Historic Lodge Sold to Church of Christ

The Church of Christ has bought Invercargill's historic Masonic Lodge.

Mayor Tom Campbell handed over the ceremonial keys to District Supervising Minister Brother Uziel Bongares during a turnover ceremony for the nearly 3,000-square-metre property.

The Category 1 historic building served as the Southland Masonic Lodge for 93 years before being sold in 2019. It has sat largely vacant since then.

This marks the third property purchased by the Iglesia Ni Cristo in New Zealand within three months, reflecting the church's continued growth here.

Designed by local architects Broderick & Royd and completed in 1926, the Greek Revival building is considered one of the most structurally impressive classical lodge buildings in New Zealand. The Freemasons sold it in 2019 due to declining membership and rising costs of heritage maintenance and modern building compliance.

A religious group from Tauranga bought it then with stated intent for spiritual or community gatherings, but the building remained mostly empty until this handover.

During its Masonic years, the complex served the wider community as venue for the Southern Farmers Market on Sunday mornings and was popular for weddings, training seminars, charity dinners and private functions.

The building will now be transformed and prepared for worship services. The church says it will be dedicated to the worship and glory of the Lord God.

The purchase transitions the grand Greek-Doric structure back into an active house of worship after years of uncertainty about its future.