Freemason were amongst the first free settlers in the colony of Victoria. Many moved to Ballarat and worked as miners on the goldfields; others worked as publicans, stonemason, lawyers, and bankers. Freemasons, including Ballarat Reform League Secretary, John Humffray, were active in agitating for miners' rights and wider democratic reform. By the early 1850s, various Lodges were established including the 'Victoria Lodge of Instructions', which was formed on 25 June 1854, only months before the Eureka Stockade. Another significant Freemason was VWBro. Reverend Israel Morris Goldreich, known as Harav Ezriel Meir in Hebrew, was born in 1834 in Kudzberg, Poland. He served as the Rabbi of the Ballarat Synagogue for an impressive 37 years from 1868 until his death in 1905.
The support of these early Freemasons during this time resulted in constructing some of the finest buildings in Ballarat and establishing various charities and institutions. In recognition of this important history, the Ballarat Masonic Centre will display some of its earliest records, documents, and photographs dating from the 1850s onwards. Tours of the Lodge rooms will also be available during this time.
