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The designer of the 186 Broadway Avenue building was a local architect Ernst West who was also a Freemason. The building included living quarters and had a theatre in the rear section.<ref name=”Egypt”>{{cite news |last=White |first=Tina |date=6 November 2004 |title=Egypt by design |work=Manawatu Standard |page=2 |id={{ProQuest|314265971}}}}</ref> The Freemasonry movement has a history of interest in Egyptian motifs and symbolism. Egyptian-themed masonic buildings became popular during the art deco period, partly in response to the global interest in ancient Egypt that followed the discovery of the tomb of [[Tutankhamun]] in 1922.<ref name=”:1″>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Philippa |date=2021 |title=Freemasonry and Egyptomania |url=https://www.thesquaremagazine.com/mag/article/202102freemasonry-and-egyptomania/ |access-date=5 October 2025 |website=The Square Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> |
The designer of the 186 Broadway Avenue building was a local architect Ernst West who was also a Freemason. The building included living quarters and had a theatre in the rear section.<ref name=”Egypt”>{{cite news |last=White |first=Tina |date=6 November 2004 |title=Egypt by design |work=Manawatu Standard |page=2 |id={{ProQuest|314265971}}}}</ref> The Freemasonry movement has a history of interest in Egyptian motifs and symbolism. Egyptian-themed masonic buildings became popular during the art deco period, partly in response to the global interest in ancient Egypt that followed the discovery of the tomb of [[Tutankhamun]] in 1922.<ref name=”:1″>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Philippa |date=2021 |title=Freemasonry and Egyptomania |url=https://www.thesquaremagazine.com/mag/article/202102freemasonry-and-egyptomania/ |access-date=5 October 2025 |website=The Square Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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The ceiling was painted with a “celestial canopy” of day and night scenes, and the floor covering was a blue tessellated carpet that had been imported from Scotland. An Egyptian-themed mural in the [[refectory]] depicted the “jury of gods at the judgment of the soul” including the ancient Egyptian gods [[Osiris]] and [[Anubis]] and other deities and characters. There are large pillars either side of the doorway, with two panels facing the front porch marked with hieroglyphics, that have been translated as: “Thy name shall live upon earth; thy name shall endure upon earth, thou shalt never perish; thou shalt never come to an end.”<ref name=”Egypt” /> |
The ceiling was painted with a “celestial canopy” of day and night scenes, and the floor covering was a blue tessellated carpet that had been imported from Scotland. An Egyptian-themed mural in the [[refectory]] depicted the “jury of gods at the judgment of the soul” including the ancient Egyptian gods [[Osiris]] and [[Anubis]] and other deities and characters. There are large pillars either side of the doorway, with two panels facing the front porch marked with hieroglyphics, that have been translated as: “Thy name shall live upon earth; thy name shall endure upon earth, thou shalt never perish; thou shalt never come to an end.”<ref name=”Egypt” /> |
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The ‘1721 E.C.’ above the entrance is the registration number of the United Manawatu Lodge. ‘E.C.’ is an abbreviation of ‘English Constitution’. |
The ‘1721 E.C.’ above the entrance is the registration number of the United Manawatu Lodge. ‘E.C.’ is an abbreviation of ‘English Constitution’. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{Commons category-inline|United Manawatu Lodge}} |
{{Commons category-inline|United Manawatu Lodge}} |
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* [https://aqaba.co.nz/ Aqaba Bar & Kitchen] official website of restaurant business |
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* [https://digitalnz.org/records/48661488 Aqaba Restaurant (formerly United Manawatu Lodge 1721 E.C.)] at DigitalNZ |
* [https://digitalnz.org/records/48661488 Aqaba Restaurant (formerly United Manawatu Lodge 1721 E.C.)] at DigitalNZ |
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Latest revision as of 02:17, 17 November 2025
Building in Palmerston North, New Zealand
The United Manawatu Lodge also known as Aqaba Restaurant is a heritage-listed art deco building at 186 Broadway Avenue in Palmerston North, New Zealand. The building is a former masonic lodge, dedicated by the United Manawatu Lodge on 24 July 1931. The lodge sold the building and moved out in the 1980s, and it was then used for a variety of purposes until 1995 when it became the Aqaba nightclub and subsequently Aqaba restaurant.
The United Manawatu Lodge of the Ancient Order of Freemasons was established in 1877.[1] The first Lodge building was opened in 1888 on a site on Main Street. In 1892, the lodge moved to a new building Broad Street (subsequently Broadway Avenue), when their original site was required for the construction of railway yards. The first Broad Street building eventually became unfit for purpose and was moved off site to allow a new building to be built. The new lodge was dedicated on 24 July 1931.[2]
The designer of the 186 Broadway Avenue building was a local architect Ernst West who was also a Freemason. The building included living quarters and had a theatre in the rear section.[3] The Freemasonry movement has a history of interest in Egyptian motifs and symbolism. Egyptian-themed masonic buildings became popular during the art deco period, partly in response to the global interest in ancient Egypt that followed the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922.[4]
The ceiling was painted with a “celestial canopy” of day and night scenes, and the floor covering was a blue tessellated carpet that had been imported from Scotland. An Egyptian-themed mural in the refectory depicted the “jury of gods at the judgment of the soul” including the ancient Egyptian gods Osiris and Anubis and other deities and characters. There are large pillars either side of the doorway, with two panels facing the front porch marked with hieroglyphics, that have been translated as: “Thy name shall live upon earth; thy name shall endure upon earth, thou shalt never perish; thou shalt never come to an end.”[3]
The ‘1721 E.C.’ above the entrance is the registration number of the United Manawatu Lodge. ‘E.C.’ is an abbreviation of ‘English Constitution’.
By the 1980s, the United Manawatu Lodge found that the building was costly to maintain, and decided to sell and move to the Manawatu Kilwinning Lodge.[4] Many interior fittings were removed following sale. The building was rented by an electrical business but was sold again. In 1995, the building was converted into a nightclub, and then after four years the owners refocused on the restaurant trade.[5] In 1996, the building won an award in the regional New Zealand Institute of Architects Resene Colour Awards.[6]
In 1997 the building was listed by Heritage New Zealand as a Category 2 Historic Place.[1]
In 2019 the Aqaba restaurant was offered for sale by its owners Graeme and Marie Donald who had owned the business for 25 years.[5] It was sold to new owners in 2020.[7]
Media related to United Manawatu Lodge at Wikimedia Commons
Category:Buildings and structures in Palmerston North
Category:Art Deco architecture in New Zealand
Category:Freemasonry in New Zealand
