Ayr Masonic Temple

General

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Also known as

Lower Burdekin Masonic Temple / Ayr Masonic Centre

Classification

State Heritage

Register status

Entered

Date entered

25 February 2022

Type

Social and community: Hall—masonic / lodge / friendly or benefit society

Theme

8.3 Creating social and cultural institutions: Organisations and societies

Builder

Lewer, Harry Percival

Designer

Lewer, Harry Percival

Construction period

1935, Masonic Temple

Historical period

1919–1930s Interwar period

Style

Classicism

Location

Address

118-120 Macmillan Street, Ayr

LGA

Burdekin Shire Council

Coordinates

-19.57841699, 147.4051649

Significance

Criterion AThe place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland’s history.

Ayr Masonic Temple (1935) is important in demonstrating the development of Freemasonry in Queensland. An imposing two-storey brick building, its design and construction illustrates the growth and expansion of Freemasonry during the interwar period, reflected in the erection of more elaborate permanent Masonic temple buildings, following the formation of the United Grand Lodge of Queensland in 1921.

Criterion DThe place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.

In its form, fabric, layout, and furnishings, Ayr Masonic Temple is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a purpose-built Masonic temple in Queensland. Highly intact, these principal characteristics include its: high quality design and construction; impressive front elevation; Classical architectural details; privacy control measures and floor plan arrangement separating members and non-members; provision of lodge room with central open space with checkerboard ‘pavement’, perimeter gallery of members’ seats, elevated dais seats and lecterns for the Master and principal officers, and prominent use of the colour blue; and architectural and decorative features of Masonic allegorical and symbolic meanings.

Criterion EThe place is important because of its aesthetic significance.

Ayr Masonic Temple is important for its aesthetic significance as a highly intact masonry building in an impressive Interwar Classical style. It possesses beautiful attributes derived from its: well-composed and prominent temple-front; high-quality design and construction; symmetry, form, scale, materials, and decoration; and the integration of Masonic allegories and symbols into the design.

History

Ayr Masonic Temple (1935) is a grand, two-storey masonry building at the corner of Mackenzie Street and Macmillan Street in Ayr, one block southeast of the town’s main street, Queen Street. Replacing an earlier timber Masonic hall (1903) on the site, it was built as a temple for the Delta, Ayr, and Fuller Freemason lodges. As a large and elaborate masonry building, it demonstrates the growth and expansion of Freemasonry during the interwar period. In 2021 it remains an active Masonic temple for the Fuller Lodge.

Ayr is located approximately 70km southeast of Townsville, near Plantation Creek in the Lower Burdekin River’s delta, in the traditional land of the Bindal people.[1] Pastoralism began in the Burdekin district in the 1860s; and the selection of land for agriculture, including maize growing and dairying, followed by the 1870s. Sugar cane was also being grown by 1880. Ayr, surveyed in 1882, grew as sugar farms, plantations and mills were established in the delta. The Ayr State School opened in 1886, and Ayr Divisional Board – previously part of the Thuringowa Divisional Board (1879) – was established in 1888. Based in Ayr, Ayr Divisional Board later became Ayr Shire Council in 1903, and Burdekin Shire Council in 1982. A private railway (Ayr Tramway), connecting Ayr to Stuart near Townsville, opened in 1901. At this time Ayr only had a population of 338 people. Although Cyclone Leonta damaged or destroyed most of the town’s buildings in March 1903, Ayr was rebuilt, and a butter factory opened in 1904. The nearby sugar-growing towns of Brandon and Home Hill were surveyed in 1882 and 1911 respectively. [2]  

The Burdekin district, along with the Herbert district north of Townsville, became one of the four main sugar-growing regions in Queensland – the Herbert-Burdekin region (including Ingham, Home Hill and Ayr). This region produced about 20% of Queensland’s sugar crop in both 1890 and 1940, and 40% in 2008. Although the Burdekin district had less rainfall than the Herbert district and the other sugar growing regions, water for irrigation was sourced from sub-artesian bores.[3]

When the Queensland sugar industry expanded during the 1920s and 1930s – even as the Great Depression was affecting most of Australia ­– the Burdekin district prospered as a result. By 1933, Ayr had a population of 4792 people, rising to 7000 by 1938. As the town grew, many notable public buildings were constructed during the interwar period, such as Ayr Shire Council Chambers (1922, QHR 601922); Ayr Court House (1936, QHR 601126); Ayr Post Office (1936); and Ayr State High School (1937, QHR 601574).[4]

Ayr Masonic Temple is a result of the growth and spread of Freemasonry in Queensland. Freemasonry has been described as ‘a fraternal association of men, based on the principles of brotherly love, relief and truth. Membership in Australia is open to all men who profess a belief in a Supreme Being and are of good character’.[5] ‘Craft’, or ‘Blue Lodges’ confer the three Masonic degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. Additional degrees can be obtained if a Master Mason joins a chapter of the ‘Royal Arch’ Masonic organisation.[6]

