The earliest Masonic document we have is the Certificate issued to one Captain Anthony Fenn Kemp by the Officers of a French Exploration Fleet and is dated 17th September, 1802.
These French ships under the command of Captain Baudin were in Port Jackson during part of April and May, 1802, and again from 20th June to the 18th November, the same year.
This Certificate which was discovered as late as 1915 by Mr. Hugh Wright, Librarian at The Mitchell Library amongst some old manuscripts purchased in Tasmania is written in French and is now preserved in The Mitchell Library.
Title
1936 - Sidelight on Early Freemasonry in New South Wales - Bro. H. H. Mackay.
