January 09, 2005 - 09:30 AM
Contributed by: Lodge Historian
The early Masonic Lodges in Hawaii descended from France, California, and Scotland Freemasonry was formally established in Hawaiiby
the A.A.S.R., Supreme Council of France during thereign of Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli). At the time the Island Kingdom was occupied
by British Forces under the command of Lord George Paulet of HMS
"Carysfort." The Hawaiian Flag was replaced by the Union Jack
which flew over the Islands from February 25, 1843, until July 31, 1843.
On April 8, 1843, during this uneasy
period of British
occupation Joseph-Marie Le Tellier constituted
Lodge Le Progres de l'Oceanie
under the auspices of the Ancient
& Accepted Scottish Rite of the
Supreme Council of France in the
store of Jules Dudoit, who was the French
Consul at the time. Le
Tellier was the Captain of the
French Whaler "Ajax" and sailed
it into Honolulu to have major
repair
work done on the vessel.
This was the first Masonic Lodge
to be constituted in Hawaii.
In 1905,
Lodge Le Progres de l'Oceanie
transferred its allegiance to
the Grand Lodge of California.
At this point it seems appropriate to correct
some past
claims about early Freemasonry in
Hawaii
and the founding of Lodge Le Progres de l'Oceanie.
Through the years there have
been stories claiming that
James Cook the famous British Explorer who
was the first
Westerner according to most
accounts, to discover the
Hawaiian Islands was a
Freemason.
The United Grand Lodge of
England (UGLE)
has never confirmed this assertion.
The UGLE has traced
their records back through the 18th Century and advised us nothing
has ever been found indicating that
Captain Cook was a Freemason.
Some earlier publications about Lodge Le Progres de
l'Oceanie indicate the Lodge was
constituted
aboard the French
Whaler "Ajax" by Captain Le
Tellier. Recent extensive
research has revealed that
the Lodge was constituted by him
in the Store of Jules Dudoit as
indicated in the above.
It has been assumed by some
brethren and understandably so,
that Le Tellier was the first
Master of
the Lodge he founded,
or certainly a charter member.
Once again recent research has
revealed that
although Le Tellier founded
Lodge Le Progre de l'Oceanie,
odd as it may seem he never
became a
member.
Formed in 1841 under
dispensation from the Grand
Lodge of France, we were fully
chartered in 1843. Lodge Le Progres de l’Oceanie was the
first Masonic lodge west of the
Rocky Mountains. Since then it
has continuously been a forum
for the best men of Oahu
society, a source of enrichment
for Oahu’s communities, and a
guardian of Masonic tradition.
We are currently chartered by
the Grand Lodge of Hawai’i,
issued in 1989. During the
interim we were chartered by the
Grand Lodge of California
beginning in 1905. In 1998 King
Kalakaua Daylight Lodge
amalgamated into our family.
Kings Kamehameha IV (1859,
1861-2) and Kalakaua’s (1876)
service as Worshipful Master
further distinguish our lodge as
being one of only two to have
enjoyed a reigning monarch in
that station. Iolani Palace and
McKinley School are but two
local landmarks bearing
cornerstones lain with
assistance from our lodge.
Queen’s Medical Hospital was
founded by Kamehameha IV, PM
while serving his first term.
The brethren of our Lodge also
helped to found the Honolulu
Shriner’s Hospital for Children.
Hawaiian Lodge No. 21 Free &
Accepted Masons was the second
Lodge to be established in Hawaii.
It was Chartered by the
Grand Lodge of California on May 5,
1852, and was the first Lodge in
Hawaii
to descend from an American
Grand Lodge. Hawaiian
Lodge is the oldest Lodge in the
Hawaii
Jurisdiction that has
operated continuously, with no interrupted periods
since its inception.
The first Lodge established on the Island
of Maui was Charted by the Grand
Lodge of California as
Maui Lodge No. 223,
in 1872. The Lodge prospered for a few
years but in 1877, surrendered
its
Charter due to a
lack participation.
In 1904, the Brethren on the Island
of Maui once again
sought to establish a Lodge on
the Island. An
inquiry to the
Grand Lodge of California did not elicit
much encouragement
so the Brethren contacted
Henry Ernest Cooper Past Master
of Hawaiian Lodge and founder of
Pacific Lodge No.822 under the
Grand Lodge of Scotland, for recommendations.
