NSW Masonic Club 130th Anniversary Lunch

We're celebrating 130 years since the founding of our club!

Don't miss this very special anniversary lunch in Cellos Grand Dining Room. Join us as we fondly reminisce about some of the greatest moments in the history of our wonderful club, and celebrate this significant day with a ceremonial cutting of the anniversary cake.

• Delicious 2-course lunch 

• Complimentary beverage on arrival

• Celebratory anniversary cake

• Ceremony and speeches

Venue: Cellos Grand Dining Room, Castlereagh Boutique Hotel, 169 Castlereagh Street Sydney

Bookings and information: Call us on 02 9284 1006 or email admin@thecastlereagh.com.au

Book accommodation | Parking information

Extracted from the history of NSW Masonic Club:

"Arising from the Australian Masonic movement was the formation of the NSW Masonic Musical and Literary Society on 15th September 1893 by 12 enthusiastic Masonic musicians who saw a need for a closer union among the fraternity. From its inception the Masonic Club became the rallying point for all ‘good’ Masons and a central meeting place ‘where all points of interest could be freely and fully discussed, where information on Masonic matters could always be gained, and where true fraternity could be cultivated’.

"The NSW Masonic Club building was designed in 1925 by Claude William Chambers, with the building, at 169-171 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, commencing in 1926. The well-articulated, sandstone façade was added at great expense to add resale value to the building. When completed, not only was it the first high-rise reinforced concrete construction but also the tallest building to be built in Sydney, offering uninterrupted views to Sydney Heads from the top floor.

"On 12 September 1927, President Bro H.L. Askey received the key from architect Chambers and formally opened its doors to the members. The Club was officially opened by the Governor General Worshipful Bro. Lord Stonehaven on 4 October 1927.

"The NSW Masonic Club maintains its significant presence in the streetscape and, historically, reflects a significant period of urban growth during the 1920s. Gentlemen’s clubs reached their peak in the Inter-War Period with the existence of the University Club, the Union Club, The Royal Automobile Club, and the Tattersalls Club, among others. But the NSW Masonic Club withstood the test of time and exists today as one of only two such original Clubs to still exist in Sydney from the Inter-War Period, the other being the Royal Automobile Club.

"The present Castlereagh Boutique Hotel was named in approximately 1992-93 is wholly owned, operated and staffed by the NSW Masonic Club. The NSW Masonic Club maintains its strong visual presence in the Sydney streetscape. Many of the rooms continue to be used for their original purposes, while sensitively adapting others to the changing needs of its members and the general public. Intrinsically, it continues to live by the original ethos of the Club. The spirit of the Masonic, Music and Literary activities remain strong to this day. The Club continues to move with the times without losing its sense of history."

– Dr Zeny Edwards, architectural historian