the material culture of freemasonry is indeed 'a part of things' and if as researchers we fail to investigate the 'things' that freemasonry creates we lose a significant tool to investigate and analyse freemasonry as part of the wider social and anthropological world

The Influence of Freemasonry on Some of the Music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

There is considerable evidence to indicate that the Fraternity of Freemasonry exerted creative impulses to some of the music of Wolfgang Mozart, subsequent to 1784. This study shows that Mozart, by virtue of his membership in the Order, was sufficiently impressed with benevolences and spiritual teachings of Freemasonry to symbolically reflect the ritual of the Order in an artistic manner. To support this contention a review of Freemasonry in the Eighteenth Century, an analysis of Mozart\u27s association with Masonry, an inquiry into the relation of Freemasonry and the existing religious order, and an overview of Mozart\u27s Masonic compositions are presented

The origins and growth of freemasonry in South Africa, 1772-1876

This thesis sets out to examine the historical growth of Freemasonry at the Cape and its expansion eastwards and northwards. It covers the period from the beginnings of Freemasonry in Cape Town in 1772 until 1876 when English and Dutch branches of the Craft had become involved in the political issues of that time. In doing so it tries to examine the effect of social, economic and political events in South Africa on Dutch and English Freemasonry, making the somewhat bold claim that this masonic movement acted often as a mirror to these events. The study confines itself to the historical aspects of freemasonry and does not endeavour to portray esoteric changes that took place within the Craft. Specifically it details the start of Freemasonry on the continent of Africa by Abraham Chiron and the founding of the first lodge, De Goede Hoop, a Netherlandic lodge, its decline and resurgence during the Dutch, British and Batavian occupations and the beginnings of English Freemasonry under the final British occupation. From then it sets out the expansion and changes in organisation brought about by several masonic personalities, many of whom were leading figures in the society of their time