Masonic halls or temples (the terms are interchangeable)[7] have similar architectural style influences and layouts to accommodate Masonic rituals. The front facade of Masonic temples often had Classical Greek or Roman architectural influences, as the five orders of architecture (three Greek: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and two Roman: Tuscan and Composite) are significant within Freemasonry. The main ceremonies are held in a rectangular room called a lodge room, designed to evoke the Temple of Solomon under construction (an allegory for the process of personal development and enlightenment of a Mason). The lodge room usually has high windows to maintain privacy, especially if it is on the ground floor of a building. Seating is arranged around the perimeter of the room, so all members can observe the ceremonies conducted in the open central space, which has a central mosaic ‘pavement’ (usually a checkerboard pattern). An elevated seat is located at the eastern side of the room for the Worshipful (or Right Worshipful) Master, the senior position in the lodge. Elevated, individual seats are also provided at the western and southern sides for the Senior Warden and the Junior Warden. The room usually contains an altar. The architecture, furniture, and decoration of lodges are rich in Masonic allegory and symbols. Among the most prominent symbols are the Square and Compasses, and the letter 'G'. Masonic temples often also contain social rooms, dining rooms, and other spaces.[8]

The first ‘stationary’ Freemasons’ lodge in Australia (as opposed to a travelling lodge associated with a British naval vessel or regiment) was formed in Sydney in 1820: the Australian Social Lodge number 260 (Irish Constitution, or IC). Lodges were formed after being granted a charter under the constitutions of either the Irish, Scottish, or English Grand Lodges; with the first English Constitution (EC) lodge formed in Sydney in 1829, and the first Scottish Constitution (SC) lodge formed in 1844 in Melbourne. To allow a measure of administrative autonomy for the Australian lodges – given their distance from their parent Grand Lodges in the British Isles – the Irish, English and Scottish lodges soon formed their own Provincial Grand Lodges, with Provincial Grand Masters: the Provincial Grand Lodge of New South Wales (EC), in 1849; the Provincial Grand Lodge (SC) of the Province of Australia, in 1856; and the Provincial Grand Lodge (IC), in 1857. The three Constitutions in New South Wales later combined to form the United Grand Lodge of NSW, achieving full autonomy from their British Grand Lodges, in 1888.[9] 

The first lodge in Queensland, the North Australian Lodge (EC), met on 13 July 1859, at the newly opened Freemasons’ Hotel in Albert Street, Brisbane, after petitioning the Provincial Grand Lodge of NSW (EC) for permission. Three more English constitution lodges soon followed: the Queensland Lodge, Ipswich (Queensland’s first Masonic hall was later built in Ipswich), and the Prince of Wales Lodge, Brisbane, both in 1861; then the Leichardt Lodge in Rockhampton in 1862. The first Queensland lodge of the Irish Constitution (St Patrick, Brisbane) was formed in 1863, and the first lodge under the Scottish Constitution (St Andrew’s, Brisbane) in 1864. A Provincial (later District) Grand Lodge (EC) was formed in Queensland in 1862, and the other two Constitutions in Queensland both formed provincial grand lodges in 1866.[10]

Masonic lodges soon spread geographically throughout Queensland, following the extension of the railways and the formation of new towns, with each of the three Constitutions chartering new lodges, and sometimes sharing a common Masonic hall. In 1904, 25 Irish lodges and 14 Scottish lodges formed the Grand Lodge of Queensland (GLQ) to gain autonomy from their parent grand lodges in Britain. The lodges of the GLQ were then renumbered, and those lodges and any new lodges formed under the GLQ from 1904 to 1921 were consequently designated ‘Queensland Constitution’ (QC). Another 50 Scottish lodges, and 62 English lodges, however, refused to acknowledge the new organization, and continued under their respective District Grand Lodges until 1920, when they amalgamated under the Queensland Grand Lodge (QGL), in a transitional arrangement to facilitate a union with the GLQ the following year.[11]

In April 1921, the United Grand Lodge of Queensland (UGLQ) was formed, with 14,000 members in 281 lodges. All the UGLQ lodges were then renumbered, in order of the date of their consecration. Given the large size of Queensland, two District Grand Lodges were soon created: the District Grand Lodge of North Queensland (1922) at Townsville; and the District Grand Lodge of Carpentaria (1924) at Cairns. A headquarters for the UGLQ, consisting of a Masonic Temple of four storeys plus basement, was dedicated in December 1930 on Ann Street, Brisbane, at a cost of £103,000, not including furniture and the land. (QHR 600074).[12]

The membership of the UGLQ increased in the 1920s and 1930s, and dropped during World War II, before rapidly expanding. Membership was 22,196 in 1930; dropped to 17,190 in 1941, but recovered to 21,250 in 1946, and grew to 35,955 (in 469 lodges) in 1969. However, numbers later fell, to 24,103 members in 1990, and 10,375 (in 300 lodges) in 2009.[13]

The first Masonic lodge in Ayr was formed in December 1896, when Delta 846 (SC) was consecrated and the officers of the lodge were installed: including Alexander Fraser as Right Worshipful Master, and Maxwell Henry Irving as Treasurer. A banquet was held at the Queens Hotel, Ayr afterwards. Initially, the Federal Hall or the Divisional Board Hall was used for lodge meetings. When the site of the current Masonic temple, half an acre (2023m2) at the corner of Mackenzie Street and Macmillan Street, was obtained by the Freemasons for £30 in April 1902, Fraser and Irving were listed as trustees.[14] The Delta Lodge’s members then erected a highset timber Masonic hall on the site, which was used for meetings from March 1903. When Cyclone Leonta levelled the towns of Brandon and Ayr that same month, the Masonic hall was one of the few buildings to survive in Ayr. Heavily damaged, it was repaired and consecrated in July 1903.[15]

