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TEMPLE LODGE No. 33, A.F. & A.M.

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Temple Lodge, No. 33, A.F. & A.M., is located in the City of Duncan, in the heart of the scenic Cowichan Valley, approximately 60 kilometres north of Victoria, the capitol city of British Columbia.

Temple Lodge, No.33 meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings start at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted in the monthly Communication. The Lodge is in Darkness for July and August. Freemasons in good standing are always welcome as visitors to Temple Lodge.

Temple Lodge, No. 33 was formed in December 1899 after 14 local Freemasons applied to the Grand Lodge of British Columbia for a Charter for a new Lodge. A Dispensation was issued by Grand Lodge on 2 December 1899 and the first meeting of Temple Lodge was held on 16 December 1899. Temple Lodge, No. 33 received its Charter, No. 33 on the Register of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia, from the Grand Lodge of British Columbia in June 1900.

Since then, Temple Lodge No. 33 has been actively involved in the local community. Lodge members have served on Duncan City Council and on the North Cowichan District Council; eight Temple Lodge members have been elected Mayor of Duncan; a Temple Lodge, No.33 member was Duncan's first Mayor after the City was incorporated in 1912 and other Lodge members served on the first Duncan City Council. Temple Lodge, No. 33 members were instrumental in creating the City of Duncan in 1912.

Four other Lodge members have served as Reeve of North Cowichan district; five Lodge members have represented the area in the Provincial Legislature and one Lodge member has been elected a federal Member of Parliament.

Other members have been prominent in local business. There are several local businesses founded by Temple Lodge members which are still in business after decades of service to the local community. A few of those businesses have been operating for over a century. There are also several landmark commercial buildings in downtown Duncan and in the Cowichan Valley built by, or for, members of Temple Lodge, No.33. Here are the names of some deceased Brethren who have played influential roles in the local area.

Our Masonic Temple building has been a downtown Duncan landmark since it was built and dedicated in 1912.

Temple Lodge, No. 33 members have also been active in other local organizations. Lodge members were instrumental in forming the Duncan Chamber of Commerce, the Cowichan Agricultural Society, the Duncan Rotary Club, the Duncan Volunteer Fire Department and other local organizations.

Many of our members have served in Canada's military. Four Brothers of Temple Lodge, No.33 died in Canada's military service during the First World War.

Temple Lodge, No.33 and its members continue to be active in the community. Anyone interested in Freemasonry or in joining Temple Lodge, No. 33 is more than welcome to contact us.

Freemasons from other Lodges are always welcome to visit Temple Lodge, No.33 . For visitors to Duncan and the Cowichan Valley, we have included visitor information and tour suggestions on the site. We will also be adding a Masonic History Walking Tour of downtown Duncan in the near future.

Our building is home to Temple Lodge, No. 33 and Tzouhalem Chapter, No. 26, Royal Arch Masons. The building was built by Temple Lodge, No. 33 in 1912. For more information on the Duncan Masonic Temple, click here. For a map to our Duncan Masonic Temple building, click here.

Our Temple Lodge, No. 33 website also contains the Vancouver Island Masonic History Project, an ongoing effort by members of Temple Lodge, No. 33 to document the important historical heritage and legacy left on Vancouver Island by Freemasons and Freemasonry.

For geneologists and other researchers, we are gradually putting our Lodge membership lists to 1965 online as well as lists of the Lodge's principal officers from 1899 to the present day.

Some New Pages On Local History

We have added some new pages on local history. Check out the new pages on Douglas James - Architect and the revisions to the Buildings Associated With Temple Lodge Members page.

Some Announcements From the Worshipful Master:

The Annual Temple Lodge Installation of Officers was held on Saturday, 11 April 2015 at the Masonic Temple, Duncan. See our Lodge Officers page for a list of the 2015-16 Officers.

Temple Lodge has a new public Facebook page which all members are welcome to join. As another example of Facebook being used for Masonic information, please check out the Grand Master's Facebook page.

Temple Lodge, No.33 has also set up a WordPress blog which we invite you check out. We welcome any comments you care to leave on our new WordPress blog.

The next Regular Meeting of Temple Lodge is on 10 November 2015.

We are gradually changing the appearance of our website to the basic layout of this page. As a result, there may be some links that don't work and some other technical problems associated with the changes.

For the next few months there will be a combination of "new layout" and "old layout" pages as we make changes. Please bear with us while these changes are being made.

We will also be gradually converting the website to accomodate viewing on tablets, cell phones and other mobile devices. Again, please bear with us while these changes are being made.