Australia, New South Wales and Capital Territory Masonic Registers and Card Indexes - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
The collection consist of Masonic Lodge records from the Grand Lodge of New South Wales and Australian Crown Territory. The registers are handwritten in pre-printed bound volumes. The card index is handwritten on pre-printed cards.

Freemasonry in Australia can be traced to the First Fleet’s arrival in 1788 with officers and soldiers of the military forces. The first lodge in Sydney was established in 1820 under the Irish Constitution of Freemasonry. The United Grand Lodge of New South Wales was officially formed in 1888, and later became responsible for Freemasonry in the Australian Capital Territory. Complete records were kept from the time of the lodge’s creation.

These records were created to track members of the organization and to record their individual achievements of merit. The records regarding achievements within the organization are very reliable. Biographical information is usually reliable but in a few cases may have been deliberately falsified.

Registers are handwritten in pre-printed bound volumes and include the following: • 3 Card indexes are handwritten on pre-printed cards and includes the following:
 * Current members
 * Non-subscribing members
 * Deceased members

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records: Registers • 3 Index • 3

Inventory
A list of all lodges in Australia up to about 2008 can be found in the following folders. The list is arranged by lodge number, and contains the name of the lodge, the date of warrant, specifies when and where the lodge meets, and items of historical interest such as consolidations with other lodges, change of meeting place or time, and when the lodge ceased operation. The link in the DGS column will open a new window where you can see the images.

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The person's name
 * The lodge they may have attended
 * When approximately they were a member

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add the new information to your records
 * Use the information to find the person in other records
 * Analyze the entry to see if it provides additional clues to find other records of the person or their family

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Try searching by surname only
 * The person may be recorded with an abbreviated or variant form of their name
 * Remember that spelling was generally not standardized until the early part of the 20th century

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