By 1911, Ayr’s population was 1236, and a second local Masonic lodge was formed in October that year: Ayr Masonic Lodge, 3588 (EC).[16] This was soon followed by a GLQ lodge consecrated on 5 July 1913: Fuller 61 (QC), named after a prominent Townsville Mason. All three lodges were later renumbered, upon formation of the UGLQ, as Delta 112, Ayr 211, and Fuller 228.[17] The Burdekin Royal Arch Chapter 378 (SC) was also meeting in Ayr’s timber Masonic hall by 1916, and later used the current Masonic temple.[18]

Despite its understory being available (and presumably enclosed) for use for public meetings by the 1920s, the timber Masonic hall soon proved to be too small, a fact noted after a dance there in 1931.[19] The three Ayr lodges, which had decided on a new hall in 1928, proceeded to raise funds for a new masonry building on the same site, through increased membership fees and assistance from the Ladies Masonic Committee, and it was reported in May 1934 that ‘in view of the rapid growth of the district and the great activity in building operations, considerable importance attaches to the decision … to proceed shortly with the erection of a new Masonic Temple’.[20]

The new temple in Ayr was purpose built as the principal meeting place of the three Ayr lodges. The plans were commissioned by the Ayr Masonic Building Committee (also referred to as the Lower Burdekin Masonic Building Committee), chaired by Worshipful Brother Arthur Coburn, a former Worshipful Master of Fuller Lodge, and were approved in October 1934. It was claimed that ‘the new building … will be a distinct asset and a splendid addition to the number of modern structures which are going up in different parts of the town’.[21]

The plans and construction of the Masonic temple were undertaken by Townsville builder, Harry Percival Lewer, who also built a number of concrete shops, and the Commonwealth Savings Bank, in Queen Street in Ayr during the 1930s.[22]

The foundation stone for the new temple was laid on 9 December 1934, by the Right Worshipful District Grand Master of North Queensland, Arthur D Charge, with music for the ceremony provided by Ayr Competitive Choir, Ayr Male Choir; and Ayr Citizens’ band. A casket containing ‘the usual records’ was deposited ‘in the cavity under the stone’. The building was expected to cost approximately £4,000. At the ceremony, the District Grand Master noted that Masonic character was based upon four great cornerstones – belief in a Supreme Being; a desire for nobility of character; loyalty to the throne and Empire; and the principle of service.[23]

The new building was two-storey, with an imposing Classically-inspired front finished in cement render and featuring giant Doric order pilasters. The ground floor accommodated a ballroom (also used as a public hall) 75ft x 34 ft (22.9m x 10.4m), with an adjoining supper room, 31ft x 27ft (9.5m x 8.2m) in an attached, rear, single-storey service block. The upper floor accommodated an assembly room 12ft x 34ft (3.7m x 10.4m) and an adjoining lodge room 60ft x 34ft (18.3m x 10.4m).[24]

Ayr’s Masonic temple, ‘claimed to be one of the most stately and beautiful buildings of its kind in Queensland’, was officially opened and consecrated on 22 June 1935, with more than 300 brethren of the Masonic Order present, by the Pro. (acting) Grand Master of the UGLQ, the Most Worshipful Brother William Herbert Green.[25] The Townsville Masonic Choir provided music for the ceremony, which was also attended by Masons from Charters Towers, Home Hill, Giru, Townsville, Bowen, and Proserpine. It was reported that ‘the edifice is a valuable addition to the architectural progress of the town, and a sign of the enterprising spirit of the local members of the craft’, and that ‘both for size and architecture, the new Temple is the most outstanding building in Ayr, and taking into consideration the size of the town, it was acknowledged by the Grand Lodge Officers present … to surpass easily all other Masonic buildings within the jurisdiction of Queensland’.[26]

The previous night, a Grand Jubilee Commemoration Ball had been held at the new building, with more than 500 guests, the supper being provided by the Ladies Committee in a large marquee at the side of the old Masonic hall, which had also been requisitioned for the purpose.[27] The old hall, which was sited next to the new building on its northeast side, was demolished in 1936 and some of its Masonic furniture moved into the new hall, including an altar, tracing boards, and Worshipful Master’s and Wardens’ pedestals, which are retained in the building in 2021. By 1936, there was a masonry and chain-wire fence in front of the temple (extant 2021).[28]

The new Masonic temple in Ayr was one of the more impressive temples built in Queensland in the interwar period, especially given the relatively small population of Ayr. Most Masonic buildings of this period were modest, single-storey buildings constructed of timber, rather than masonry, and only a minority had classical detailing to their main façade. Of the 162 Masonic halls/temples still occupied by lodges in Queensland in 2005, 44 had been constructed from 1874-1917; 51 from 1919-40; and 67 were built from 1942-2004. Of the 51 interwar temples, 12 were masonry (built of brick, concrete or stone); and 10 of these had classical style facades or columns (as opposed to only two of the interwar timber temples). Other than Ayr, examples of interwar, masonry, classical style Masonic temples, of two stories or more (in use in 2005) included: Wynnum, Mackay [QHR 602731], Bundaberg (former drapery store), Longreach, Brisbane [QHR 600074], Townsville, Cairns [QHR 601539], and Innisfail.[29]

