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.
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); and
Hunter Valley District Grand Chapter (13/12/1947).
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.
On 15th May 1954, Western District Grand Chapter was formed and on 28th September 1985, Southern District Grand Chapter. The Grand Chapter was renamed to the Grand Chapter of NSW & ACT Inc. in 2003.
The Grand Chapter of NSW & ACT is represented by 19 Grand Office-bearers and the term of office is 1 year. The Annual General Meeting and Installation is held in Sydney on the 3rd Saturday in March. Click here to view the current board of Grand Office-bearers for 2025-2026.
The following is a listing of the Chapters under the Grand Chapter of NSW & ACT: