About Us

Our Lodge had its origin in the American Hotel, Woodend, named the Lowry Lodge, and was constituted by Henry Wallace Lowry on 20/12/1861. With the formation of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria in 1895, Lowry Lodge became No 37 in the Victorian Constitution. It moved to Brighton in 1895, and in 1935 the members of several Lodges raised funds to build the Brighton Masonic Centre at 15 Church Street. The Lodge remained in Brighton until 2018, when it moved to the Bayside Masonic Centre at Gardenvale.

The membership of Freemasonry increased considerably during the Victorian gold rush, and after the two world wars, and over time Lowry Lodge sponsored the formation of many new Lodges. Since the 1960 however, membership declined, and a number of Lodges survived by amalgamation. The present Brighton District Lodge is a combination of Lowry Lodge with a number of others, hence the change of name.

Over the years a number of prominent men have been members of our Lodge, including Bro. George Turner (Premier of Victoria), Bro. Sir Richard Linton (Victorian MP and later Agent General for Victoria in London, founder of the Big Brother Movement), W. Bro. Sir Thomas White (High Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Australia in London), R.W. Bro. Brigadier R.W. Tovell (Commander at the siege of Tobruk), V.W. Bro. William Vincent Scott (who was a Light Horseman and leader of the Anzac Day March for some years).