The Odd Fellows were among the most influential groups in Australia a century ago, but today little is known about their beliefs, rituals and history. This is the story of what was long known as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is now called IOOF Australia. One of the ten oldest financial institutions in Australia, it has had a strange up--and--down history. Founded by a convict -- a fact which was quickly forgotten -- it began life in a Sydney hotel in 1836. The brotherhood of Independent Odd Fellows was almost wiped out by the upheavals of the gold rushes, and virtually disappeared in Sydney, but it became strong on the goldfields of Victoria and South Island of New Zealand in the 1860s. By a remarkable twist of events it linked itself to the United States, and for a long time was one of the few important institutions in Australia with strong American loyalties. While much is known about early trade unions and their role in Australian history, little has been written on such friendly societies as the IOOF, and yet for decades these societies had more effect than the unions on the daily life of the average Australian family.In suburbs and in country towns the lodges of the IOOF were ahead of their time, providing sickness and funeral benefits long before there was a welfare state. MARKET. Geoffrey Blainey is one of Australia's best-known commentators and historians. He is the author of numerous books, one of which, The tyranny of distance, gave Australia one of its most popular sayings. In 1988 he was awarded the celebrated Britannica Prize for excellence in the dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of mankind..