Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(Aus.) a Freemason.

1994		Canberra Times (ACT) 6 Mar. 17/3: Freemasonry encountered considerable opposition from organised religion, especially the Roman Catholic Church. You had the ‘kneelers’ or the ‘grippers’. The prayers or the handshakers.
1998		P. Doyle (con. late 1950s) Amaze Your Friends (2019) 78: ‘Has Laurie joined the grippers?’.