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By Jack Patterson
Note:
This article confines itself to the history of the Auckland lodge and the H.P.B.
Lodge. The New Zealand Section Headquarters has always been in Auckland but
as its Centenary will he celebrated in 1996 it will be referred to only as necessary
to complete the histories of the Lodges.
The birth
of Theosophy in New Zealand did not take place in Auckland although this city
has always been the centre of the Theosophical Society in this country. Mr Augustine
Les Edgar King was the first New Zealand member, having joined when on a visit
to London. His Diploma is dated 31rd April 1879 and on his return to New Zealand
he became the first member of the Society in the Southern Hemisphere.
Mr Thomas
G de Remzy of Dunedin joined in January 1883 and at the end of that year Mr
& Mrs James Cox became members in Auckland. Col. Olcott writing of Mr Cox
says: ''He had such a reputation as a psychometrist principally by the way of
distinguishing disease that he made a good living by practicing the profession,
constantly going between Auckland and Sydney to see his patients.'' Mr E.T.
Sturdy whom Col. Olcott referred to as the ''Father of Theosophy in New Zealand'',
joined the Society in 1885 while living at Woodville in Hawkes Bay. After travelling
overseas and meeting Col. Olcott, H.P. Blavatsky and W.Q. Judge he returned
to New Zealand and settled in Wellington. Gathering a group of students around
him he started the Wellington Lodge which was chartered in 1888. Unfortunately
this, the first lodge in New Zealand, ceased to exist when Mr Sturdy returned
to England, where he became a student in H.P.B.'s ''inner group''.
The birth of Theosophy in Auckland really happened when in the six months
between September 1891 and March 1892 sixteen persons joined the Society.
Among them were Mr W.H. Draffin, Samuel Stuart, Margaret Lilian Edger
and Dr Charles W. Sanders, all of whom were destined to play important
roles in the future work of the Society. Mr Draffin was headmaster of
one of the Public Schools of Auckland and Mrs Draffin is mentioned by
Col. Olcott in 0Id Diary Leaves as ''having suddenly blossomed
out as an eloquent platform speaker after having passed through a very
severe illness.'' Mr Stuart was a keen student of Mathematics, Astronomy
and Astrology but was unable to accept the more esoteric aspects of Theosophy.
Miss Edger M.A. (Hons) was one of the first women in the British Empire
to gain a University Degree. Four years later she became the first General
secretary of the N.Z. Section but enticed by Col. Olcott, who recognised
her outstanding ability as a lecturer, she soon departed overseas. Dr
Sanders, a practicing homoeopath, became General Secretary after Miss
Edger and held that office for twenty one years. He was a born propagandist
and had a large private correspondence throughout New Zealand.
This group of enthusiastic Auckland members soon formed the Auckland Lodge,
the Charter of which is dated 24th March 1892.
The Auckland Lodge elected Mr Draffin as their first President. They may have
occupied their own rooms earlier but it is recorded that in 1896 the Auckland Lodge was
sharing rooms with the newly-formed New Zealand Section on the second floor of the
Mutual Life Building in Lower Queen Street.
These premises
which included a small lecture hall and several other rooms were. even in those
days, open the greater part of every day with the daily lunch table part of
the activities. A study class met every Tuesday. Regular Sunday lectures were
held in a large barn-like hall in Lower Symonds Street in which the 500 available
seats were usually well filled. In those days there was no transport available
on Sundays and as nearly all the members of the Lodge lived two or three miles
from the hall, attendance at these meetings meant about an hour's walk each
way up and down several long hills.
In 1896,
because one more Lodge was needed to form the New Zealand Section, some Auckland
members formed the Waitemata Lodge on the North Shore which lasted only about
a year. However the Onehunga Lodge founded in 1904 lasted till 1929 due to the
efforts of two keen members Melville Newton and J.H. Simpson who were both scholarly
lecturers.
The Hemus family home in Ponsonby Road was a centre of Theosophical activity
for about 35 years. It seems that meetings were held here as well as in
the city. Miss Geraldine Hemus writing about the early days of the Theosophical
Society in Auckland in the 1946 Jubilee number of Theosopby in New
Zealand describes this community house and a photograph of it is reproduced.
