The United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory is the main governing body of

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

within the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

that also wholly encloses the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

containing the national capital city,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. It originated from the union in 1888 of the earlier 1849 provincial Grand Lodge under the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron T ...

and other district and provincial Grand Lodges of the

Grand Lodge of Ireland The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second most senior Grand Lodge of Freemasons in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. Since no specific record of its foundation exists, 1725 is the year celebrated in Grand Lodge anniversaries, as ...

and the

Grand Lodge of Scotland The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland is the governing body of Freemasonry in Scotland. It was founded in 1736. About one third of Scotland's lodges were represented at the foundation meeting of the Grand Lodge. Histor ...

. The United Grand Lodge of NSW and ACT building is located in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. The foundation stone for the current building on Castlereagh street was laid on 15 May 1976. It was officially opened and dedicated on 10 March 1979. The office tower was built in 2005. The current building houses The Masonic Museum, which is open to the public.

Organisation

The Grand Lodge is led by an elected Grand Master, assisted by a Deputy Grand Master and an Assistant Grand Master, with a Grand Team. The Grand Lodge is further organised into 4 Regions, each led by a Regional Grand Counsellor (RGC), which are in turn organised into various Districts, led by a District Grand Inspector of Workings (DGIW), comprising groups of lodges based on geography. Lodges meet in various buildings, ranging from individual lodge buildings to major city or urban centres, such as in Canberra. The Grand Secretary heads the administration of the Grand Lodge from the headquarters at 279

Castlereagh Street, Sydney Castlereagh Street is a major street located in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs in a north-to-south, in a one way direction only. Description Castlereagh Street's northern terminus is at the ...

, on the north-west side of the corner with

Goulburn Street Goulburn Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Goulburn Street is in the southern portion of the Sydney central business district and runs from Darling Harbour and Chinatown in the west, t ...

History

Freemasonry came to New South Wales with the regiments of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

soon after the

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

in 1788. It was banned by Governor King because of suspicions of republicanism. The first stationary lodge, The Australian Social Lodge No.260 (Irish Constitution), was established by lodges working under Irish travelling warrants that were attached British regiments garrisoning the settlement in New South Wales. Lodge No.227 (attached to the 46th Regiment) and Lodge No.218 (attached to the 48th Regiment) admitted a number of civilians to membership and assisted in the dedication of The Australian Social Lodge in August 1820. In 1824, Lodge Leinster Marine of Australia, No.266 (Irish Constitution) was formed. The first lodge under the English Constitution was warranted in June 1828 as the Lodge of Australia No.820. The first Scottish lodge was established in 1844 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, then known as the Port Phillip Settlement and still part of New South Wales. It was not until 1851 that the first Scottish Lodge, Lodge of St. Andrew (No.358), was established in Sydney. The first English Provincial Grand Lodge was opened in Sydney on 10 May 1849, Bro. John Williams being the first Provincial Grand Master. The institution grew and prospered; English lodges, The

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

Lodge of Unity No.804 had been opened in 1847, followed by The Australian Lodge of Harmony No.814 (Sydney) in 1848 and the

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

Lodge of Unity No.865 in 1851. The

and the

were also warranting lodges in New South Wales, and creating their own provincial Grand Lodges. However, there was to become a growing level of dissatisfaction with the home Grand Lodges (England, Scotland and Ireland) due to the tyranny of distance and also the amount of money being sent away from the Colony. This dissatisfaction eventually led to the establishment of the Grand Lodge of New South Wales by three Irish Lodges and five Scottish Lodges on 3 December 1877. The new breakaway Grand Lodge was not favourably received by the home Grand Lodges and was not officially recognised until the union in 1888, although it did receive recognition from a majority of the world's Grand Lodges, especially from the various jurisdictions in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. In the following 11 years, although there was much disharmony between the three organisations, the three constitutions continued to warrant lodges and membership grew. By the time of the formation of the United Grand Lodge in 1888, the Grand Lodge of New South Wales had fifty-one lodges on its register. Following Scottish tradition, The Australian Social Lodge, being the mother lodge of masons in New South Wales, was given the number 0 on the register. On 16 August 1888, after considerable consultation, the Masters and Wardens of the one hundred and seventy-six lodges assembled, the articles of union were again adopted, and the " United Grand Lodge of New South Wales " declared to be duly constituted and established. The first Grand Master was

Lord Carrington Peter Alexander Rupert Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, Baron Carington of Upton, (6 June 1919 – 9July 2018), was a British Conservative Party politician and hereditary peer who served as Defence Secretary from 1970 to 1974, Foreign Secret ...

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

. On 12 August 2015 the Grand Lodge installed the youngest Grand Master to preside over the jurisdiction (New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory), James Robert Melville. Melville was 43 years old at the day of his installation and served as Grand Master for three years until August 2018.

Notable Grand Masters

Notable Grand Masters include: * 1st, The Baron Carrington (1888–1891) * 2nd, The Earl of Jersey (1891–1893) * 3rd, Sir Robert Duff (1893–1895) * 4th, Sir

Joseph Palmer Abbott Sir Joseph Palmer Abbott, (29 September 184215 September 1901) was an Australian politician, pastoralist and solicitor. Early life Joseph Palmer Abbott was born on 29 September 1842 at Muswellbrook, New South Wales, to John Kingsmill Abbo ...

(1895–1899) * 6th, Sir

Harry Rawson Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson, (5 November 1843 – 3 November 1910) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy. He is chiefly remembered for overseeing the Benin Expedition of 1897, a British punitive expedition against ...

(1905–1909) * 8th, The Baron Chelmsford (1910–1913) * 12th, The Baron Stonehaven (1928–1930) * 14th & 16th, Frederick Maguire (1933-1935 & 1944-1945) * 15th, The Baron Gowrie (1935–1944) * 20th, Sir

John Northcott Lieutenant General Sir John Northcott (24 March 1890 – 4 August 1966) was an Australian Army general who served as Chief of the General Staff during the Second World War, and commanded the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in the Occupa ...

(1952–1955) * 28th,

Harold Coates Harold George Coates, OBE (22 April 1917 – 9 April 2002) was an Australian politician who served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1965–1976. Political career Coates entered public office as an alderman on the ...

(1980–1985) * 34th,

Tony Lauer Anthony Raymond Lauer, (born 19 December 1935) is a former police officer who served as the Commissioner of the New South Wales Police from 1991 until 1996. In February 1996, Lauer's term ended in controversy with his resignation soon after the ...

(2002–2005) * 35th, Raymond Barry Brooke (2005-2008) * 36th, Dr Gregory Henry Levenston (2009-2011) * 37th, 39th Derek James Robson AM (2011-2015, 2018-2021) * 38th, James Robert Melville (2015-2018) * 40th Lesley Norman Hicks (2021-present)

Charities

The Grand Lodge's official charities are:
masoniCare

Masonic Youth Welfare Fund

The Whiddon Group
- aged care facilities
Royal Freemasons' Benevolent Institution
- residential care and independent living accommodation

References and notes

Bibliography

External links

*
Whatever happened to... the Freemasons
ABC's ''

Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

'' TV documentary about the UGL NSW & ACT
UGL NSW & ACT

UGL Regions website

How to join Australian FreemasonryUGL Museum of Freemasonry
- level 3, 279 Castlereagh St Sydney
Brief history of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Grand Lodge Of New South Wales And The Australian Capital Territory

1845 establishments in Australia 1888 establishments in Australia Freemasonry in Australia Masonic buildings in New South Wales Masonic museums