Whangamomona Masonic Lodge raise funds for Marinoto hospital

Roger Gregory, Tom Mason and Bob Jagger, Neil Lowe, Stuart Waite and Peter Anderson.

Whangamomona Masonic Lodge members have raised enough money selling firewood to pay for a new bed at Inglewood's Marinoto Hospital.

The hospital is undergoing a major redevelopment, with a new wing , thanks to a $2.2 million grant from TET and support from Value Building Supplies.

Members presented Inglewood Welfare Society chairman Peter Anderson with a cheque for $2700 last week. Lodge members split firewood from lodge Master Neil Lowe's Inglewood farm and sold sheep manure. Neil says he is chuffed with the amount, considering the lodge had only around 10 to 15 members.

"It was a really great effort." Whangamomona Masonic Lodge member Bob Jagger, 93, is the oldest and helped split the firewood. He has been a lodge member for 50 years.

"I really enjoy it and I like helping others."

Tom Mason has been a member of the lodge for 56 years. He says helping out the hospital and the community felt like he was paying tribute to his ancestors.

"They settled in Tarata in the 1850s and did a lot of work that we benefit from now. This gives me the opportunity to do something — to recognise their hardships and give back too."

Inglewood Welfare Society wants to raise $250,000 for equipment for the hospital. The new wing will have 12 beds. The society has already raised around $165,000 through fundraisers. The new wing should be finished by the end of October and the existing home renovated by the end of March.