Records shaping Dorset’s history
• Dorset Tasmania History Society members Nigel Mercer and Jeff Jennings with Mark Davey (centre) of the Dorset Masonic Lodge preparing the archives for digital entering.
By Taylor Clyne,
September 25, 2019
One of the best masonic historical collections in Tasmania opened its doors for a never seen before collaboration last week in a bid to connect the region's history and special stories of its pioneers.
The mammoth project is being undertaken by the Dorset Tasmania History Society (DTHS) in a bid to collate, record and expand not only the North-East’s history but the Dorset Masonic Lodge’s too.
The digital format collation took five DTHS members two full days of scanning, photographing and entering into the society’s archives thanks to rooms full of masonic history.
“It’s very exciting because it allows us to see photographs and memorabilia of the people who made Scottsdale and other parts of Dorset, that’s why it’s so significant for us,” DTHS member Nigel Mercer said.
“A lot of these photos don’t exist anywhere else – we plan to work with the lodge on a historical presentation stepping through all the Grand Masters with their photographs and the story of what they did in Scottsdale.”
The Dorset Masonic Lodge was originally started in a room of Lords Hotel in 1885. In 1890 they built the building on King Street which is still used today.
“The founding members were all businessmen, shop keepers and farmers – because our history is so young with Scottsdale starting in 1860 it’s easy to actually get quite close to the pioneers,” Mr Mercer said.
“We undertook this project because this stuff is so important, we need a record of what was here to make sure we never lose it.”
In the past two years DTHS have collated more than 3,500 photographs of the North-East and its people; from newspaper clippings, donated family photographs and events – it’s a forever growing data base.
“We’ve put in the work and have been able to get a lot of stories and people too, with our system it’s so easy for us to call up a picture of a person and their information,” Mr Mercer said.
“The masonic archives will connect many stories to what we already have – the thing about history is the more you know the more interesting it becomes.
“I applaud the lodge for opening their doors,” he concluded.