Rothesay
Writings February 2003
Les Dunstan is off to the USA with his daughter
Catherine. They will be on their way
in the next month or so. They will be
away for three months. We wish them all
the best and look forward to receiving a card or two from them.
Extract from ORDER IN THE HOUSE
M. W.
Brother A. H. Wright, Grand Master
Brethren,
as a fraternity, we are a strong and viable organisation with much to offer its
members. Yet when we look at the Craft today, and compare it with say 50 years
ago, several things stand out. This is true not only of Queensland, but also is
fairly consistent across the states in Australia, and to a greater or lesser
extent, in most of the English- speaking world. The most obvious fact is that
our membership has fallen by in excess of 50%, probably closer to 70%. We are
currently dropping by two members each day of the year! Secondly there has been
a dramatic change in the society in which we live. Undoubtedly these two are
related. To some extent, but not totally, there is a "cause and
effect" relationship.
What I
believe has happened is that the changes in society --- the
different role of women; the change in employment conditions, with short term
contracts often replacing jobs-for-life which was more the norm a half century
ago; the greater mobility of the work force; the competitive nature of
employment; the enormous change in what is perceived to be "the
necessities of life", and many more, have put competitive pressures on our
Craft. The mistake we have made is that we assumed that Freemasonry in its 1950
format would last forever, that its appeal to young men would continue
unabated, and if we just continued along the same path the future would be
assured. We now know that that assumption was wrong! We may point the finger
and accuse previous leaders of the Craft of not seeing the warning signs and
taking steps 'Years ago. But what is past, is past, and unless we act now, the
same will be said of us in ten or twenty years time.
Worshipful Master’s Visits
Itinerary
March
10th Camp Hill Lodge at Stones Corner Tyle 7:30 pm
April
1st Kianawah Lodge at Wynnum Tyle 7:15 pm
21st Newmarket/Kelvin Grove at Vulture St Tyle 7:30 pm
28th Prince Albert Lodge at Stones Corner Tyle 7:30 pm
May
13th Tarragindi Lodge at Stones Corner Tyle 7:30 pm
(Fraternal
visit)
24th Loyalty Lodge at
Stones Corner Tyle 7:30 pm
(Installation)
July
12th Myora Lodge at Stradbroke Tyle 5:30 pm
To
receive your notices by email you can let the secretary know by email on