On this day in 1911, Lodge Te Marama No. 186 was constituted at Ngāruawāhia.
Its establishment also forms part of the early history of Lodge Tawhiri.
Freemasonry was already well established in the Waikato, but for Brethren living around Ngāruawāhia attendance at Lodge could mean travelling by horse to meetings of The Taupiri Lodge at Huntly.
In April 1911, local Freemasons began discussing the formation of a Lodge of their own.
There were then 22 Freemasons living within ten miles of Ngāruawāhia. A meeting called by Dr P Swansegar began the work of establishing the new Lodge, and by June land in Herschel Street was being considered for its future home.
As those plans developed, the proposed Lodge sought the support required to obtain its Charter.
At Lodge Tawhiri's meeting on 15 August 1911, a letter was received from the proposed new Lodge at Ngāruawāhia.
It asked Tawhiri to approve the formation of the Lodge and to recommend its petition for a Charter.
The request was unanimously approved.
Less than two months later, on 10 October 1911, Lodge Te Marama No. 186 was constituted at Ngāruawāhia.
The first meeting was held in the old Town Hall. Bro P Swansegar became the first Master and the Lodge began with 36 founding members.
The name Te Marama was associated with light, reflected in the rising sun used in the Lodge's crest.
For more than a century Te Marama formed part of Freemasonry in the Waikato.
In 2017, its members joined with members of Lodge Hillcrest and Lodge Hamutana in forming the new Lodge Waikato No. 475.
For Lodge Tawhiri, the story provides an early example of one Lodge helping another take its first steps.
Only two years after Tawhiri itself had been constituted, its Brethren were already supporting the establishment of another Lodge in the Waikato.
On 10 October, we remember that connection between Lodge Tawhiri No. 166 and Lodge Te Marama No. 186.