About

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows. An Order begun in the U.S.A in 1819. However Odd Fellows have been around longer than that,

At the very least most would agree that the Odd Fellows originated in England with tradition's and a history somewhat intertwined with the Trade Fraternities.. The name of the fraternity, the Odd Fellows, is due to the fact that it was originally a group of men of different trades, hence an odd fellowship. Odd Fellowship arose out of a need and desire by men to socialise and help each other. The solution to the problem of poverty and distress, was a form of collectivism, that up untill a certain point had been conducted in individual trade fraternities. However it appears that the systems that those established players, were suffering from a bit of a glut in membership, and some of these began allowing in non trade members, or merged with other groups. The result was men from different trades and backgrounds began meeting together.

In the 19th century Odd Fellowship exploded across England and then to the Colonies as well as the former Possession's of Great Britain being such places as the U.S.A. In the early years of the 19th century, there was an Odd Fellows Lodge operating in New York City. However the big push for an American branch of Odd Fellowship came in 1819 when Thomas Wildey a Blacksmith Coach Spring Maker emmigrated to Baltimore Maryland USA from London. Wildey was initiated in Morningstar Lodge of Odd Fellows in the UK and on reaching America, sought to continue fellowship however there was no lodge. Eventually he advertised and found four brothers and they organised Washington Lodge No 1 which held its first meeting in the Seven Stars Tavern Baltimore, on April 26th 1819.

By the time of Wildeys passing in 1861, Hundreds of Lodges had been formed across the USA and Canada and the movemeny boasted over 200,000 members.

In 1862, those seeking their fortunes on the Otago Gold fields, set up a Lodge in Dunedin, Pioneer No 1 heralding the birth of the I.O.O.F in New Zealand. At that time the lodge was operating under charter to an Australian Lodge. As the numbers of lodges and members grew, eventually a Grand Lodge of New Zealand Independent Order of Odd Fellows was formed. It would go on to become the second largest Friendly Society in New Zealand. Thomas Bracken the author of what is now the New Zealand National Anthem, was a member and reached the position of Deputy Grand Master of New Zealand. Another famous New Zealander who was an Odd Fellow was Tom Skinner, one time head of the Federation of Labour.

In 2014 the Grand Lodge of New Zealand Independent Order of Odd Fellows Friendly Society wound up. Two lodges in the North Island remained in operation with the last of those closing around the time of the Pandemic. Not long afterwards Phoenix New Zealand Lodge No 1 was begun in Hamilton New Zealand and today is the only Lodge of the I.O.O,F operating in New Zealand. It meets for fraternal purposes.