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This Co-Masonic Temple on Regent Street in the inner city suburb of Chippendale was built in 1898. It was originally the hall of the Wesleyan Methodist Church on this site. The church became St Alban's Liberal Catholic Church in 1918 and the Co-Masons bought the hall. The church closed in 1966, as the walls were becoming unstable and during demolition the south wall fell and wiped out most of the rear of the temple, later rebuilt. An unsuccessful development proposal was lodged in 2000 to demolish this building and replace it with a nine storey apartment block. Luckily it was decided that the temple is of historic significance due to its strong physical link to the Wesleyan Church and the Co-Masons. Co-Masonry or Co-Freemasonry is a form of Freemasonry which admits both men and women. In 2008, a successful redevelopment retained the temple for commercial use. A hall was demolished and replaced with more suitable residential buildings up to five storeys beside and behind the temple building.
Woronora Lodge, built in 1922, was the Masonic Temple on Cook Street, in the southern suburb of Mortdale. This is a historical photo now, since the building was demolished recently. Despite protests from the National Trust Register and local residents who wanted to preserve it, the local council decided it had no heritage value and plans to build a car park for the local shopping area on this site.
The Masonic Hall is a heritage building on Victoria Road in the inner west suburb of Drummoyne. Built in 1905 in the Federation Free Style it now houses a couple of commercial premises at street level. The real estate agent beside the home loans broker seems a perfect fit.
Rookwood Necropolis is the largest multicultural cemetery in the southern hemisphere. These are some of the chapels, temples and monuments representing the various cultures and religions in the cemetery. They are (top to bottom) the Chinese World War 2 Pavilion, St Athanasius Greek Orthodox Chapel, the Sacred Heart Catholic Chapel and the Islamic Monument.
This temple is located on the corner of Kensington Road and Liverpool Road, in a building that was a Masonic temple in the 1920s. The building was converted to house the Taoist deity of Wong Tai Sin on the lower floor and the Buddhist Bodhisattva of Kwan Yin on the upper floor.
The Vietnamese Cao Dai Temple is an impressive structure on King Georges Road at Wiley Park. Cao Dai literally means 'high place' and figuratively means 'the highest place where God reigns'. According to the 2006 Census, the top five countries of birth of residents not born in Australia were United Kingdom 23.5%, New Zealand 8.8%, China 4.7%, Italy 4.5% and Vietnam 3.6%. Harmony Day is celebrated on 21st March each year, on the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It is part of the Diverse Australia Program and celebrates the cohesive and inclusive nature of Australia and promotes the benefits of cultural diversity. The key message of Harmony Day is 'Everyone Belongs' and it's all about community participation, inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Harmony Day events began in Australia in 1999, involving schools and community groups and have been growing bigger each year with many events held across Australia.
