The New Masonic History (NMH) is my name for the most recent wave of enthusiasm for ‘authentic’ Masonic history. ‘Authentic’ is used by Freemasons to distinguish more realistic history from the wildly speculative theories which have plagued Freemasonry, the organisation, for all of its 300 years.
My analysis is, of course, influenced by my adult job experiences, which have been almost entirely in the field of teaching and learning, and by research I began over 25 years ago into all fraternal societies, including Freemasonry.
Before I joined Masonry in 2008, I had started seeking people overseas to talk to about my research when there appeared to be no such people in Australia.
Beginning in 2003 at Manchester, and then with the ‘We Band Of Brothers’ Conference in 2004 at Sheffield University where I was keynote speaker, I’ve found fellow-researchers by participating in a series of related gatherings including the First and Second Edinburgh International Conferences on the History of Freemasonry, in 2007 and 2009, and the Centenary Conference of the Manchester Masonic Research Association, also in 2009, to all of which I presented papers.
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2010 - New Masonic History - The future of Australian Freemasonry and Ned Kelly’s sash - Dr Bob James.