Miss Hemus writes ''My mother (Mrs G.E. Hemus) and her two sisters, Miss
L. Edger and Mrs M. Judson all joined the Society in the early nineties
and became enthusiastic workers. About 1893 Miss Edger acquired the property.
Mr Draffin, then President of the Auckland Branch and his wife went to
live there with her and many Theosophical gatherings were held in the
spacious rooms.'' For a time it was leased for a Boys School but in 1898,
after failure to sell the property, the Hemus family moved back in and
were joined by Mr. Frank Davidson (the Assistant General Secretary) and
some other members, making it again a community house. It was in this
house that Mrs. Besant and other overseas visitors were accommodated.
It must seem amazing to us today that so many distinguished visitors braved
the stormy Tasman sea and the rigours of travel in this young country
to visit the newly formed Lodges. Of course they all spent time in Auckland.
Firstly Mrs. Cooper-Oakley came in 1893 and Mrs. Besant , was in Auckland
the following year staying in the bedroom with the dormer-window in the
Ponsonby house. Miss Hemus says she was then at the heyday of her oratorical
power and gave some wonderful lectures to packed audiences in the old
Albert Street Hall. The Countess Wachmeister came in 1895-6 and in 1897
Colonel Olcott spent about a fortnight in Auckland. At this time the ministers
of various churches in Auckland by branding Theosophy 'Anti-Christian',
gave it publicity and many of the public came to meetings to hear what
it was all about. When Colonel Olcott spoke on 'Healing and Spiritualism',
1000 people crowded into the hall and in the press report of the meeting
he was called a "genial, well-educated and cultured gentleman"!
Towards the end of 1902 trouble arose between members of the Auckland Lodge which
could not be resolved and several members including Dr. Sanders and the
Draffinss seceded and formed a new Lodge which was chartered under the
name 'H.P.B.' on 11th February 1903. Mr. Sam Stuart remained with the
Auckland Lodge but its membership dwindled and its Charter was handed
back in July 1924. The H.P.B. Lodge took rooms first in the Strand Arcade
and then in His Majesty's Arcade. The Section moved in early 1906 to the
City Chambers where a fire occurred in June causing the loss of many records.
After that the Section and H.P.B. Lodge both moved to 351 Queen Street
where they occupied the whole building even setting up a printing press
in the basement. To improve the slum conditions around 351 Queen Street
the members used meditation and concentrated thought. This appears to
have had some effect because shortly afterwards Myers Park was developed.
Both H.P.B. Lodge and the Section remained there until they moved into
the present building at 371 Queen Street which was opened in 1923.
In 1904 John Ross Thomson and William Crawford came to Auckland. They were then two
very Scotch young men whose speech was often difficult to understand, but they
were fired with enthusiasm for Theosophy. Mr Thomson, who was later known affectionately
as 'J.R.T.', had been a socialist and spiritualist in England but after meeting
Annie Besant joined the Theosophical Society. Shortly after arriving in New
Zealand in 1902 he met William Crawford at a meeting of the Wellington Lodge.
They became firm friends and worked together for the rest of their lives. J.R.T.
was a born leader of men with a rare understanding of human nature and a magnetic
personality which attracted young members. He had the gift of expressing theosophical
concepts with great clarity and his closing remarks as Chairman often made a
deeper impression on the audience than the lecture had done. He could also be
forceful. Harry Banks, who worked closely with him, told the story of how J.R.T.,
at a Convention, won a heated verbal battle with Sam Stuart who could not accept
the aim of living a spiritual life under the guidance of the Masters which energised
the whole of J.R.T.'S life.
Mr. Thomson
became President of H.P.B. Lodge in the third year of its existence (1905) and
was re-elected to that office right up to 1933 when his health began to fail.
He was also General Secretary from 1918 to 1925, when Mr. Crawford took that
office which he filled for fourteen years. Two other life-long workers for the
Lodge, Miss Nettie Ockenden and Mrs Esther Turner, also joined in 1904.
