Introduction

In the 1920s Burleigh Township (now known as West Burleigh) was a thriving business area founded on the timber and dairying industries which surrounded it. there were a number of sawmillers, haulage contractors, blacksmiths, the Commercial Bank, carriers and retailers such as a general store, bakers, butchers, saddlery, hardware and a hotel. There was also a railway station which was situated where the pacific highway crosses Tallebudgera Creek Rd.
At the time there was no Masonic Lodge in the Burleigh area, but among the residents of the town and the business men in the area were a number of freemasons who were members of lodges from as far as Caboolture and Coolangatta. These men agreed that there was a need for a lodge and took steps to have it formed. Interestingly, only three of the founder members lived in Burleigh Heads and after the lodge was established, only eleven of the first seventy members resided there, the majority living in West Burleigh, Tallebudgera and Currumbin.
Many of the West Burleigh buildings remain today. Durvilles Hotel, after a fire, is now offices and residences. The general store is now a restaurant, the Commercial Bank (the financier of the lodge) is a residence, and Fletcher's Saddlery and Hardware Store is occupied by an Estate Agent.

Formation of the lodge

The initial meeting with a view to forming Burleigh Lodge No 307UGLQ was held in the billiard room of the Tallebudgera hotel in early 1922 and subsequent meetings were held in the Commercial Bank of Australia at West Burleigh. The discussions of these meetings came to fruition with the first lodge meeting on 26 May 1923, which was recorded as follows:

Minutes of meeting held in Lodge Room on 26 May 1923.
The dedication and installation ceremony were conducted by the Most Worshipful Deputy Grand Master, Bro R W F Quinn and Grand Lodge Officers.
After the above ceremonies were completed the names of three proposed candidates were read to the Brethren, viz.:
J L Schuster, Proposed by Bro J D Andrews, seconded by Bro S Andrews
W A Stubbs, Proposed by Bro J H Stubbs, seconded by Bro A C Black
J W Powell, Proposed by Bro E A W Shale, seconded by Wor Bro Hall.
There being no further business the meeting terminated in peace and harmony at 10pm.
Wor Master Jock Hall
Secretary Alex C Black

Listed below are the foundation members, with their mother lodge and occupation. Prominent among these is Bro S Andrews who apparently did not progress to become WM but is frequently mentioned in the minutes indicating that he was a great stalwart and benefactor of the lodge. He apparently owned a significant amount of property in the area and the suburb of Andrews takes his name. Another stalwart was Bro Schuster, one of the first candidates to be initiated in the lodge, after whom a park in Andrews is named. Only the office, rank and names were recorded in the minutes, other information is derived from the original members register, which is still in use.

THE FIRST BUSINESS MEETING

The minutes of next meeting of the lodge, held on 2/6/23, dealt with a number of motions including: a motion from Bro S W that the lodge purchase a Benzene Lamp for the lodge room and a kerosene Lamp for the ante-room. Bro J D moved that the Secretary write expressing the thanks of the lodge to the following people for assistance at the installation: Mr. Beatty for his services, the W M and the brethren of Lodge Coolangatta for the loan of the carpet, the bro D C for all the work he did and to request all brethren to thank their wives and or daughters who assisted at the installation banquet.

The W M moved that a thank you vote to the bro Treasurer, S Andrews, be recorded for his donation of £20 to the building fund and for taking the balance of the land off their hands.

Bro Chaplain proposed that the offer of £3 to paint the squares on the floor be accepted. He also moved that the W M act as caretaker of the lodge and remain on the premises. All above motions were carried.

BY LAWS
Although there is no mention of By Laws in the minutes, the printed copy was approved by Grand lodge on June 1st, 1923. Extracts relating to meeting details, By law No 1 and lodge Fees/Dues, By law No 9, are shown.

By Law No 1:
The fees of the lodge shall be as follows, payable in advance:

At the meeting on 30 January 1924 By law No 1 was amended on notice of motion – that the regular meeting to be held on the Saturday on or before the full moon (carried unanimously).
Meetings continued under this by law until 19 September 1936 after a notice of motion proposed by W Bro Black, that the lodge meet on the third Saturday, was carried unanimously on 8 August 1936.

PROGRESS IN THE FIRST YEAR

The lodge had a busy first year with sixteen meetings held before the next installation. Degree work conducted at 12 of them was – 8 initiations, 7 passings and 8 raisings – there were multiple candidates at 6 of these meetings.

On 23 July 1923 bro S Andrews was thanked for the donation of the cost of the benzene lamp and a donation of one shilling per member was collected for the Japan Relief Fund.

At the meeting on 10 May 1924 – Bro John Mathew Boyd of Lodge Plantation No 581 Glasgow, Scotland was raised to sublime degree of a M M in the presence of R Wor Bro Buckham, G S of W who criticised the work of the officers with the view to advising for improvement. Special emphasis was implied on having practice of the officers regularly. The W M thanked the G S of W and expressed belief that the brethren would follow his advice. R W Bro Kaye PAGM then spoke a few words of advice to the brethren also stressing the value of practice in the different degrees.

These words rather upset the D C (Bro W S Geikie) who tendered a letter of resignation at the following meeting, however it was moved by Bro Crook S W and bro Shale J W that the letter be left to lay on the table. At the same meeting it was pointed out that Bro Geikie had delivered the lecture on the Second Degree Tracing Board with great satisfaction and effect to the candidate and brethren. He was also presented with his Master Masons certificate on the same night. In November 1924 Bro Geikie became SW, replacing Bro Crook who had passed to the Grand Lodge above.

Apparently his resignation continued to lay on the table because he reverted to the office of deacon, progressed through the wardens' chairs and was installed as WM for 1928-29.

