Whare Ra is the name of the building which housed the New Zealand branch of the magical order the Stella Matutina. It was designed and the construction overseen by one of New Zealand's most famous architects, and a senior member of the Order, James Walter Chapman-Taylor. Whare Ra was one of the last surviving Temples that could trace its lineage back to the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It was the only Temple to operate in a permanent, purpose-built building.
Early preparations
The foundations for the Order in New Zealand were laid by Reginald Gardiner. Born in New South Wales, Australia, he was the son of an Anglican vicar and brother of the Anglican vicar of St Luke's Church, Havelock North, New Zealand, where he finally settled in 1907. He formed about him an artistic, cultural and spiritual group whose activities became known as the "Havelock Work", and produced a publication called “The Forerunner”. The Havelock Work grew and in time the group became known as the Society of the Southern Cross. In 1910, Revd. Father J. Fitzgerald travelled to New Zealand on Church business, and was introduced to the group. He was suitably impressed, and prior to his return to Britain, promised to stay in touch and to do what he could to help. One of the last G.H. Chiefs of the Order later recollected: In due course he wrote that if further progress were to be made, that certain people of his acquaintance would need to come out from England. In 1912 Dr. Robert Felkin, Chief of the Order of the Stella Matutina arrived, assisted by his appointment as Inspector of the Australasian Colleges of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia by William Wynn Westcott, one of the original Chiefs of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Supreme Magus of the S.R.I.A.
Founding of the Smaragdum Thallasses Temple No 49
Travelling with his wife and daughter, he initiated a group of twenty-four members into the Order, twelve of whom were advanced to the "Second Order". A sizeable piece of land was donated, and a home for the Order constructed, which they named “Whare Ra”, or House of the Sun. It was in the basement of this house, that the large Temple was built. During their three-month stay, sufficient members had been initiated to make a beginning, and the building commissioned and sufficiently advanced to enable its Consecration. Before leaving New Zealand to return to England, a Warrant was issued establishing the Smaragdum Thallasses Temple No. 49 of the Order of the Stella Matutina. The three Chiefs that appeared on the Warrant were Reginald Gardiner, Mason Chambers, and probably Harold Large. A trust had been set up to manage the monetary affairs of the Order, with the trustees being Mason Chambers, his wife Margaret Chambers, the younger John Chambers, and Reginald Gardiner. The trust deed stated that the group was formed: John von Dadelszen, who spent most of his adult life in the Order, and who had been a Temple Warden and one of its last Chiefs, stated that the Order: A contemporary of John von Dadelszen, and fellow Chief Archie Shaw, wrote of the role of the three Chiefs, in his 1960 address to members:
The temple prospers
In 1916, at the invitation of the members of the New Zealand branch, and with the offer of life tenancy of “Whare Ra”, Dr Felkin and his family returned to New Zealand for good. He issued a new constitution for the Order of the Stella Matutina in the same year, informing members that the Mother Temple of the Order was now in New Zealand. The Order, governed by three ruling Chiefs, prospered under their leadership. By the time of the death of Dr Felkin in 1926, it had a very active membership and was well established – its membership included two Anglican Bishops, General Sir Arthur Russell, Lord Jellicoe, Governor General of New Zealand, members of Parliament, and local dignitaries and officials. Entrance to the Temple, by the candidate for initiation, was via a secret staircase behind a wardrobe, located in Dr Felkin's surgery. In 1931 a devastating earthquake hit the area, and many buildings were levelled or damaged. With its fortress like construction, Whare Ra was unscathed. Mr Gardiner replaced Dr Felkin as a Greatly Honoured Chief of the Order, and with Mrs and Miss Felkin, ruled for a further stable period of 33 years. In its heyday during the 1930s, it has been estimated that its membership numbered some 300 men and woman, and during its 60-plus-year history that approximately 400–500 people had been initiated. It was during this time that the Temple distanced itself from the affairs of the Stella Matutina in Britain, and renamed itself simply the Order of Smaragdum Thallasses. In 1949, in the last issue of The Lantern, Mrs. Felkin stated: In the Annual Report for year ending 31 December 1959, the Order's Cancellarius reported that: In 1959 Mr Gardiner and Mrs Felkin died, followed by Miss Felkin three years later. During the late 1960s, Frater Albertus of the Paracelsus Research Society visited Whare Ra. He reported this visit to members of the society in one of their bulletins.
Decline
However, by 1978 it was clear that Whare Ra was a spent force. On 24 August 1978 a letter was circulated to members announcing the closure: Much to the regret of many esoteric historians they burnt most of the group's regalia, Temple furnishings and records. Fortunately some things survived, including the Temple's pillars, the two sphinxes which flanked either side of the dais steps, and many copies of the rituals and lectures were passed on and preserved. Whare Ra is now in private hands, and has been registered as a category "I" protected building by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
