The Province of South Australia was established by an Act of the British Parliament and was assented to by King William IV on 15 August 1834. Freemasonry became included in the plans for the proposed new settlement with the establishment of a new Lodge in England. On 22 October 1834, the South Australian Lodge of Friendship, No 613 E.C. was warranted and met in London for the first time on 27 November.
South Australia became a legal and political entity on 19 February 1836 when letters patent proclaiming its boundaries were officially sealed. The first ships carrying colonists for the new settlement left England that same month, arriving in July. The establishment of the province was proclaimed at Glenelg in South Australia on 28 December 1836. On one of those ships was Brother GS Kingston who carried The Lodge Warrant or charter and later presented it at the first meeting of the lodge in the new colony of South Australia. Each year since the proclamation of South Australia at the old Gum tree in Glenelg, a re-enactment of the ceremony has been held with the current Master of The Lodge of Friendship invariably being in attendance.
Those first colonists arriving in South Australia in 1836 lived in scattered tents or portable dwellings until permanent structures could be erected and it was because of this lack of facilities that the lodge did not hold its first meeting in the colony until 1838.
Meetings in London
As authorized the Lodge held its first meeting at the rooms of the South Australian Association, 7 John Street, Adelphi, London on 27 November 1834. Those present were Bros. WH White and Edward Harper, Grand Secretaries, Bro. Francis Crew, WM No. 1 Lodge, Bro. Richard H Giran, WM of a Lodge not given, Bros. Geo. Aaron, Chas. Mawley, Arthur Hardy, JF Taylor, GS Kingston, Col. Leslie Walker, B Breakfit, and R Doig.
After the Lodge had been opened by Bro WH White, VW Grand Secretary (acting as WM), the usual petition for forming a new Lodge was read, to which the seven following brethren promised obedience:
Joseph Francis Taylor – Old King's Arms Lodge No.30, G.Master's Lodge No.1 and Hereford Lodge No. 578 GS Kingston, Irish Lodge No 81 Capt. Walter Meriton – Phoenix Lodge, Portsmouth, No.375, & Lodge 227 of the 46th Regiment, RA and KM Col. Leslie Walker, CA CB and KH, of Bombay Lodge EG Hancock – Lodge 259 Romford Lieut. Jackson – Renford Lodge, Sutta, also of the 94th Regiment Lodge, and R Doig – Lodge 24, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Bro. Joseph Francis Taylor was installed as first Master, and he appointed and invested Bro. GS Kingston as first Senior Warden, and Bro. Col. Leslie Walker as first Junior Warden.
The following five men were then elected to become members of Free Masonry: John Morphett, Richard Hanson, Thomas Gilbert, Robert Gouger, and Daniel Wakefield with John Morphett, Richard Hanson and Thomas Gilbert being initiated into the craft later in the same meeting.
The second meeting of the Lodge was held at the same place in London on 2 March 1835. Bro. A Hardy was appointed Inner Guard and Bros. Morphett, Hanson and Gilbert were passed to the Second Degree.
South Australia
The Lodge Warrant or Charter was brought to South Australia by Bro. GS Kingston, who presented the Warrant at the first meeting held in South Australia, the third meeting of the Lodge. This meeting took place in Adelaide on 11 August 1838 at the Assembly Rooms, Black's Hotel, Franklin Street (later the site of Rosetta Terrace). Bro H Mildred PM presided, and the nine other brethren present were PMs EB Gleeson, Gordon, Allen and J Gleeson, the SW Bro. GS Kingston, and Bros. Beare, Morphett, Gilbert and Solomon. Bro. Morphett was raised to the degree of MM and Bro GS Kingston was nominated for the office of Master. Three days later a Lodge of Emergency was called on 14 August, when Bro. Kingston was installed as Master.
The fifth meeting of the Lodge was in November 1838. It seems this meeting was held at the Turf Hotel in Waymouth Street. Mr Chas. Mann (lawyer) and Mr Chas. Berkeley (gentleman) were elected and initiated. Capt. Finnis was elected and initiated at the following meeting.
For the first few years Bros. Kingston and Mildred alternated as Master of the Lodge.
Several notable events occurred in 1841. First, a notice appeared in the newspaper the South Australian Register of 31 March 1841 as follows: