Our History

Although these legends are at best, dubious, the evolution from the Guilds is more reliably documented. By the 13th century, the tradesmen's Guilds had become established and prosperous. During the 14th Century, with the growth of trade, the guild "Masters" moved to protect their power (and wealth) by restricting access to the Guilds. In response, the less experienced (and less wealthy) "Fellows" set up their own rival Guilds.

The name "Odd Fellows" arose because, in smaller towns and villages, there were too few Fellows in the same trade to form a local Guild. The Fellows from a number of trades therefore joined together to form a local Guild of Fellows from an assortment of different trades, the Odd Fellows.

During the following centuries, the idea of common people working together to improve their situation met with opposition (and persecution) from the upper classes, who saw them possibly as a source of revenue (taxes) but also as a threat to their power. For example, when the English King Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church, the Guilds were viewed by him as supporting the Pope, and in 1545 he confiscated all material property of the Guilds. Queen Elizabeth I took from the Guilds the responsibility for training apprentices, and by the end of her reign, most Guilds had been suppressed.

The Oddfellows Lodge

The elimination of the Trade Guilds removed an important form of social and financial support from ordinary working people. In major cities like London, some Guilds (e.g. the "Free Masons" and the "Odd Fellows") survived by adapting their roles to a social support function. Both of these had their base in London, but had established branches (called 'Lodges') across the country.

The earliest surviving records of an Oddfellows Lodge is the manuscript of the rules, dated 1748, of the Loyal Aristarcus Lodge No.9 which met in inns in the Southwark, Hatton Garden and Smithfield areas of London^[6] Many pubs in Britain are named 'The Oddfellows' or 'Oddfellows Arms', probably because they were once meeting places of Lodges.

The French Revolution caused "the establishment" to view organisations such as the Oddfellows and Freemasons with fear. Membership became a criminal offence in France, and such organisations were driven underground and forced to use codes, passwords, special handshakes and similar mechanisms. Fear of revolution was not the sole reason for persecution; Friendly Societies like the Oddfellows were the predecessors of modern-day trade unions and could facilitate effective local strike action by levying all of their members for additional contributions for their benevolent funds, out of which payments could be made to the families of members who were on strike.

The Oddfellows subsequently introduced a number of novel benefits for members. These included the Travel Warrant, which allowed members seeking work to stay overnight in an Oddfellows Hall, anywhere in the country, free of charge. The Oddfellows also introduced standard protection policies, sometimes called "tables" because each type of policy had its own numbered table of premium rates. People could subscribe to protect themselves financially. In the United Kingdom at that time, until 1948, payment was required to see a doctor or to go into hospital. Many people therefore joined friendly societies like the Oddfellows to obtain financial protection to meet these costs.

Evolution

As a result of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, (when the Protestant William of Orange replaced the Catholic King James II), in the mid-18th century the Oddfellows split into The Order of Patriotic Oddfellows (based in the south of England and supporting William) and The Ancient Order of Oddfellows (based in the north and favouring the Stuarts).

The Grand United Order of Oddfellows

Subsequent to the failure of Bonnie Prince Charlie's uprising, in 1789 the two Orders formed a partial amalgamation as the Grand United Order of Oddfellows. These days they are more commonly known as "The Grand United Order of Oddfellows Friendly Society" (GUOOFS)

In 1810, members of the Oddfellows in Manchester area became dissatisfied with the way the Grand United Order was being run and formed an independent Order with the title 'Manchester Unity'. This organisation is now referred to as "The Independent Order of Oddfellows (Manchester Unity)", or more simply, "The Manchester Unity Order of Odd Fellows" (MUOOF).

According to Manchester Unity literature: "With their improved organisation and rules, they encouraged many other lodges across the country to leave the old Grand United Order and join the Independent Order under the 'Manchester Compliance'.

Subsequent breakaways

Subsequent breakaways from the parent Grand United Order and from the new Manchester Unity Order resulted in the formation of further Orders of Odd Fellows. In the case of the parent Order, various lodges seceded in 1832 to found the Ancient & Noble (Bolton Unity), which subsequently dissolved in 1962, and in the case of the new Order, the Nottingham Odd Fellows.

