Royal Arch Freemasonry is an important part of the overall Fraternity of Masonry. It is a sovereign body, but at the same time, an integral part of the fabric of what the general public see as Freemasonry. Its history is synonymous with the rise of Freemasonry in England during the 16th and 17th centuries, which rose from the practices of the operative masons when building the great monuments throughout England and Europe.

Relationship with Craft Masonry in Western Australia:
In common with most constitutions of Antient Free and Accepted Masons, the Grand Lodge of Western Australia recognises, in addition to the Degrees which it practices, the Honourable Degree of Mark Master Mason and the Degrees of the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch.

Royal Arch Freemasonry comes to Western Australia:
Freemasonry in Western Australia, established in 1843, suffered the same travails as did the economy of the infant settlement. It was not until 1883 that the first Royal Arch Chapter was formed in Fremantle: Western Australia Chapter, No.1033 under the English Constitution. Nine years later the second Chapter was formed: Perth Chapter, No.242 of the Scottish Constitution.

The Establishment Of The Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter:
In June 1904, a number of Chapters meeting in Western Australia constituted themselves into a Supreme Grand Chapter, which held its first convocation on August 30th of that year. Not all the Chapters at that time joined the infant body, but continued in a District Grand Chapter of Western Australia under the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland, which remains today.
The Scottish influence continues in that Western Australian Royal Arch Masons enjoy the distinct convenience participating in a number of degrees administered by the Grand Chapter, rather than having to join other sovereign orders as is the case in other parts of Australia (see listing below).

The Order as it Exists today:
About a fifth of the Freemasons in Western Australia belong to the Supreme Degree of the Holy Royal Arch, which is one of the highest membership percentages in Australasia. While the Royal Arch degree is the logical extension of the third degree of Craft Freemasonry, throughout the world it is administered by separate Grand Bodies. However, as is the case in most jurisdictions, the Royal Arch and Craft degrees in Western Australia share administrative offices in the inner Perth suburb of Burswood and enjoy a harmonious working relationship with many common goals.

The Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Western Australia controls within its jurisdiction the degrees of:

• Mark Master Mason.
  Worshipful Mark Master *
• Excellent Master Mason.
• Royal Arch.
  Third Principal *
  Second Principal *
  First Principal *
• Royal Ark Mariner.
  Worshipful Commander Noah *
• Red Cross of Babylon.
• Knight of the East and West..
  Most Excellent Chief *
• Most Excellent Master.
• Royal Master.
• Select Master.
• Super Excellent Master.
  Thrice Illustrious Master *
  * indicates a chair degree of the preceding Order.

These Degrees follow chonological events from the building of the first temple to the rebuilding of the second and use imagery and symbolism from these events to communicate elementsx of the system of morality which is universal Freemasonry.

The Royal Arch Degree is also the pathway to many other important Masonic Orders:

• The Red Cross of Constantine (The Masonic and Military Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and St. John the Evangelist).
• The Knights Templar (The United, Religious and Military Orders of the Temple and the Order of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta).
• Knight Templar Priests.
• The Royal Order of Scotland.
• The Allied Masonic Degrees.
• The Operatives (The Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slaters, Pavoirs, Plaisterers and Bricklayers).
• The Rectified Scottish Rite