It appers that
Cooper was the Representative of
the
Grand Lodge of Scotland
in Hawaii at the time. As a
result, on February 2, 1905, the
Grand Lodge of
Scotland Chartered Lodge Maui
No. 984 in Wailuku,
Maui. In 1918, the Lodge transferred its
allegiance
to the Grand Lodge of
California.
Pacific Lodge No. 822 was
organized by dispensation on
January 4, 1895, through the
District Grand
Lodge of Queensland,
Australia (Scottish
Constitution) and was Chartered
by the Grand Lodge of Scotland
on August 1, 1895. In 1910,
Pacific Lodge
transferred its allegiance to the Grand Lodge
of California
and became Honolulu Lodge 409.
Neither Lodge Le Progres de l'Oceanie,
Hawaiian Lodge nor the Scottish
Rite Bodies were involved in the
power politics
of the 1890s and remained aloof
from the political intrigues of
the annexationists and the
royalists associated
with deposing Queen Liluokalani. However, there were
some brethren who were
active participants in one camp
or the other.
The role of some of the brethren
in both the political
and military activities beginning shortly before
January
17, 1893, when Queen Liliuokalani was
deposed, and the annexation
by the United States on August
12,
1898, is a story in itself and
beyond the scope of this paper.
On July 20, 1989, 146 years after the establishment
of Freemasonry in the Sandwich
Islands, and with
the full support
of the Grand Lodge of California, the
twelve Hawaii Lodges
constituted the Grand Lodge
of Free & Accepted Masons of the
State of Hawaii.
SOME PROMINENT BRETHREN OF BYGONE TIMES
Prince Lot, Kamehameha
V, 1830-1872
Prince Lot was the first native
Hawaiian to become a Freemason.
He became a Master Mason in
Hawaiian Lodge No.21 F&AM in May
1853.
Prince Alexander Liholiho,
Kamehameha IV, 1834-1863
King Kamehameha IV became a Master
Mason in Lodge Le Progres de l'Oceanie No. 124 A.A.S.R.
in
December 1856. He served as
Worshipful Master in 1859, 1861
and 1862.
King David Kalakaua, 1836-1891
King David Kalakaua became a
Master Mason in Lodge le Progres
de l'Oceanie No. 124 A.A.S.R. in
January 1859. He served as
Worshipful Master in 1876,
shortly after he was elected
King.
Prince William Pitt, 1855-1877
Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku Kalahoolewa brother of
David Kalakaua and Liliuokalani (Mrs.
John
Dominis) became a Master
Mason in Hawaiian Lodge No. 21
F& AM in June 1874. He was named
heir to the throne by King
Kalakaua, but unfortunately he
died of pneumonia at the age of
22. As a
consequence the King named
Liliuokalani heir to the throne
of Hawaii.
Prince David Kawananakoa, 1868-1908
Prince David Laamea Kawananakoa
nephew of King Kalakaua became
a Master Mason in Lodge Le
Progres de l'Oceanie A.A.S.R. in
August 1900. David was very well
educated, he attended schools
in Hawaii, the United States and
England. He became involved
in politics for a brief period
and was
active in the Democrat Party,
but never held an elective
office.
John Dominis, 1832-1891
John Owen Dominis Consort of Queen
Liliuokalani and Governor
of Oahu became a Master Mason in
Lodge Le Progres de l'Oceanie
No. 124 A.A.S.R., in April 1858. He
served as Master of the Lodge in
1863, 1864, and 1868. Dominis served
as General Legate
and Deputy of the Supreme Council for
the
Hawaiian Kingdom.
As a practical matter, he
served as the Deputy of the
Hawaii Scottish Rite Bodies
from 1874-1891.
Dominis served as chamberlain and secretary
to Kamehameha IV, and was
appointed Governor of Oahu
and Commissioner of Crown
Lands by Kamehameha V. John Dominis died
seven months after his wife
Liliuokalani became Queen of Hawaii. He
tended to
exercise restraint over his somewhat
headstrong wife,
and it
is thought by some historians that had he
lived during the critical
periods of her reign, the total
downfall of the Hawaiian
Monarchy might have been
averted.