In 1905 C.W. Leadbeater spent a fortnight in Auckland taking five combined
meetings of the Auckland and H.P.B. Lodges which attracted audiences of
nearly 100. Two very inspiring lecturers Miss Kate Browning M.A. and Miss
Catherine Christie, both from Dunedin gave series of Sunday evening lectures
in Auckland to large audiences. In 1908 Annie Besant drew audiences of
1000 to her two lectures, and when C.W. Leadbeater came again in 1914
and 1915 his public lectures attracted equally large audiences. With so
much strength and inspiration flowing into the Lodge its membership which
had been 70 in 1905 grew to 280 in 1915. When Miss Christie was in Auckland
that year she lectured to audiences of 250 every Sunday in one of the
Public Theatres and in 1918 for nine consecutive months she lectured in
the concert chamber of the Town Hall every Sunday. H.P.B. membership reached
400! The Lodge had been incorporated in 1915 and title taken for a possible
site in Geys Avenue for a building. In December 1921 the Lodge soId this
site at a good profit and acquired for £4,000 the section at 371
Queen Street. Plans were prepared by Mr. Robinson, an English architect
who had joined the Society. A tender of £9,982 was accepted and
on 16th December 1922 the Lodge President, J.R. Thomson, laid the foundation
stone. Nine months later the formal opening and consecration of the building
took place.
Soon after
the opening of the building Miss Clara Codd and Professor Ernest Wood lectured
from its platform and C. Jinarajadasa visited in 1925, Dr. G.S. Arundale and
Rukmini in 1930 and L.W. Rogers from America in 1932. During the recession of
the thirties many members resigned but the Lodge managed to meet its financial
obligations. In 1933 failing health caused Mr. Thomson to give up the Presidency
thus terminating 29 years as teacher, guide and leader. Mr. Geoffrey Trevithick
was elected President and filled that Office with efficiency and harmony until
1948 when he declined nomination. In 1934 when Krishnamurti talked at H.P.B.
Lodge many of his supporters stormed up on the platform with him.
A great impetus to theosophical work in New Zealand and especially in Auckland,
was given by Geoffrey Hodson who arrived in December 1940 to be Guest
Speaker at the Christchurch Convention. He made Auckland his headquarters
and stayed in New Zealand for an unbroken ten years. As National Lecturer
he visited all the Lodges but gave the largest share of his time to H.P.B.
Lodge which benefited tremendously. His lectures even when extended to
a series over several weeks, attracted at least 100 members and public.
He still helped H.P.B. Lodge when he returned from overseas to his New
Zealand home at 17 Belvedere Street but in later years the frequency of
his lectures was reduced. His last lecture to an audience which filled
the hall was given at H.P.B. Lodge on 4th May 1982 on the Subject 'Kundalini
Shanti - its use in Occult Research'. This is a very remarkable achievement
for one who at the time was ninety six years of age. He died in Auckland
early in the next year.
Many of his books were written in Auckland and one, Theosophy Answers Some
Problems of Life actually came from his answers to questions from
the audience in H.P.B. Lodge. Several H.P.B. Lodge members helped him
in research, provided illustrations for his books and typed or edited
material. But most of his work was carried out by Sandra Hodson (nee Chase)
who as Geoffrey's wife and Secretary worked unceasingly, especially in
the last few years of his life, to help him complete the books he was
writing. She published, after his death, The Light of the Sanctuary
in which many diary notes cover his life in Auckland.
The Golden Jubilee Convention of the New Zealand Section was held in H.P.B.
Lodge in 1946 with N.Sri Ram representing the International President.
It was a record gathering and the photograph taken at the time in Myers
Park shows nearly two hundred members. Miss Emma Hunt who was general
Secretary at this time produced the Golden Jubilee number of Theosophy
in New Zealand (April-June 1946) in which she carefully recorded
the history of all theosophical activity in New Zealand. The International
President. C. Jinarajadasa visited again in 1951, attracting large audiences
to H.P.B. Lodge and inspiring many with his presence. The work of the
Lodge was stimulated in the following years by visits by N.Sri Ram when
he was President and by the later Presidents John Coats and Radha Burnier.
