Brethren I thank you for the opportunity to present this paper on the symbolism of Free Gardenry,
which through my research has brought to light a further opportunity to find the lost and advanced
degrees of - the Orders of The Knights of Gethsemane and St Joseph.
The writing on symbolism of Free Gardenry has been written before this paper by different Free
Gardeners belonging to different Grand Lodges in different parts of the world; of note there has
never been a wholly United Grand Lodge from where Free Gardenry was born and from where it
subsequently spread, due to the nature of fierce independence of the Lodges and Grand Lodges of
various towns and provinces and needless to say borders, in fact Australia has been the only place
for a union to occur where, in 1953 the first conference of Grand Lodges of the States of Australia
first meet, and from it eventually formed in years to come, the peak governing body, the Grand
United Order of Free Gardeners of Australasia.
Records intimate during its infancy that there was a lot of strain and stress, to the new Grand United
Order, as the State Grand Lodges, didn’t want to lose any financial independence and not to deviate
away from their original founding landmarks and rituals from whence they originated.
Much like the spread of Freemasonry in Australia from the various Grand Lodges of the United Kingdom,
Free Gardenry also came from different locations within Scotland and England, bringing with it
some different customs and also different aspects to the ritual.
The main surviving rituals today, are that of the Ancient Order, the Grand United Order here.
Title
2016 - (Special Lecture) - THE SYMBOLISM OF FREE GARDENRY, AND THE LOST DEGREES OF THE KNIGHTS OF GETHSEMANE, AND ST JOSEPH - Ben Quick.
