The G.H. Chiefs were responsible for the functioning of the whole Order. However, they were assisted by Three Wardens, Officers responsible to the Chiefs for the functioning of the Outer Order – the Demonstrator (or Praemonstrator as it was originally called), Imperator and Cancellarius.
Wardens held Office for three years, and immediately after each Vernal Equinox the Warden who had been longest in Office retired by rotation, but was eligible for re-appointment.
On the Office becoming vacant, the Chiefs would consult the remaining Wardens and then the Council, before “meditating on the matter for a period of not more than one month” before making an appointment.
While it has been reasonably easy to determine the G.H. Chiefs of the Order in New Zealand, who generally held Office for life, it is a much harder task determining the Wardens who changed more frequently. This is even more so a challenge as many of the administrative documents of the O. were purposefully destroyed in 1978.
However, some of the official Cancellarius Annual Reports, Chief’s Equinox Addresses and some Notices of Appointment of Wardens have survive in members private papers and passed on – the most complete picture of the leadership being during the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s.
DEMONSTRATOR
The earliest record I have on hand is for Archie Shaw (G.H. Fra. Archernar) who had been in the Office “for many years”, being replaced by William (Bill) Gilmore (V.H. Fra. Ammian) who was appointed into the role to replace Archie Shaw in September 1957. My educated guess is that Archernar was appointed to the role in the 1940’s, and most likely after the War.
Bill Gilmore was in the Office for just two years (possibly because of his strong Christian emphasis on interpreting the Mysteries), and was replaced by Frank Salt (V.H. Fra. Fiat Lux) in September 1959. Fiat Lux was the last Demonstrator at Whare Ra, with the G.H. Chiefs choosing to absorb the role into their Office in perhaps 1969 or 1970 – actual date not known.
IMPERATOR
I am not sure who was Imperator in the years before September 1948 when John von Dadelszen (G.H. Fra. A Beau Sion) was appointed in the Office.
Nancy Hobson (G.H. Sor. Cantata Domino) took over the Office in September 1954, and I do not know who replaced her when she became Chief in 1963. Frank Salt did comment to me in a letter that when he turned down the offer of G.H. Chief (to replace Ms. Felkin on her death) and suggested Betty Jones (who was his Sub-Demonstrator at the time) at a Wardens Meeting, Euan Campbell expressed some concern on the impact the responsibility of the Office might have on her. This could suggest that Campbell was a Warden at the time (1963), although Dr. Fuller has reasonable doubts on this. Another possibility is that Campbell was included in the discussion because of his rank (9=2) and standing in the O., or that it was actually a meeting of The Council and not Wardens that Salt misremembered.
CANCELLARIUS
Early documents have on their label that manuscripts were to be returned to Reginald Gardiner, T. Mason Chambers and Mary McLean (going from memory here, as I can’t find the document currently) – all possible early Cancellarius office bearers.
The earliest official record I could find, and it may not be for the Cancellarius, was a mention by G.H. Sor. M.C. in the April 1952 Equinox Addresses that “our Warden I.F.S. could not come.”
When John von Dadelszen was appointed as G.H. Chief in March 1959, Frank Salt was appointed acting Cancellarius until the Office was filled by David Osbourne (V.H. Fra. Auxillium Ab Alto) in September that year. Osbourne was the last Cancellarius of the O., and it was he that reputedly burnt the records and regalia on instruction from the Chiefs.
Ironically, but also fortuitously, he retained and preserved an almost complete set of very early New Zealand ‘official’ O. Ceremonies – see an example of the cover of one of these documents (3=8) accompanying this post.
Kasmillos