Archibald Cleghorn, 1835-1910
Archibald Scott Cleghorn the
husband of Princess Miriam
Kapili younger sister of King
Kalakaua and
father of Princess Victoria
Kaiulani, succeeded John Dominis as Governor
of Oahu, became a Master
Mason in Hawaiian Lodge No.21 F
& AM in December 1873.
He was an active member of Hawaiian
Lodge and served as a
Trustee from 1882- 1895. Cleghorn was
a highly valued advisor to the
Hawaiian
Monarchy for a great many years.
Curtis Iaukea, 1855-1940
Curtis Piehu Iaukea became a Master Mason in
Pacific Lodge No. 822 (Later
Honolulu Lodge). He served
the Hawaiian Monarchy
as a highly competent One-man
Diplomatic Corps and except for
King Kalakaua
was the most traveled member of
the Hawaiian Kingdom. Curtiss Iaukea was one of
the most decorated
men in
the entire history of Hawaii. During
his illustrious career Curtis Iaukea served as Secretary
of
Foreign Affairs, Special
Envoy to the Coronation of Czar Alexander
III of Russia, he
accompanied Queen
Kapiolani to the United States
and served
as her interpreter with President and Mrs.
Grover Cleveland
and also at the Golden Jubilee of Queen
Victoria in London
in 1887. Some years later Curtis Iaukea
attended Victoria's
Diamond Jubilee with
representatives of the Republic
of Hawaii. During his lifetime
he visited many European
countries as an
envoy of Hawaii. In later years he
was active in Territory of
Hawaii politics.
Henry Cooper, 1857-1929
Henry Ernest Cooper became a Master Mason
in a Lodge in San
Diego, California in 1870. He
was
Master of Hawaiian Lodge in
1894. Cooper organized Pacific Lodge No. 822 under the
Jurisdiction of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland through
the then
District Grand Lodge of Queensland, Australia.
Cooper served
as its first Master in 1895 and
again in 1896. He served as
Deputy of the Orient of Hawaii
for the Scottish
Rite Bodies from 1896-1915.
Henry Cooper was a close associate of
Lorrin Thurston
the leading advocate of deposing Queen
Liliuokalani
and with Thurston was active in
establishing the Provisional
Government, the Republic of
Hawaii, and
ultimately the annexation of
Hawaii by the United States.
Cooper held various key
positions along the
way and served as President of
the Hawaii Republic for three
months during the absence
of President Dole.
Unfortunately, in the current atmosphere
of anti-anyone
who was actively involved in, or supported replacing
the
Hawaiian Monarchy with any other form of
government, that
currently prevails among certain elements
of the Hawaii
population, Henry Ernest Cooper has virtually become a
"Non-person" or, is portrayed along
with Lorrin Thurston as
one of the arch villians in
Hawaiian history. To pursue the
interesting career of Henry
Ernest Cooper any further would
immerse us into the realm of politics...so for
the purpose of this paper we'll
close here with the knowledge
that Henry
Ernest Cooper was indeed a dedicated Freemason and public
servant.
Robert Wylie, 1798-1865
Robert Crichton Wylie was Minister
of Foreign Affairs for the
Hawaiian Kingdom for over twenty years. Wylie
never married
and his interest and support of
the Hawaiian Monarchy seemed
to be his one and only passion.
He was made a Master Mason
in a Lodge in Mazatlan, Mexico
before he arrived in Hawaii.
Wylie frequently
visited Lodge Le Progres de l'Oceanie
and Hawaiian Lodge.
Herbert G. Gardiner PGS,
Grand Historian
Honolulu, Hawaii
September 25, 2003
References
Lodge Le Progres de l'Oceanie
Institute for Masonic 1843
Studies, Grand Lodge
The First Masonic Lodge in
Hawaii of California, In
(Sandwich Islands) Cooperation
with the Northern California
Research Lodge. 2001
Authors:
Jorge Soto,
Herbert G. Gardiner,
Jacques Huyghebaert
History Makers of Hawaii
A. Grove Day, Mutual
Publishing, Honolulu, Hawaii
1984
Grand Lodge of Hawaii
Herbert G. Gardiner
Grand Lodge of Hawaii
Honolulu 2003
Archives of Hawaiian Lodge
At Makiki Masonic Temple & Lodge
Le Progres de l'Oceanie
Various dates
Highlights, Lodge Maui History
Marty Alexander, Master
Lodge Maui, May 2003