Since its construction, the new temple’s ballroom/public hall has been used for a variety of purposes. As well as annual Masonic Balls, these included weekly dances, dance classes, public and group meetings, functions, parties, wedding receptions, sport and craft groups, church services, and funerals. The grounds have also been used for community markets. Visiting dignitaries also attended Masonic or non-Masonic events at the Masonic temple, including Queensland Governor Sir Leslie Wilson, in 1936, and Labor Premier Vincent Clair Gair, in 1952. In 2021, the ground floor is used for parties, Taekwondo lessons, and by Scottish dancers.[30] The ground floor of the temple has also, in the past, been used by the now-defunct Ayr Order of the Eastern Star (a Masonic order open to both men and women), and in 2021 it is still used for meetings of the Home Hill Order of the Eastern Star, due to the closure of the Home Hill Masonic temple.[31]

Few alterations have been made to the building since 1935. Additions were made to the rear service block to add toilets by 1958, most likely after the town’s water supply and system was installed (post 1950), and storerooms in the late 1960s. Some of the windows of the lodge room were replaced with aluminium sliding windows in the 1990s, for improved ventilation.[32]

In 2021, Ayr Masonic Temple is still used by Fuller 228. Ayr 211 (Ayr-Seaforth 211 from 1985) became defunct in 1997, and Delta 112 became defunct in mid-2021.[33] The building remains highly intact and retains a considerable amount of early Masonic furniture and fittings.

Description

Ayr Masonic Temple (1935) is a highly-intact, two-storey building located at the periphery of the central business district of Ayr. It occupies a rectangular corner site fronting northwest to Macmillan Street with Mackenzie Street on its southwest side. It is prominent within the immediate streetscape due to its height, corner location, and architectural style, and is also visible from the public parkland, Anzac Park, across Mackenzie Street. The building features many Masonic symbols integrated in the architectural details.

The building is rectangular with brick walls, timber-framed hip roofs clad with corrugated metal sheets, and a well-composed front elevation in cement render – a Neo-Classical temple-front in the Greek Doric order. The side and rear elevations feature fine face brick with regularly-spaced openings and cement render dressings. The blank rear wall is face brick and has an attached one-storey face brick service block.

The building stands back from its front boundary behind an original front fence and flat front garden of lawn with central concrete path to the front door. The ground floor accommodates a large Ballroom/Public Hall occupying the entire width and length of the main block. A connection at the rear of this room leads through to the Supper Room in the service block. A winding timber stair at the front of the Ballroom provides access to the first floor, which accommodates a landing area used as an Assembly Room with a changeroom, leading into a large private meeting hall (Lodge Room).

Concrete portal frames span the large ground floor Ballroom, and the first floor roof reportedly includes cast iron members (not sighted) to span the large first floor Lodge Room and support its domed ceiling. The service block has a concrete floor and timber-framed roof.

The openings of the first floor are smaller and have obscured glass, indicating the secrecy of the lodge meeting room within. Some openings of the Supper Room into the later extensions may be original.

The place retains original furniture, fixtures, and fittings including Masonic ceremonial furniture.

Extensions have been made to the service block since construction, which are not of state-level cultural heritage significance. These extensions are accessed via openings in the formerly external walls of the supper room, some of which appear original.

Features of Ayr Masonic Temple of state-level cultural heritage significance include:

• original form – freestanding, rectangular, two-storey main block with one-storey rear service block
• temple-front: symmetrical composition; honey-coloured cement render walls, pediment, and entablature, scored to imitate ashlar coursing with pale ‘mortar’ lines, wrapping around to the sides of the building; giant Doric order fluted pilasters, central entrance doorway awning, scrolled brackets and small pilasters in white lime-washed render; raised render lettering ‘AL 5935’ of pediment; cement render front stair the width of the building; white marble foundation and dedication stones; small carved Masonic symbol infilled with white render on front cornerstone facing Mackenzie Street; and window openings at first floor only
• side and rear elevations of main block, and service block: red face brick walls, cement render dressings, and cement vents
• window and door openings of side walls of main block (expressing public functions of ground floor and private meeting function of first floor): ground floor – tall windows; outwards-opening doors with fanlights, cement render steps, and small top-hung awnings. First floor – small, high-set windows with obscure glass
• concrete portal and loadbearing brick walls
• floors: timber-framed with timber board linings (main block) and concrete slab-on-ground (service wing)
• roofs: timber-framed, ventilated Dutch gable roof of main block (ventilation has been sheeted over), original metal framing members over domed ceiling; timber-framed hip roof of service block (excluding later extensions); corrugated metal sheet cladding; wide metal ogee gutters (matching ogee of render front cornice; timber batten-lined (ventilated) eaves; timber fascia boards; square metal downpipes and their metal straps with decorative medallions
• internal layout: ground floor public spaces (Ballroom/Public Hall, adjoining Supper Room in service block) and first floor private meeting spaces (Assembly Room, adjoining Lodge Room)
• plaster/render-lined internal walls, some scored to imitate ashlar coursing
• decorative, moulded plaster cornices and ceilings (Ballroom, Assembly Room, Lodge Room)
• flat sheet and timber battens-lined coved ceiling (Supper Room); flat sheet-lined ceiling (Vestibule)
• early joinery, fixtures, fittings, and furniture (timber features are primarily silky oak – Grevillea robusta) including:

