Summary

Discussion on the formation of a District Grand Lodge of Carpentaria began in August 1921 and in December 1923 twenty-six lodges from the district petitioned for it to be formed. By 1 March 1924, Freemasons of the Cairns and district lodges succeeded in forming a Grand Lodge for the far northern district, the District Grand Lodge of Carpentaria, which then enabled local governance. Delegates representing the Freemasons' Lodges in Carpentaria gathered at the Masonic Hall for the purpose of electing a District Grand Lodge Master. William Henry John Mayers, who was first initiated in 1889 as a member of the Comet Lodge, was unanimously elected to the position. The Consecration Ceremony and Installation of District Grand Master were held in Cairns on 19 April, with special train services arranged to allow country members to attend. Over three hundred members from all parts of Cape York, Cairns district and officials from Brisbane attended. These ceremonies were followed by a banquet at the Oddfellows' Hall, with many speeches delivered and musical and elocutionary items rendered.