Queensland
The OES in Australia was introduced by Brother Stewart Hall and Sister Sarah Hall from the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland. Both members had been involved in founding the first few Chapters in Scotland and had come to Australia for health reasons. Sarah Chapter No 31 was instituted on 13th July, 1912 in the Valley Masonic Hall, Wickham Street, Brisbane (Under the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland). Sister Hall was the founding Worthy Matron, and Brother Hall, the founding Worthy Patron.
The growth of Chapters stalled for a few years and it wasn’t until 1922 that Golden Wattle Chapter No 189 and Hope Chapter No 192 were instituted. Chapters continued to grow and by 1938, Queensland had 27 Chapters, mainly in the Brisbane/South Brisbane area.
Chapters outside of the Brisbane area, and sometimes up to 2000 kilometres from the State Capital, were soon instituted. Five District Grand Chapters were formed to supervise them:
| District Grand Chapter | Formed |
|---|---|
| Brisbane District Grand Chapter | 1947 |
| South Brisbane District Grand Chapter | 1952 |
| Burnett District Grand Chapter | 1964 |
| Far Northern District Grand Chapter | 1979 |
| North Queensland District Grand Chapter | 1980 |
On Australia Day 1985, and in the same year that The United Grand Chapter of Australia came into existence, the Grand Chapter of Queensland was formed with a jurisdiction over the five District Grand Chapters in that State.
New South Wales & the Australian Capital Territory
In May 1912, authority was granted by the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland, to a Brother Fred T Pedersen, residing in Lithgow NSW, to confer the degrees and form the first Chapter in NSW. In the end, two petitions for Chapters were approved of and both Southern Cross Chapter No 33 (in Sydney), and Hartford Chapter No 34 (in Lithgow) were instituted on 13th March, 1913.
In 1924, the Supreme Grand Chapter approved a petition for Sydney District Grand Chapter to be formed, and to have the power to supervise 9 Chapters in NSW and the ‘Federal Capital Territory’. By 1946, NSW had 80 Chapters, and in 1946/47, the Sydney District Grand Chapter was divided into a number of Districts to enable more efficient management. Two further Districts were formed in the decades that followed:
| District Grand Chapter | Formed |
|---|---|
| Sydney District Grand Chapter | 1924 |
| Illawarra District Grand Chapter | 14/12/1946 |
| Eastern District Grand Chapter | 21/12/1946 |
| Parramatta District Grand Chapter | 11/1/1947 |
| Bankstown District Grand Chapter | 1/2/1947 |
| Northern District Grand Chapter | 22/2/1947 |
| Hunter Valley District Grand Chapter | 13/12/1947 |
| Western District Grand Chapter | 15/5/1954 |
| Southern District Grand Chapter | 28/9/1985 |
After lengthy negotiations, the Grand Chapter of New South Wales was Instituted on the 28th April 1951, as the governing body of the Order in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. The ceremony took place in the Sydney Town Hall with representation from other Australian states, New Zealand and a total of 2,370 members in attendance.
The Grand Chapter was renamed to the Grand Chapter of NSW & ACT Inc in 2003.
Other States
The Order reached the remaining States over the following decades, each beginning with a single Chapter:
| State | First Chapter | Instituted | Supervised by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Melbourne Chapter No 252 | 18th April 1925 | Melbourne District Grand Chapter (1954), then the Grand Chapter of Victoria (22 July 2016) |
| South Australia | Adelaide Chapter No 324 | 29th October 1929 | Deputy Grand Matron’s Committee of South Australia (1985) |
| Western Australia | Perth Chapter No 319 | 19th October 1929 | Deputy Grand Matron’s Committee of Western Australia (1985) |
| Tasmania | Tasman Chapter No 593 | 11th June 1960 | Deputy Grand Matron’s Committee of Tasmania (1985) |
Further Chapters followed in each State: Wattle Chapter No 301 in Victoria in 1928, Claremont Chapter No 371 in Western Australia in 1935, and Unity Chapter No 379 in South Australia in 1936. It took a few years for the OES to reach Tasmania, and after Tasman Chapter came Hobart Chapter No 605 in 1961 and Tamar Chapter No 637 in 1967.
The United Grand Chapter of Australia
By the mid-1980s, 265 Chapters had been instituted across Australia including 14 District Grand Chapters and a Grand Chapter, with Queensland and New South Wales achieving most of this growth.
Members began to discuss the future direction of the Order in Australia and the possibility of obtaining autonomy from Scotland by establishing a ‘Sovereign Body’ of the Southern Hemisphere or specifically, Australia.
In 1984, a Joint Planning Committee was formed to discuss the ramifications of obtaining autonomy from the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland. The Chairperson was Mrs Elaine O’Brien (OAM) and the elected members of this committee were as follows:
| State | Elected Members |
|---|---|
| Queensland | Elsie Reinke, Margaret Tucker, Fran Smith, Aileen Zeith, Frank Robar |
| New South Wales | Elaine O’Brien, Norma Casley, Jean Kimble, Lois Olfen, Irene Thompson |
| Victoria | Jack Shearer |
| South Australia | Barbara Ashton |
| Western Australia | Ted Phillips |
| Tasmania | Vera Davidson |
Following much effort and discussion, The United Grand Chapter of Australia Order of the Eastern Star came into being on 8th June, 1985 with “supreme and exclusive jurisdiction …. within the confines of the States and Territories of Australia and its dependencies”.