Craft Freemasons 

Freemasons are ordinary Australians who care for our community and believe that a shared set of values helps make better people.

Freemasons are a diverse group of men from all walks of life, from many religions and many backgrounds. We follow a centuries-old tradition which started with the guilds of stonemasons in mediaeval times and evolved into an influential modern-day organisation. Today Freemasonry is more relevant than ever, giving men support to navigate changing times and become the best they can be.

What do Freemasons Do?

Freemasonry is an international movement with over six million members worldwide, but it works very much within the local community.

In Australia, Robert Menzies, Donald Bradman, Charles Kingsford Smith and Weary Dunlop are just a few names from the long list of notable Freemasons.

For the increasing numbers of people who have an innate belief in a Supreme Being, but are not overly ‘religious’, Freemasonry gives life a deeper dimension of meaning.

Masonic Lodges most often meet once a month and meetings usually last for 2-3 hours and transact the business of the Lodge and also conduct the ancient ritual which might include initiating candidates, raising members to higher degrees or installing a new master and his officers.

All this is done in a formal ceremony that is centuries old and is designed to teach Freemasons important lessons and start them thinking about their own nature, actions and being. The teachings of Freemasonry are strongly allegorical and make extensive use of emblematic symbols. Ideally, the true nature and teachings of Freemasonry can be divulged only to Masons.

Lodge meetings are followed by a meal called the ‘festive board’ which gives members a chance to unwind and get to know each other in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

The different levels of Freemasonry

In the Middle Ages when a person wished to join a craft he was apprenticed to learn the tools and skills of the trade. When he had proved his skills he became a 'fellow of the craft' and when he had developed exceptional skills he became known as a 'master mason'.

Craft Freemasonry consists of the three degrees called the Entered Apprentice (1st Degree), the Fellow Craft (2ndDegree) and the Master Mason (3rd Degree). There is no higher degree than the Master Mason degree, although other branches of Freemasonry do confer degrees which go up to the number 33, they are only a sign of further learning, not of higher rank.

Inside a Lodge Room

When Freemasons hold a lodge meeting, it is done in a very orderly and planned way, based on ritual and traditions going back hundreds of years.

Non Freemasons do not get to see a lodge meeting because everyone in the room must prove themselves to be a Freemason during the opening ceremony, however this page will give an insight to the rough layout of a normal meeting in the South Australian and Northern Territory Constitution (every constitution will do things a little differently).

A lodge room is laid out East to West and North to South, with seating along the walls of all sides. In the middle of the room is a rectangular black and white tessellated pavement along with a few other objects central to the moral teachings of Freemasonry.

The Master of the Lodge sits on the East side where he presides over the entire meeting; next to him is the Immediate Past Master who, having been the previous Master, provides advice and support. Opposite the Master on the West side sits the Senior Warden, second in charge of the Lodge, while the Junior Warden sits along the South of the Lodge room. Each officer has moral reasons for sitting where he does, for example the Master is placed in the East to represent the sun, which rises in the East.

Freemasons in the Top End of the Northern Territory

Freemason Craft Lodges meet in Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs. Three Craft Lodges meet at the Freemasons Hall Parap, and one craft lodge also meets in the Darwin rural area.

The Port Darwin Lodge

The Port Darwin Lodge is one of three Craft lodges, that meets at the Freemasons Hall, Parap. It is the original Northern Territory Freemason Lodge, started in 1896 in Darwin in which at the time was called Palmerston, although the port was always known as Port Darwin after the harbour.

Port Darwin Lodge meets each month, the first Friday at 7:30 PM.

Darwin Lodge of Remembrance

Darwin Lodge of Remembrance is the second of the Craft Lodges that meet at Freemasons Hall, Parap. It was formed in 1951 at a time post war, when Freemason Lodge membership was high and there was a need for additional lodges to accommodate the number of members.

Darwin Lodge of Remembrance meets every month at Freemasons Hall, Parap on the third Friday, at 7:30PM

Lodge Foelsche

Lodge Foelsche is the third of three Craft lodges, that meet at the Freemasons Hall, Parap. It was formed in 1962, when Freemason Lodge membership was still high like so many service and sporting clubs. It is named after Inspector Paul Foelsche, the first police officer in the new settlement of Palmerston in 1870 and one of the founders of Freemasonry in the Top End.

Lodge Foelsche meets each month at Freemasons Hall, Parap on the fourth Wednesday, at 7 PM.

As well as those lodges meeting at Freemasons Hall Parap, Lodge Koolpinyah meets at Howard Springs Hall the third Tuesday of each even month. while the Katherine Lodge of Fidelity meets on the third Saturday of each month.

Lodge Koolpinyah

Meets on the third Tuesday every second month, at 7:00pm at the Howard Springs Community Hall in the rural area. Lodge Koolpinyah is a dining lodge and on the alternate months they hold a social meet at the Coolalinga Tavern with partners.

Katherine Lodge of Fidelity

Meets on the third Saturday, every month at 4:00pm, at the Katherine Masonic Hall.