Details
Speaker: Godfrey Moore
Book Launch: Aprons in Asia: How Freemasonry Colonised the East
Date: Thursday, 17 July 2025
Time: 2:30-4.00PM
Venue: Conference Hall, Penang Institute
Moderator: Fauwaz Abdul Aziz
Abstract
They came to Asia bearing the authority of the mighty East India Company and the flag of the British Empire, but these Englishmen also carried secrets which they had sworn under dire penalties never to reveal. They were members of a fraternity called the Freemasons, whose membership crossed national, ethnic, and religious boundaries. In 1803, the ‘brothers’ set up the first lodge in Malaya, located in the flourishing trading post of Penang. In the years to come, many prominent citizens would wear the apron of a masonic lodge. How influential were the Freemasons and what role did the lodge play in their lives? The author will discuss the importance of Freemasonry in establishing the British colonies and developing trade. He will also offer insights into this historic fraternity and its origins. He will also address some of the myths attached to Freemasonry and reveal at least some of the ‘secrets’ of this mysterious brotherhood.
About the Speaker
Godfrey Moore had a successful career in writing advertising campaigns in London and Singapore for major brands such as Singapore Airlines, Australia Tourist Board, Mercedes-Benz, and Mitsubishi. He has lived in Asia since 1979, moving to Melaka in 2017, where he wrote his first book, The Story of Malacca. While researching his second book, he fell in love with Penang and moved to Batu Ferringhi in 2024 with his wife and two dogs. Aprons in Asia (Castlewood Books, 2025) follows an earlier publication, The Story of Penang and Kedah (Castlewood Books, 2024).
Event Highlights
Event Summary
British writer Godfrey Moore kept a packed house of listeners in rapt attention when he launched his book, Aprons in Asia: How Freemasonry Colonized the East, at Penang Institute’s Conference Hall on 17 July, 2025. Moore, a Freemason of 40 years who held the position of Worshipful Master, even treated the audience to a brief re-enactment of a Freemason ceremony – with the collaboration of a fellow-Freemason, Worshipful Brother Dennis Heath – complete with Moore wearing his well-worn apron intricately embroidered with the Craft’s distinguishing symbols of the square and compass.
The book talk, moderated by Penang Institute analyst Fauwaz Abdul Aziz, included Moore ably fielding a barrage of questions from an audience eager to understand the, sometimes conflicting, records and reports of this ancient fraternity whose members have included the very names and figures who have moved the world. Declaring that it is high time to shed the cloak of mystery and secrecy that had surrounded the Craft for too long, Moore adapted the group’s well-known motto to his closing remarks, that Freemasonry has been “making good men better for 300 years”.
![17 July 2025 - [Book Launch] Aprons in Asia: How Freemasonry Colonised the East](https://staging-jubilee.flickr.com/65535/54668577803_1be345f4d7_m.jpg)