During the 1920s W S Geikie owned and operated several horse drawn buggies, transporting passengers from the railway station to the beach. As such, he was one of the earlier businesses to profit from the attractions of sun, sand and surf. He also promoted boxing matches at Burleigh Heads in the late twenties and early thirties.

William Fragley, who was initiated in 1946, operated the first open air picture show in 1920 and by 1923 the building was partly roofed and floored. He opened the large new Deluxe Theatre in 1930.

Installations and parades
No other officer of the lodge was a PM so the installation of Bro A E W Shale in 1924 was conducted by another Shale - RWBro R F W Shale PAGM assisted by Grand Lodge officers. Until 1929 all installations were conducted by Grand Lodge teams and from 1930 onwards the lodge apparently adopted a practice of inviting other lodges to provide the installing team. In 1930 it was Coolangatta, 1931 - AIF Lodge, 1932- Southport Lodge and in 1933 it was again Coolangatta. All subsequent installations have been conducted by the officers of Burleigh Lodge.

Apparently the ladies catered for the banquets until 1926. In May 1924 a meeting agreed to form a working party to level ground for a marquee. At the July meeting, Bro S Andrews moved that future installations take place in March to avoid exposing the ladies and their helpers to the hardships of the cold weather. From 1927 onwards these banquets were catered for by others such as Miami Hotel, Leaches Imperial Cafe, Corbett's Cafe, and Burleigh Heads Hotel until the new lodge building was occupied in 1934. Installations continued to be held in March until November 1953 when it was proposed by notice of motion that they be held in May, but at the ensuing discussion during the December meeting this was amended to the third Saturday in June, and since 1954 this has remained the day when a new master assumes the chair of King Solomon in this lodge.

In 1924 the subject of street parades was discussed and it was decided that the lodge would have quarterly parades - two to Tallebudgera Church and two to Burleigh Heads. There seems to be no record of how long they continued, or if in fact they ever took place.

Finances and building

On 19 January 1924 the treasurers report showed Income since inception to be 193 pounds, 17 shillings and 10 pence and Expenses for the same period - 612p, 10s and 6d. It was proposed by Bro S Andrews that a committee comprising the W M, Secretary and Treasurer interview the manager of the Commercial Bank regarding a reduction in the rate of interest and to speak to the Commonwealth Bank about the interest rate available there. By June 1925 it would appear that the lodge was in dire financial straits because at that meeting the W M gave verbal notice of motion that the lodge should approach Grand Lodge with the request that it assume control of the lodge and its liabilities. There is no evidence of this proceeding so it is assumed that the matter lapsed.

It is worth putting this note in the correct chronological order before proceeding with the subject of buildings and finances which apparently did not distract the officers from degree work or curb their enthusiasm. On 26 December (boxing day) a meeting was held to initiate C F Howe. Due to a family bereavement the W M could not attend. The ceremony was conducted by RWor Bro West PAGM and RWor Bro Kaye P A G M, both of Hopeful Lodge No 109. 12 members and 6 visitors attended, which seems very good for the night after Christmas day.

In late 1927, as a result of land in front of the lodge building being resumed by the Main Roads Dept, it was moved that the lodge claim from the M R D, £10  as compensation for the land plus the cost of the new title deeds and new steps from the road to the hall. Some months later it is recorded that a letter was received from the M R D enclosing a form to be completed for the claim. Insurance for the lodge furniture was £100 and the organ £5O. A tender of £4 was received for fencing, including one gate.
In 1928 it was found that the building was infested with white ants and after several inspections by various brethren, discussion at several meetings ended with Bro Bayley being given a weeks work to attend to the problem, place two new tie beams across the building and raise the corners. Once more Bro S Andrews donated £3 and Bro Rudder £1 to defray the costs. May 1932 saw the need for further repairs resulting in the formation of a committee to discuss the matter with Bro Bayley. As Bro S Andrews could not physically assist he contributed £5.

LOSS OF FOUNDATION TREASURER

Bro S Andrews died in August 1934 aged 77 years. A Lodge of Sorrow was held on Monday 21 August 1934 and the minutes record the event as follows: The lodge was opened in the first degree by the IPM, W Bro S R D Andrews, the brethren then adjourned to the cemetery where the D C, W Bro Black read the burial service. Members returned to the lodge room and the lodge was closed.

Bro S Andrews had served the lodge as Treasurer for several months after its formation, then 1925 - 1928, and 1929 until his death in 1934. At the lodge installation in 1926 there were five Andrews in attendance - J D Andrews was the W M, S R D Andrews - Chaplain, S Andrews -Treasurer, S R A Andrews - member (butcher in Burleigh) and S R Andrews - member (butcher in Mudgeeraba). How they were related is not known.

In those early days it seemed to be common practice for lodges to make fraternal visits and perform the degree work of the host lodge. Some examples are: 24 April 1926 Lodge Southport passed Bro G F Howe to the F C degree, on 27 October 1928 Lodge Clayfield passed Bro D Crook and on 20 October 1934 Lodge Clayfield raised Bros F Pocock and E C Mattock. It can only be assumed that Burleigh Lodge did likewise on visits to these lodges.

When the lodge was originally formed, Burleigh Heads consisted of several gentlemen's residences, a few cottages and tent sites for rent and a couple of stores serving the needs of the holiday makers. Rapid progress occurred after the opening of the Currumbin and Tallebudgera bridges in 1926, and the Logan and Coomera bridges in 1930/31. This reflected the flourishing trend which had occurred in West Burleigh after the opening of the railway from Nerang to Coolangatta. The lodge members showed wisdom and foresight in planning to purchase land at Burleigh.