Welcome from the RW District Grand Master

Prof. Guy Charlesworth

Welcome to the official website of the Masonic District of South Africa, North. The District of South Africa, North falls under the authority of the United Grand Lodge of England, which was founded in 1717 and is the premier Grand Lodge in the World.

The United Grand Lodge of England is made up of several Provinces in England and Districts overseas. The District of South Africa, North is the largest District outside of England, with over 2500 members from all ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds that meet in 106 Lodges located mainly in the northern part of South Africa.

Geographically, the area covered by the District is extensive, from our Masonic Centre in Johannesburg some 500km northwards to Messina on the Zimbabwe border and 300km southwestwards to Jan Kempdorp north of Kimberley in the Northern Cape. In addition, the District extends from Johannesburg 300km eastwards towards Mozambique and Swaziland, and 300km westwards to the Botswana border. It also includes two lodges in Swaziland, a lodge at Gaborone in Botswana and a lodge at Phoenix in Mauritius.

Freemasonry is one of the World's oldest secular, fraternal organizations. It is a Society whose membership is open to men of all faiths who express a belief in God or a supreme deity and who are law-abiding and of good character. It expects its members to be useful members of society; to be courteous and thoughtful to others, to express kindness in the community, to be honest in business and fair in all dealings. Freemasonry encourages and practices concern for people, care for the less fortunate and help for those in need.

Charity forms an important facet of Freemasonry and the District of South Africa, North is unprecedented in Freemasonry in South Africa in that it has been able to make significant donations averaging over R1 Million per year for the past 15 years to non-Masonic recipients. Notably, major single donations of over a R1 Million have been made in the last 6 years to Reach for a Dream (For terminally ill children), Reach for Recovery (Support for breast cancer patients), CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation), Headway (Gauteng Head injuries), Woodside Sanctuary (For intellectually and physically challenged children) and, in 2010 to Childline (For protection against child violence). In addition, during 2009-2010, minor grants of approximately R652,000 were made to Non-Masonic Charities and R212,000 to Masonic Charities. A summary of our charitable work can be found in the web pages.

There are several widely-held misconceptions about Freemasonry, and hopefully this website will allow non-members to learn a little more about our Society; its structure, its history, its aims, our charitable donations and involvement in the local communities and hopefully to dispel the myth that Freemasonry is a secret society.

For those who are interested in joining Freemasonry, but do not know how, you will find the information you need and contacts in our web pages.

For our Members, the website will allow for better communication throughout the District. Not only will it provide news about the District's activities but will enable our Lodges to advertise and report on their charity and social events.

I hope you find this website an insight into our Masonic Fraternity, both interesting and informative and ask you to contact us should you have any further questions or comments.

Contact:- District Grand Secretary - W Bro. David Pickard, 011 643 3311

Prof. Guy Charlesworth
District Grand Master
South Africa, North