Historical information

The former Chinese Masonic building was located at 237 Bridge Street. It was built and was a front for an opium den as well as the activities of the Chinese Hung Men Society. The building was used for many years but continued to be a meeting place for older members of Bendigo's Chinese community. Younger memebers gathered in a converted brick building opposite the old masonic building.
The council eventually demolished the building in 1975 with no one willing to pay to restore the aging structure. Many in the Chinese community of Bendigo did not wish to keep a building that had the memories of secret society associated with it. Most of the buildings in Bridge Street associated with Chinese were demolished in the 1960s as council acquired them to build a car park and a service station.

Physical description

Six A4 pages with black printing and two black and white photographs on the final page.