  Ballroom:

• doors: timber double front doors with bolection moulding and their fanlight with stained glass depiction of Square and Compasses; timber panelled double doors in entry Vestibule with glazing and their parliament hinges; timber panelled and boarded double side doors and their operable glazed fanlights with arctic glass; timber double doors with bolection moulding into Supper Room
• timber quarter round ‘skirting’ and moulded timber dado rails
• clear-finished internal timber stair, which also forms the Vestibule and small Ladies Dressing Room, including its: steps and  balustrade with square balusters, shaped newel post, and moulded handrail; flat veneer walls with square cover strips of Vestibule; and v-jointed (VJ) board walls and Ladies Dressing Room door and gold lettering ‘LADIES DRESSING ROOM’
• small wall-mounted, timber-framed mirror in Ladies Dressing Room
• timber dais and its: early upright piano (excludes later electric organ also on dais); integrated hinged storage at dais front edge; and small timber shelf mounted to vestibule wall
• timber wall-mounted meeting calendar board
• clear-finished timber slat benches

  Assembly Room:

• clear-finished timber moulded door architraves
• clear-finished panelled doors into Lodge Room and sliding peep hole of main doors
• timber-framed, VJ-lined partitions forming small Dressing Room and adjacent robes/aprons cupboard, including timber and metal robe hooks, hanging rods, and shelves
• clear-finished timber slat benches and swivel chair
• timber picture rail, World War II honour board, and marble plaques
• metal, wall-mounted robe/apron hooks
• plaster ceiling vents (grille closed over)
• vinyl floor tiles with inserted Square and Compasses motif

  Lodge Room:

• layout comprising entry at the northwest (short) end of room, general audience seating galleries along both long sides, a central open space for rituals, and raised dais the width of the room at southeast (far) end
• timber-framed perimeter seating gallery clad with blue vinyl tiles and its clear-finished timber slat benches
• open central space and central vinyl tiles area (black and white checkerboard surrounded by blue tiles) surrounded by a blue carpeted area
• small stepped timber-framed dais (Senior Warden) at northwest end of room clad with blue and white vinyl tiles and its clear-finished timber lectern (Masonic pedestal), chair, and adjacent standard lamp
• clear-finished timber altar and kneeler with blue vinyl upholstery on central open area toward southeast end
• projecting dais with clear-finished timber lectern and chair in centre of southwestern side (Junior Warden) flanked by clear-finished timber chairs (Senior Steward and Junior Steward), and adjacent clear-finished timber stands and standard lamp
• clear-finished timber twin lectern and two chairs (Treasurer and Secretary) on side gallery toward the southeast end
• clear-finished timber chairs and lectern in centre of southeast dais (Worshipful Master’s chair in centre, flanked by chairs for visiting District Grand Master (left) and any Past Masters (right)) 
• plaster dome-vaulted ceiling with deeply-projecting perimeter plaster ceiling and ventilation recess between cornice and dome
• three large circular plaster ceiling vents (grilles closed over) and star-shaped opening in ceiling at end of room (closed over) and its concealed light in roof space
• clear-finished timber sword stand (narrow, short stand depicting a ladder rising from a book to a star excluding bayonets bayonets)
• clear-finished timber Tracing Boards (tall, narrow stand with moveable boards depicting allegorical Masonic scenes)
• Masonic lewis – small timber tripod with suspended stone
• two small cubes of cut stone (Rough and Perfect Masonic Ashlar Stones) one rough cut (positioned on the Junior Warden’s dais) and one smooth finished (Senior Warden’s dais)
• freestanding, sheet-metal arch at northwest end of room (remnant of defunct Burdekin Royal Arch Chapter, which formerly operated from the building)

      Masonic fittings and furniture collection temporarily stored in 2021 within Ladies Dressing Room and extensions to Supper Room: 

• early Masonic furniture, including lecterns, chairs, and desks, some bearing Masonic motifs such as the five-pointed star of the Order of the Eastern Star (in 2021 stored in Ladies Dressing Room and extension to Supper Room)
• framed, painted World War I honour board (stored in extension to Supper Room in 2021)  

• original steel-framed windows: multi-pane casements; square, horizontal centre pivot windows; frosted glazing in windows of first floor
• original door, window, and fanlight hardware including Square and Compasses knocker on main doors to Lodge Room
• original and early electric light fittings (and glass shades) of Lodge Room
• Early electrical fittings: two wall-mounted metal light sconces on front elevation, ceiling fans (matching) – 2 in Lodge Room, 1 in Assembly Room, 1 in Supper Room, decorative ceiling pendant light – 1 Lodge Room and its suspended letter ‘G’ on chains, milk glass ceiling lights – 4 in Lodge Room
• front fence (c1935) comprising rendered masonry piers joined by a low rendered masonry wall and a metal pipe and chain mesh palisade, central entrance double gates of metal pipe and chain mesh with scrolled metalwork decorations, decoratively-shaped rendered pier caps
• open front yard of flat lawn and central concrete path with short stair at front gate
• views of the building from a variety of locations along McMillan and Mackenzie streets allowing an appreciation of the place’s aesthetic attributes and the contrast between the decorated front and plain sides.

