[1] In 1908 a meeting of over 100 people was held to discuss cultural affairs in nearby Frimley, with Reginald Gardner as one of the main speakers, resulting in the commencement of the "Havelock Work".
"King Arthur" and his court presided over morris and folk dances, tourneys and playlets, and there were stalls selling refreshments and crafts.
In 1912 an even more elaborate Shakespearean Pageant was held, opening with a grand procession including "Queen Elizabeth" and her court and retinue, as well as "Shakespeare" and his group of players.
[1] The three prime organisers of the Work, the Gardiners and Harold Large, believed that eastern methods of spiritual training such as Theosophy were unsuitable for westerners, but also felt that the Church had lost the esoteric teachings of Jesus and his disciples.
One of the visiting priests was a Father Fitzgerald, whom Miss McLean had met in Britain, and she arranged for him to meet members of the Havelock prayer group.
Within a week the group had cabled £300 passage, supplied by Maurice Chambers and his father, Mason, and his uncle John, for Felkin and his family to visit New Zealand for three months.
[1] Another outcome of the Havelock Work, albeit via Whare Ra, was the establishment in 1938 of the Tauhara Trust, which set aside money for the development of a conference centre for spiritual groups, particularly those engaging in meditation, mysticism, the New Age and deep ecology.