The full history of the TU firing glasses is told elsewhere and can be briefly outlined as follows:
When Theodore Unmack was officially notified in September 1881 that he was the new ProvGM of the Irish Constitution in Queensland he forwarded a consignment of sixty firing glasses to each of the nine Irish Constitution Lodges in the Province, suitably etched with the square and compasses, the letters TU for Theodore Unmack and the number of the lodge on the roll of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. The nine lodges working in the Province were: St Patrick’s 279 IC (1863) – Duke of Leinster 283 IC (1864) – Hiram 286 IC (1865) – United Tradesmen’s 288 IC (1865) – Hibernia and Albion Star 289 IC (1866) – Unity and Concord 292 IC (1870) – Star of the Border 293 IC (1872) – Southern Queensland 312 IC (1878) – Temple 318 IC (1879).
In about mid 1978 the Trustees of Theodore Unmack Lodge were made aware of a number of TU Firing Glasses being held in a deceased estate in Petrie Terrace Brisbane and were given the option of purchasing the full collection consisting of about 20 glasses. This was done. The Lodge Trustees then caused three of these glasses to be suitably encased for presentation to St Patrick, Duke of Leinster and Hiram Lodges. This Presentation occurred in June 1979. The Trustees further determined that 14 of these glasses would be placed into the trust of the then proposed UGLQ Library-Museum as a loan in perpetuity on the understanding that the collection would not be broken up so as to serve as a historical artifact. This collection remains in the Museum today. There
The Grand Master of UGLQ, MW Dr Gary Bacon proposed a toast to the newly installed Worshipful Master of the Duke of Leinster Lodge using the historic Theodore Unmack Firing Glasses at the Lodge’s installation festive board on June 28.