Features of Ayr Masonic Temple not of state-level cultural heritage significance include:

• later extensions of rear service block (by 1958 and by 1969) wrapping its three sides and partially-enclosed to form toilets and a storeroom, comprising skillion roofs extending from the original roof
• metal roller door of service block (opening likely original)
• sheeting over of ventilation of Dutch gable roof
• non-original partition doors on mid-stair landing and bracketed ledge of main stair
• non-original aluminium-framed windows of first floor (within original openings)
• closing over of star-shaped opening in ceiling of Lodge Room 
• internal kitchen fitout of service block including floor tiles
• modern furniture, fixtures, and fittings including piano stools, electric organ, dining tables and chairs, kitchen furniture, benches not mentioned previously, framed wall-hung portrait of QEII (1957), later mid-century timber chairs with black vinyl upholstery
• carpet on internal main stair
• modern electrical services, cables/conduits, fixtures, and fittings (excluding those previously mentioned), including fluorescent lights, later electric ceiling fans of Lodge Room (around perimeter of room)
• wall-mounted metal leaning bars of Ballroom perimeter
• wall-mounted Honour Board (dedicated 2000) in Ballroom
• bayonets of sword stand
• chain mesh boundary fence and rock-faced retaining wall along Mackenzie Street boundary

References

[1] Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Cultural Heritage Database and Register, https://culturalheritage.datsip.qld.gov.au/achris/public/public-registry/home (accessed 6 October 2021)
[2] ‘Lower Burdekin’, Brisbane Courier 30 November 1878, p.6 (selections at Jarvisfield Station); ‘Lower Burdekin’, The Queenslander 3 April 1880, p.423 (sugar cane cultivation); ‘Department of Resources Survey Plan A2651, 1882 (Town of Ayr); Resources, Survey Plan RP704909, 1882 (Survey of Brandon); ‘Ayr’, https://queenslandplaces.com.au/ayr (Accessed 29 September 2021); ‘Ayr Court House’ QHR 601126; ‘Ayr State High School’, QHR 601574; ‘Burdekin Shire Council Chambers’, QHR 601922. A railway link to Bowen was completed in 1913. Ayr Tramway was taken over by the Queensland Government 1 January 1911 (‘Ayr Tramway taken over by the Government’, The Brisbane Courier, 2 January 1911, p.4); Resources, Survey Plan H6167, 1911 (Town of Home Hill).
[3] ‘Sugar Regions’, https://queenslandplaces.com.au/sugar-regions (accessed 27 October 2021). The other three regions are: Northern (Tully to Cairns; and Mossman); Mackay-Proserpine; and Southern (Moreton, Maryborough and Bundaberg. T Blake, ‘Queensland Cultural Heritage Places Context Study’, for the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, November 2005, pp.49-52.
[4] ‘Ayr’, https://queenslandplaces.com.au/ayr (Accessed 29 September 2021); ‘Ayr Court House’ QHR 601126; ‘Ayr State High School’, QHR 601574; ‘Burdekin Shire Council Chambers’ QHR 601922; ‘A short history of the Lower Burdekin’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 1 September 1938, p.12 (1938 population). The population of Ayr in 2016 was 8,738.
[5] D Lauder, ‘Freemasons and Freemasonry in Queensland: 1859-1989’, Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, Volume 14, Issue 1, 1990, pp.33-40.
[6] ‘Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Queensland’, https://www.royalarch.org.au/membership-join/ (accessed 5 November 2021); ‘Royal Arch Masonry’, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Arch_Masonry (accessed 5 November 2021); One Hundred and Fifty Years Celebration Committee in conjunction with N Hewton, 150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, Brisbane, United Grand Lodge of Queensland, 2009, pp.130-1. Royal Arch chapters can also be referred to as a ‘Red Lodge’.
[7] The term ‘Masonic lodge’ has been used to refer either to a group of Freemasons, or the building they meet in. In this document, the term ‘lodge’ is used to refer to a group of Freemasons. ‘Masonic temple’ could also either refer to the room in which a Masonic lodge meets, or the building they meet in. For this document, the term is applied to the building, while the term ‘lodge room’ is used for the meeting room.
[8] ‘Mackay Masonic Temple’ QHR 602731; G Stewart ‘King Solomon’s Temple as a Symbol to Freemasonry’, https://freemasoninformation.com/2016/04/king-solomons-temple-as-a-symbol-to-freemasonry/  (accessed 20 October 2021); ‘King Solomon’s Temple and Freemasonry: A Framework for Self Improvement’, https://www.freemason.com/king-solomon-temple-freemasonry/   (accessed 20 October 2021); ‘The Five Noble Orders Of Architecture’ https://www.masoniclibrary.org.au/research/list-lectures/114-the-five-noble-orders-of-architecture.html (accessed 20 October 2020); examination of window placement of various Masonic temples in WL Budgen, Masonic Centres of Queensland: concise histories of the construction and use of Freemasons' Halls throughout the State of Queensland, St Lucia, Wayne L Budgen, 2005.
[9] 150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.6-10. Not all lodges immediately joined their respective Provincial Grand Lodges.
