United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory
Encyclopedia
The United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory is the main governing body of Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
within the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
that also wholly encloses the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
containing the national capital city
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
, Canberra. It is the oldest Grand Lodge
Grand Lodge
A Grand Lodge, or "Grand Orient", is the usual governing body of "Craft", or "Blue Lodge", Freemasonry in a particular jurisdiction. The first Masonic Grand Lodge was established in England in 1717 as the Premier Grand Lodge of England....
in Australia, deriving its origin directly from the union in 1888 of the earlier 1845 provincial Grand Lodge under the United Grand Lodge of England
United Grand Lodge of England
The United Grand Lodge of England is the main governing body of freemasonry within England and Wales and in other, predominantly ex-British Empire and Commonwealth countries outside the United Kingdom. It is the oldest Grand Lodge in the world, deriving its origin from 1717...
and other provincial Grand Lodges.
Organisation
The Grand Lodge is led by an elected Grand MasterGrand Master (Masonic)
In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....
, assisted by a Deputy Grand Master and an Assistant Grand Master, with a Grand Team.
The Grand Lodge is further organised into 13 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. Districts are numbered using the Region number suffixed by a further number, hence District 103 is the 3rd district of Region 10. The geographically smallest is Region 12 Sydney Central and the largest is Region 13 Far West. There are no Region or District offices. 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, Sydney
Castlereagh Street is a major north-south street in the centre of the Central Business District of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia .-Description:...
, on the north-west side of the corner with Goulburn Street
Goulburn Street, Sydney
Goulburn Street is a cross street in the Sydney central business district, in the state of 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, to Crown Street in the east at...
.
History
Freemasonry came to New South Wales with the regiments of the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
soon after the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
in 1788.
A Military Lodge sitting under Warrant No.1780, by then having admitted a number of civilians to membership, became Sydney No.l, formed with 39 brethren on 13 April 1845, the first Wor. Master Bro. Richard McGuffin and his Officers, being installed by Bro. Alexander. No.l, operated in Sydney until its closure in 1968.
The first Grand Lodge was opened in Sydney in 1845, Bro. Robert Barr being the first Grand Master, and Bro. Andrew Alexander, the Deputy Grand Master. Bro. Alexander was the Grand Master the following year. The institution grew and prospered; No.2 Lodge was opened in 1845, No.3, No.4, and No.5 (in Kiama on the New South Wales South Coast) in 1846, No.6 and No.8 in 1847, No.7 in 1850.
The Grand Lodge of Ireland
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 the oldest reference to Grand Lodge of Ireland comes...
and the Grand Lodge of Scotland
Grand Lodge of Scotland
The Grand Lodge of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland was founded in 1736 – although only a third of all lodges were represented at the foundation meeting of the Grand Lodge....
were also warranting lodges in New South Wales, and creating their own provincial Grand Lodges.
On 16 August 1888, after considerable consultation, the Masters and Wardens of the one hundred and eighty-three 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
Grand Master (Masonic)
In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....
was Lord Carrington
Robert Wynn Carrington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire
Charles Robert Wynn-Carrington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire KG, GCMG, PC, DL, JP , known as the Lord Carrington from 1868 to 1895 and as the Earl Carrington from 1895 to 1912, was a British Liberal politician and aristocrat.-Background and education:Born at Whitehall, London, Lincolnshire was the...
, Governor of New South Wales.
Notable Grand Masters
- James FarnellJames FarnellJames Squire Farnell was an Australian politician and Premier of New South Wales. Farnell was a hard-working legislator who gave much study to the land question and also tried hard for some years to pass a bill for the regulation of contagious diseases.-Early years:Farnell was born in St Leonards,...
, Premier of New South Wales - Lord CarringtonRobert Wynn Carrington, 1st Marquess of LincolnshireCharles Robert Wynn-Carrington, 1st Marquess of Lincolnshire KG, GCMG, PC, DL, JP , known as the Lord Carrington from 1868 to 1895 and as the Earl Carrington from 1895 to 1912, was a British Liberal politician and aristocrat.-Background and education:Born at Whitehall, London, Lincolnshire was the...
, Governor of New South Wales (1888–1890) - Admiral Sir Harry RawsonHarry RawsonAdmiral Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson, GCB, GCMG RN , is chiefly remembered for overseeing the British Benin Expedition of 1897 that burned and looted the city of the Kingdom of Benin, now in Nigeria...
, Governor of New South Wales (1902-1909) - (Former) Police Commissioner Tony LauerTony LauerAnthony Raymond 'Tony' Lauer, APM, JP was the Commissioner of the New South Wales Police from 1991 until 1996.-Education:...
(2002–05) - Dr Gregory Levenston M.D.Doctor of MedicineDoctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
JPJustice of the PeaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(2008–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
External links
- UGL NSW & ACT
- UGL Museum of Freemasonry - level 3, 279 Castlereagh St Sydney