This sunday I was giving a talk in Wellington. The good people who booked me found the best venue in the world. The Lodge for the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes.
This strange and wonderful group has a history steeped in mystery. In so far as surviving records can prove, the earliest known traceable date of a Lodge of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes is the "Phoenix Lodge No.1" in 1822 at the Harp Tavern, Great Russell Street near Drury Lane Theatre, London and was created by stage hands and theatre technicians who had been denied a long held privilege extended to them by the actors and artists of the day.
The lodge in Wellington can trace its roots back to this first lodge. The lodge exists upstairs from the famous Bats theatre in Wellington. This theatre holds a special place in my heart my friends and I over the heady booze-fuelled days of our youth put on many shows on the stage there. We even established ourselves something of a cult following back in the day. Our performances were well known for their ability to test the limits of taste and professionalism.
I'd always been aware that the Buffaloes had their lodge upstairs but I had never been up there. Until this saturday. So here are the photographs of my visit. I think you'll agree the RAOB looks like an ace club with it's own strange rituals and wonderful rules.
After visiting the Lodge I think I want to be a Royal Antediluvian Buffalo. Who's with me?
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