[10] 150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.2, 12-26; Lauder, ‘Freemasons and Freemasonry in Queensland’, p.34; ‘Local Intelligence’, The Moreton Bay Courier, 11 May 1859, p.2 (new Freemason’s Hotel); Budgen, Masonic Centres of Queensland, p.76 (first masonic hall at Ipswich). A Masonic hall was constructed for the Provincial Grand Lodge (EC) in 1867 on Albert Street, Brisbane, with a new hall in Alice Street in 1886 (150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.15, 20). The Provincial Grand Lodge (EC) changed its name to District Grand Lodge in 1867, with the Provincial Grand Lodge (SC) doing likewise in 1880. The North Australian Lodge numbered 1098 on the roll of the United Grand Lodge of England but was later No.1 on the roll of the United Grand Lodge of Queensland.
[11] 150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.28-41; Lauder, ‘Freemasons and Freemasonry in Queensland’, pp.36-7; Pers. Comm. Ian Tomlinson, Executive Manager, UGLQ, 27 September 2021 (use of ‘QC’). In 1904 the District Grand Lodge (SC) was divided into southern (Queensland) and northern (North Queensland) districts (Lauder, ‘Freemasons and Freemasonry in Queensland’, pp.34-5).
[12] 150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.42-46, 106; Lauder, ‘Freemasons and Freemasonry in Queensland’, pp.37-8; ‘Masonic Unity. United Grand Lodge of Queensland’, Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 28 April 1921, p.9 (member numbers at unification); ‘Masonic Temple’ QHR 600074 (Ann Street, Brisbane); Pers. Comm. Ian Tomlinson, Executive Manager, UGLQ, 27 September 2021 (GLQ renumbering).
[13] 150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.50, 57, 59, 71, 81, 91, 107. The membership of the District Grand Lodge of North Queensland peaked in 1961, with 2,976 members in 40 lodges.
[14] ‘Masonic consecration and dedication’, North Queensland Register, 16 December 1896, p.21; ‘Masonic installation at Ayr’, Evening Telegraph (Charters Towers), 7 July 1903, p.3 (Delta Lodge number); Resources, Survey Plan A2651, 1882 (2 roods, of allotment 6 of Section IV); Resources, Deed of Grant 20032080, June 1883 (trustees, April 1902); Budgen, Masonic Centres of Queensland, p.13 (use of other halls for meetings, cost of land). Until there was a Masonic hall in Ayr, the Delta Lodge also held dance functions at the Federal Hall (‘Entirely between ourselves’, Queensland Figaro, 29 August 1901, p.12). Mackenzie Street and Macmillan Street were originally known as Khedive Street and Osman Street, but these names, which, like a number of original Ayr street names, had Ottoman Turkish origins, were changed c1920-21 after public pressure. (Department of Resources Survey Plan A2651, 1882; ‘Country News, Ayr’, The Daily Mail (Brisbane), 17 August 1920, p.3; ‘Ayr street names. Letter to the Editor’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 31 March 1936, p.3).
[15] ‘”Leonta” at Ayr and the Lower Burdekin’, North Queensland Register, 23 March 1903, p.35; ‘Masonic installation at Ayr’, Evening Telegraph (Charters Towers), 7 July 1903, p.3; Budgen, Masonic Centres of Queensland, p.13 (meetings in Masonic hall from March 1903). The first Masonic temple in Home Hill, which cost £960, was consecrated in 1925, and replaced in 1981 (‘Northern Notes and News’, The Western Champion (Barcaldine), 25 July 1925, p.20; Budgen, Masonic Centres of Queensland, p.70)
[16] ‘Ayr’, https://queenslandplaces.com.au/ayr (Accessed 29 September 2021) (population 1911); ‘Lower Burdekin Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 10 October 1912, p.3 (Installation of officers for the year 1912-13); ‘Masonic Lodges going down in history’, The Advocate, 20 May 2011, p.4 (Ayr Lodge consecrated 1911).
[17] ‘The Northern Miner’, The Northern Miner (Charters Towers), 5 July 1913, p.4 (Fuller Lodge); ‘Lower Burdekin Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 18 July 1914, p.3 (Fuller Lodge number); ‘Celebrating 100 years of Fuller Lodge 1913 — 2013’, booklet, pp.2-4; ‘Masonic Lodges going down in history’, The Advocate, 20 May 2011, p.4, and Pers. Comm, Ian Tomlinson, Executive Manager, UGLQ, 27 September 2021 (Lodges’ renumbering).
[18] ‘Lower Burdekin Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 5 October 1916, p.2; Information from Fuller Lodge member, 2 November 2021.
[19] ‘Ayr and Home Hill’, Brisbane Courier, 1 May 1924, p.11, and ‘Ayr Shire Council, Diggers license’, Cairns Post, 23 May 1928, p.12 (use of lower portion of Masonic hall); ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 22 January 1931, p.11 (hall too small). Although the sugar industry allowed Ayr to prosper during the Great Depression, its effects were still present. The first Masonic hall was utilized by the Salvation Army in 1932 to serve a Sunday afternoon tea to 31 unemployed men camping in the town over the weekend (‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin 7 January 1932, p.8).
[20] ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 24 May 1934, p.5; Budgen, Masonic Centres of Queensland, p.13 (1928 decision on a new hall); ‘Celebrating 100 years of Fuller Lodge 1913 — 2013’, p.4 (funding sources).
