Ayr Masonic Temple is a heritage-listed masonic temple at 118–120 Macmillan Street, Ayr, Shire of Burdekin, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1935 by Harry Lewer Percival. It is also known as Lower Burdekin Masonic Temple / Ayr Masonic Centre. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 25 February 2022.
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 south-east 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 south-east of Townsville, near Plantation Creek in the lower Burdekin River's delta, in the traditional land of the Bindal people.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) 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. Sugarcane 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.'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) A railway link to Bowen was completed in 1913. Ayr Tramway was taken over by the Queensland Government on 1 January 1911.'Ayr Tramway taken over by the Government', The Brisbane Courier, 2 January 1911, p.4Resources, Survey Plan H6167, 1911 (Town of Home Hill).
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. The other three regions are: Northern (Tully to Cairns and Mossman), Mackay–Proserpine, and Southern (Moreton, Maryborough and Bundaberg.Thom Blake, "Queensland Cultural Heritage Places Context Study", for the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, November 2005, pp.49-52.
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); Ayr Court House (1936); Ayr Post Office (1936); and Ayr State High School (1937).'A short history of the Lower Burdekin', Townsville Daily Bulletin, 1 September 1938, p.12
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.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. "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 (also known as a "Red Lodge").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
Masonic halls or temples (the terms are interchangeable) 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.'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)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.
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 " 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 1888.150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.6-10 Not all lodges immediately joined their respective Provincial Grand Lodges.
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 1866.150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.2, 12-26Lauder, "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. 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.150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.15, 20
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.150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.28-41Lauder, "Freemasons and Freemasonry in Queensland", pp.36-7 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
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. The Brisbane Masonic Temple was the headquarters for the UGLQ. It had four storeys plus basement and was dedicated in December 1930 on Ann Street, Brisbane, at a cost of £103,000, not including furniture and the land.150 years of Queensland Freemasonry, pp.42-46, 106Lauder, "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)