Whare Ra
Whare Ra was one of the last surviving temples that could trace its lineage back to the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
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.
[5] In 1912 Dr. Robert Felkin, Chief of the Order of the Stella Matutina arrived, assisted by his appointment as Inspector of the Australasian Colleges[3] 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.
[1] A sizeable piece of land on Tauroa Road in Havelock North was donated, and a home for the Order constructed, which they named “Whare Ra”, or House of the Sun.
The reinforced concrete construction was an innovative choice at the time when there was still strong resistance to any building material other than timber.
But 'Whare Ra' was to be a very different building from a domestic home and the advantages of fire resistance, low maintenance, permanence and durability appealed.
Before leaving New Zealand to return to England, a Warrant was issued establishing the Smaragdum Thallasses Temple No.
Each member was expected to follow a structured daily discipline of ritual, meditation, prayer, exercise and study, not too dissimilar (although obviously less extreme) to the routine of a devout monk or nun in a religious order.
[8] Topics studied included comparative religion, mythology, geomancy, astrology, tarot, cabala, alchemy and tatwas.
[9] After a minimum prescribed period, and having passed appropriate examinations, a student would then progress to the next grade, and receive another “Advancement” through a ceremonial experience.
However, some of the wording in the initiation and advancement ceremonies were changed by the Stella Matutina, which the Smaragdum Thallasses came out of, minimising masonic style references but by and large keeping the structure and intent the same as the original.
After time, and with decades of experience applying the methods of the Golden Dawn, the Smaragdum Thallasses also produce a plethora of new material unique to its membership.
Entrance to the Temple, by the candidate for initiation, was via a secret staircase behind a wardrobe, located in Felkin's surgery.
[1] Halfway down the stairs, where the candidate was required to await further instructions, was a landing, known as “the Cave”, lined with hessian curtains on which Egyptian figures were worked in light blue.
[1] 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.
Under the Maori name "Whare Ra" (house of the sun) the Order of the Golden Dawn has its present quarters and underground temple in a beautiful, secluded and heavily landscaped place.
The "chiefs" as they are called, heading Whare Ra, Messrs. von Dadelszen and Salt and Mrs. Jones, whom we met proved to be very fine people with a fervent interest in perpetuating the work of the Golden Dawn, brought to New Zealand by Felkin before the first World War.
Some things survived, including the Temple's pillars, the two sphinxes which flanked either side of the dais steps.
Whare Ra is now in private hands, and has been registered as a Category I protected building by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