[21] ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 11 October 1934, p.3; ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 13 December 1934, p.9 (‘Ayr Masonic Building Committee’); ‘Celebrating 100 years of Fuller Lodge 1913 — 2013’, p.4 (refers to the ‘Lower Burdekin Masonic Building Committee’) and p.9 (list of Past Masters of Fuller Lodge).
[22] ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 11 October 1934, p.3; ‘Industrial Inquiry’, Townsville Daily Bulletin 9 June 1925, p.4 (Lewer the Secretary of the Master Builders’ Association, Townsville); ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 7 September 1931, p.9, and ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 10 October 1935, p.8 (Lewer’s concrete shops etc in Ayr).
[23] ‘Ayr Masonic Temple, foundation stone laid’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 10 December 1934, p.5; ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 13 December 1934, p.9 (casket under the foundation stone).
[24] ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 11 October 1934, p.3 (room dimensions); ‘New Masonic Temple, consecration ceremony at Ayr’, Proserpine Guardian, 29 June 1935, p.4 (lower storey: ballroom and public hall). The October 1934 article claimed the building’s façade, and ballroom, would be faced with ‘freestone’, but concrete was instead used.
[25] ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 27 June 1935, p.12. Green had been the Grand Master of the UGLQ in 1929-31 and 1932-4, but continued to act in place of his successor, Queensland’s Governor, Sir Leslie Orme Wilson (1934-46), as required during 1934-6. Green, then Member of the Queensland Parliament for Townsville, had also previously been District Grand Master of North Queensland, 1922-4 (150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.54, 105-6, 172).
[26] ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 27 June 1935, p.12 (valuable addition to the town); ‘New Masonic Temple, consecration ceremony at Ayr’, Proserpine Guardian, 29 June 1935, p.4 (most outstanding building in Ayr). Later in 1935, another new Masonic temple, costing £12,000, was dedicated in Cairns (‘Cairns Masonic Temple’, QHR 601539) (‘Masonic Temple dedicated’, Courier Mail, 14 October 1935, p.15). Ayr Masonic Temple has the lettering ‘AL 5935’ on the front pediment. The Masonic calendar adds 4000 years to the Gregorian year, so ‘Anno Lucius 5935’ (years since the believed creation of the earth c4000 BCE) is equivalent to 1935.
[27] ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 27 June 1935, p.12.
[28] Budgen, Masonic Centres of Queensland, p.13 (original furniture from Delta Lodge); Burdekin Shire Council Library Services Image bur00101 (shows old Masonic hall, adjacent to the current temple, being dismantled, in 1936; plus the masonry fence in front of the current temple).
[29] Budgen, Masonic Centres of Queensland. Of the nine masonry (brick, concrete or stone) temples listed by Budgen as built prior to the interwar period, only 5 had classical detailing on their façade.
[30] ‘Ayr Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin 25 June 1936, p.11 (Second annual Masonic Ball in building); ‘Ayr Notes’ Townsville Daily Bulletin 10 February 1938, p.12 (RACQ meeting); ‘Governor visits Ayr’, The Courier Mail, 25 September 1936, p.14; ‘Ayr District’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 23 July 1952, p.7 (Gair attends ALP function at Temple); ‘Ayr man dead’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 5 August 1952, p.2 (funeral of George Rennie); Budgen, Masonic Centres of Queensland, p.13 (temple was once a popular venue for weekly dances and wedding receptions); Information from Applicant (other community uses, markets); information from Fuller Lodge member, 2 November 2021 (ongoing community use).
[31] Information from Fuller Lodge member, 2 November 2021.
[32] ‘Ayr development pushed by Council. Big works under way’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 10 July 1950, p.6 (surveying occurring, for town’s water supply and sewerage system); Department of Resources aerial photographs QAP0864016, 22 October 1958; QAP14795054, 30 June 1964; and QAP2009063, 10 June 1969; information from Fuller Lodge member, 2 November 2021 (1990s windows). Prior to a sewerage system, the Masonic Temple probably had Earth Closets elsewhere on the site. A small building is located in the northeast corner of the allotment in the 1958 aerial photograph. A 1980 plan for an extension along the southwest side of the building did not occur (‘Proposed extension at Masonic Hall’, plan dated 13 November 1980 (provided by Applicant). The 2021 supper room fit-out, and the roller door on the northeast side of the supper room, existed by 1980, when the supper room was labelled as a ‘kitchen’).
[33] ‘Masonic Lodges going down in history’, The Advocate, 20 May 2011, p.4; Pers. Comm, Ian Tomlinson, Executive Manager, UGLQ, 27 September 2021.

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