Two international lecturers Joy Mills and Ianthe Hoskins have more recently,
not only lectured, but held instructive seminars at H.P.B. Lodge. In 1949
when Geoffrey Trevithick stood down as H.P.B. President, the Lodge elected
a younger member, Jack Patterson, to that position and two years later
another young member, Milton Thornton, became President. Limiting the
office to two years meant that many members have had the opportunity of
being President of H.P.B. Lodge, some for more than one term but none
for a long consecutive period. The membership was now again on the increase
and soon exceeded 500 making it one of the largest Theosophical Lodges
in the world. In 1948 the New Zealand Section offices were moved from
the H.P.B. Lodge building to 10 Belvedere Street, Epsom. The Liberal Catholic
church and the Co-Masonic movement both subsequently moved to their own
premises. This did not really diminish the activity in the building which
was still in use several nights a week with the Library and Book Shop
being open daily. In 1992, the year which marked the centenary of Theosophy
in Auckland, the H.P.B. Lodge, whose President was Arthur Goodall, had
a membership of 504.
In 1918 a small band of enthusiastic Auckland members of the T.S. purchased
an estate near Mt St John, Epsom, with a view to commencing a school based
on the Theosphical ideals in education. The school opened in 1919 using
the present Vasanta House. Later two open-air classrooms and an assembly
hall were built. In 1923 Miss Bertha Darroch became principal and under
her guidance Vasanta Garden School flourished, with a roll that reached
nearly 100 pupils. Unfortunately after she retired, the difficulty of
finding capable teachers with an understanding of theosophical ideas,
caused the School to close in 1959. The property reverted to the New Zealand
Section, part of it was sold and part of it was subdivided into residential
sections on leasehold tenure. This brought more members into the area
which has always been a Theosophical Centre. Over the years J.R. Thomson,
the Crawfords and Geoffrey & Sandra Hodson have lived here and have
left their influence on the area. Today Vedanta House, in a garden setting,
is the Headquarters of the Theosophical Society in New Zealand.
In the 1950's
Auckland members and others from all over New Zealand began to hold gatherings
at Orewa House set in spacious grounds near a beach 40 kilometers north of Auckland.
Soon the properly was purchased and twelve flats built to accommodate elderly
members. The old house has since been sold but the flats are still fully occupied
and a hall has been built nearby for the Orewa Lodge. In the fifties and sixties
the Theosophical Order of Service was revivified by Brian Dunningham and under
the inspiration of Geoffrey Hodson worked mainly in the field of animal welfare.
Mr Hodson was successful in having a more humane method of slaughtering animals
accepted and Miss Adrienne 0rr instituted competitions open to school children
for the best posters depicting animal welfare. These proved very popular with
the posters being displayed in the Town Hall.
About 1920
the Order of the Round Table under Mr Frank Dawn produced a booklet called Follow
the King and was later very active under Harry Banks who endeared himself
to children in Auckland and throughout New Zealand. The Order is still active
in Auckland with Margaret Johns as Chief Knight. There has always been and still
is, an active Theosophical Youth Group in Auckland and before the Second World
War they produced a magazine called the Torch.
As theosophy
moves further into its second century it is creating interest in a wide spectrum
of the public. But times have changed and among those interested there are fewer
who have the sense of responsibility and the enthusiasm to fully activate the
work of the Society. It is hoped that those reading this brief history will
be inspired to emulate the marvellous dedication and enthusiasm which was so
evident among the Auckland members in the early years of this century.
JACK PATTERSON was a distinguished N.Z. Theosophist, well known for his
THEOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES in our magazine and for his long standing contributions
to Theosophical work throughout the world.
Note:
Since the above history was written, the H.P.B. Lodge property in Queens
Street has been sold and a new building erected at 4 Warborough Avenue,
Epsom, on a section divided from the Headquarters property.
©2002 to 2012 The Theosophical Society in New Zealand
(Incorporated)
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