Pietersburg United Lodge No. 2485
Consecrated 29th August 1893
Meeting at: Polokwane - Masonic Hall, 66 Voortrekker Street
Meeting Dates: 1st Tuesday (ex Jan) 3rd Sat Feb Inst Feb
Contact 083 663 4782
Lodge History
One of the twelve lodges constituting the District in 1895.
The Lodge was consecrated as the Zoutpansberg Liberty Lodge but changed its name when it amalgamated with the Star of the North Lodge No 2640 in 1916. 24 candidates were initiated in the first year, including 13 at the first meeting. (The Tyler must have earned his fee of 10/6d on that occasion!) The lodge soon acquired a site, in Schoeman Street, for its own premises, which were completed and opened in October 1895, and were to be used for over 70 years until the jointly owned masonic hall in Voortrekker Street was opened in 1966. The lodge had to go into recess from 1899 to 1902, during which time the British forces used the premises as a military hospital.
On resuming after the recess, bad feeling developed between the two lodges in Pietersburg and this led to an emergency meeting in December 1902 being attended by Charles Aburrow, then Deputy District Grand Master, who urged the brethren to forget the past differences. Then, a year later, three officers were displaced for not having attended any meetings. No doubt these difficulties stemmed from feelings resulting from the war, and there was a further echo in 1905 when the lodge found itself unable to agree to contribute, as a lodge, to the cost of the District portrait of the first District Grand Master.
The amalgamation with Star of the North took some six years to conclude, but once achieved, the combined lodge made steady progress and this has been maintained throughout its history.
Members of distinction outside Masonry have included the Hon J F (Tom) Naude, at one time acting State President, and Lionel Phillips, well known in the mining world, and in earlier days, one of the main figures on the Reform Committee. An early member, M L (Solly) Marcus played a leading role in the extension of Freemasonry in the Northern Transvaal and J I Levine, then District Grand Chaplain, officiated at the laying of the foundation stone of Freemasons' Hall, Parktown.
The first member of the lodge to receive Grand rank was W Bro J L Gillett, who was the Master of the lodge in 1925/6 and then Assistant Secretary and Secretary for over 30 years. Then in 1964 W Bro W M Levy - also Secretary of the lodge for many years and one of the most active masons in the Northern Transvaal - also attained Grand rank. (So lodge secretaries have a chance of preferment - after 30 years or so !)
The lodge celebrated its Centenary, in a worthy manner, on 27 November 1993
Reference: 'A Century of Brotherhood' by A A Cooper & D E G Vieler