Third generation member David Robertson said the society’s secrecy days are well and truly over.

“A lot of people say we’re a secret society but we don’t keep secrets very well - we have our name on the front of the building,” he said.

The organisation spent the last year raising $7000 for the hospital, matched by Masonicare, through trivia nights and Bunnings barbeques.

The Peel Lodge has been running for 125 years and its history goes back to the ancient Stonemason Guilds.

Mr Robertson said the club is different from Rotary and Lions, as members must pass through a set of degrees to progress through the organisation.

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“You don’t just walk in and walk out, before you progress you have to show you have learned or obtained knowledge,” he said.

The Freemason’s found out about the hospitals needs after Mr Robertson himself was in rehabilitation in hospital.

“We’ve always been involved in fundraising, for argument’s sake we have an Orphan Society which has been in existence since the last 1800’s – it’s one of the oldest charities in NSW and it still operates,” he said.

“Particularly in country towns we’ve always been prominent, someone will come up and say organisations need something and we raise particularly for those community services that have a wide ranging effect.

“Our hospital serves a huge area, you have people coming in from Lightning Ridge, Scone – it covers such a huge area and we get great support from the community.”