Lodge of Unanimity No 3

The Lodge of Unanimity No 3 is a historic Masonic lodge in Lyttelton, New Zealand.

Freemasonry was a feature of life in Lyttelton as early as 1851, when a meeting was held to establish a lodge.^[2][3] The warrant for the Lodge of Unanimity arrived from England in 1853, making it the first in the South Island and only the third in New Zealand.^[1][2] It was initially lodge No. 879.^[1] The first meeting of the lodge happened on 26 May 1853 at the storeroom of Augustus Alport, who was the local auctioneer and a brother of the lodge.^[4][5] The first lodge building began construction in 1855 and opened in 1858; it was demolished in 1876.^[1] Prominent local doctor and magistrate William Donald was a founding member of the lodge, and later became Grandmaster of the Canterbury Region.^[6][7]

The second lodge building was constructed on the same site in 1876.^[1] The design is a simple interpretation of the Gothic Revival movement, designed by Benjamin Mountfort,^[1] who was a lodge member and also designed the first lodge building.^[2][5] The building was extended with a timber refrectory in 1896, to a design by Mountfort's son Cyril.^[1][2] The building interior was ornately decorated in the style typical of Masonic lodges, including symbolic imagery.^[8] The wooden interior is made from kauri.^[5]

The lodge building was listed as a Category II Historic Place by Heritage New Zealand in 1997.^[1] The lodge building was badly damaged during the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes.^[8][2]