The Grand United Order of Oddfellows (Sheffield Unity) was formed in an early breakaway from the Manchester Unity. The Ancient Noble Order of Oddfellows (Bolton Unity) was formed from the Sheffield Unity in 1832. The Nottingham Ancient Imperial Order of Oddfellows was formed from the Sheffield Unity in 1812. The Improved Independent Order of Oddfellows (London Unity) was formed from the Manchester Unity around 1820. The British United Order of Oddfellows was formed from the Imperial Nottingham Order in 1867.

The Albion Order of Oddfellows was formed from the Manchester Unity in 1831. Several other secessions then occurred to form the Nottingham Independent Order, the Derby Midland Order, the Ilkison Unity and the Norfolk and Norwich Unity. The Kent Unity was formed in 1805; its first Lodge, however, was not formed until 1861.

The Kingston Unity of Oddfellows was formed from the Manchester Unity in 1840, and the National Independent Order was formed from the Manchester Unity in 1846. There was an East Anglia Unity; a few items of their regalia and jewels are in the museum at Freemasons' Hall in London.

The Wolverhampton Unity of Oddfellows ceased to exist in 1876 when it merged with the Ancient Order of Shepherds.

The American Separation

The Oddfellows had spread to America in the late 18th century, and several unofficial lodges existed in New York City; but American Odd Fellowship is regarded as being founded in Baltimore in 1819, by Thomas Wildey, and the following year affiliated with the Manchester Unity.

In Britain in 1834, the Tolpuddle Martyrs were unexpectedly convicted and transported for "membership of an illegal friendly society". The Oddfellows "Board of Directors" hastily modified the "constitution" to evade a similar fate.

Members of the Oddfellows in the United States were not pleased to see the ancient rituals changed without their agreement, particularly to satisfy a British Government against which they had fought a war of independence. As a result, the Oddfellows in America declared their independence from the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows and became a self-governing Order – the Independent Order of Odd Fellows – which established lodges throughout the world, and continues to do so today                                                                               

Further as we look at the histories of the Australian Orders, we find that;

1          One Lodge in Western Australia was granted a Dispensation in 1913 from the County of Lancaster. However there is no known record to date that shows that the order itself received a Dispensation.

2          The Order in South Australia was established under an Act of Parliament.

3          There is record of a Dispensation being issued to a lodge in the Victorian Order but there is no mention of a Dispensation for the Order in their on-line history.

4          The Queensland Order was established under “Letters Patent” and I have been advised that the order never had a dispensation.

5          Now for NSW, a dispensation was issued by the Liverpool District in the UK for the original lodge in the colony. However there is no written or remembered history of there ever being a Dispensation issued for the Order as such. In the written history, it says

On 9^thMarch 1840 the first branch of Manchester Unity was opened in Sydney, with nine members,

eight of whom had been members of the Society in England. The ninth member was host of the Tavern in which they met, and acted as Guardian of their property. During the early years the Sydney branch grew rapidly and appointed two of its members to visit every ship entering Sydney Cove to seek out any "members" to give them a helping hand.

A second branch was soon established in Parramatta and two days later another branch in Sydney town. By 1842 the Society had extended to Newcastle and soon began operating in New South Wales country areas. By 1858 Manchester Unity formed its own autonomous Grand Lodge to control all Lodge branches in the Colony. A little later branches had begun operating in other parts of Australia and New Zealand.

In our Hayday, there were some 26 Districts in NSW alone and I know the old Tweed River District had 17 lodges, and neighbouring districts had even more.

In 2011, some members in the Northern Rivers Area of NSW, became very disillusioned with decisions of the NSW Order, and following many meetings the Northern Rivers Order was formed with our principle being “by the Members For The Members.

Our worst enemy is Government Legislation and Social Security

Our Greatest Strength, is our rituals encouragement to take an interest in our fellows members welfare