A Melbourne foundation-stone mystery

I recently had the enjoyable opportunity to make a presentation to the Victorian Lodge of Research. The presentation was titled A Melbourne masonic mystery: The University Chancellor, the uninvited Freemasons and the foundation stone…

I began by pointing to the value of the local Masonic Library, Archive and Museum. It is full of historical gold. It's a tremendous resource which can provide unique insights into Victoria's history - especially its social history and its family history.

The story itself is set in Melbourne 1854 - 165 years ago to the day.  

Amid the excitement and disorder of the Victorian gold rush, Melbourne's elite created ‘the University.’ Its foundation stone was laid on Monday 3 July 1854 by the newly arrived Lieutenant-Governor, Charles Hotham. The master of ceremonies was Justice Redmond Barry, resplendent in his immaculate chancellerian robes – and silk stockings.

Sir Redmond Barry as Chancellor, later in life.
Picture via Wikipedia.

Professor Richard Selleck in The Shop, says the ceremony began with a procession from the city to the muddy paddock north of the city where the University was to emerge. It was intended, he imagined, to follow a familiar pattern with a prominent role for Freemasons.   

Soon after the ceremony, ‘Hiram’ wrote to the Argus, the most read paper in the city. He complained that the Freemasons had in effect been uninvited. He asserted that this would not have happened if La Trobe had been Lieutenant-Governor. He wanted an explanation.

I had come across this controversy in preparing a review of Professor John Barnes’ book, La Trobe: traveller, writer, governor. I didn’t think anyone noticed the issue before and thought it was worth investigating. So, was Selleck correct or Hiram? The answer turned out to be neither, though Hiram was nearer the mark. And the event did signal some kind of change.

The case also illustrates that further research, building on the work of Victorian Masonic historian Peter Thornton, can still yield improved understandings of both Melbourne, its people and Freemasonry in that period. Thornton, who died in 2015, may well have read everything in the Archives and his books are a great pointer to what's there. However, finding those references now is a little harder.

Barry was a prime founder of the University placing his personal stamp on it. There would be no religious test at the University for the all-male students. Professors could not be in holy orders nor could they lecture on religious topics - anywhere. La Trobe supported the institution and provided funding for it.

As many Melbourne Freemasons know, Barry became a Freemason in Dublin. In Melbourne, he affiliated with Australia Felix Lodge of Hiram in the Irish Constitution when it began in April 1847, eight years after his arrival. He remained a quiet member.

La Trobe was not a Freemason, but he was certainly a friend of the Masonic bodies, the Churches and Barry himself. He saw them all as civilising forces.

Strangely, the story of the University’s foundation stone relies on understanding what happened for the foundation stone ceremony of the first Prince’s Bridge and 1846 and the subsequent celebrations when it was opened in 1850.  

But the solution to the conundrum needed more. It needed a review of some forgotten histories and digging in the archives. Two archives actually - The University of Melbourne and the Freemasons. The search uncovered the existence of correspondence between Barry and the masters of Melbourne’s four lodges in 1854 channelled though Robert Levick the now somewhat forgotten Masonic educator of that early period.

But, as is often the case, resolving one mystery left unanswered at least one more. 

The presentation will appear as a series here over the next few months and will also (with pictures and references) be included in the Lodge’s annual Transactions, now in its 32nd year.

The first Prince's Bridge as it looked in 1870, also later in its life. How is this structure relevant to the University foundation stone?  Courtesy Museums Victoria.

A Melbourne Masonic mystery part 1: The University Chancellor