TRANSPLANTED IRISH INSTITUTIONS - University of Canterbury

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The Black lodges were founded in Ireland two years after the formation of the
L.O.I. They attempted to become a part of the Orange Institution but in the early years
membership of these Black lodges was forbidden by the Orange Institution. 53 By the time
they arrived in New Zealand, although they claimed to be separate they were essentially
associate institutions. To become a member of the Black lodges, later known as the Royal
Black Association, membership in the Orange Institution was necessary.
An important component in any discussion about the formation and subsequent
spread of Orangeism is what an Orangeman had to believe to be a member of that Society.
Like the Freemasons the Orange Institution had its own rituals of initiation, passwords, rules
and regulations that governed both behaviour and lodge practice. The Orange Institution
drew up rules and regulations in each country and these rules were in published form and
were subject to various amendments as deemed necessary.
The laws of the Orange
Institution in New Zealand commonly went under the title of 'Laws and Ordinances' and
when the north and south Grand Lodges were separate, before 1908, each had their own
published set of rules. These general rules governed how officers were installed and could
encompass anything from how one was admitted as a member to the expulsion of members.
It is in the reading of these rules that one can learn about the code of conduct for members.
Two forms of discipline were suspension and expulsion.
Offences ranged from nonpayment
of dues to "offences against religion and morality. "54
The code of punishment reveals what was seen as undesirable by the Orange
lodges and it also reveals the desirable ideal for everyday life. By a process of inversion the
desirable behaviours are highlighted and this shows what principles were difficult for
members to maintain. An illustrative example of this may be seen in relation to the Oamaru
L.O.L. No. 19 which in 1882 dealt with the case of Thomas Robertson who was charged
s:ryony Gray, The Orange Order, London, The Bodley Head, 1972, pp. 211-218. The black lodges also
known as the Royal Black Association (RB.A.), trace their roots back to the Crusades and the Knights of
Hospitallers and Knights of Malta. Their origin seems to have been in Ireland and they were fonned after
the L.O.!. The RB.A. seems to be more Masonic in structure and to become a member one had to be an
Orangeman. Instead of lodges they have preceptories and they call each other 'Sir Knight'. There is no
female equivalent to the Ladies Orange Lodges. A New Zealand Grand Black Chapter of Knights was
instituted on Christmas Day, 1905. No history of the RB.A. in New Zealand has been done.
S4Ibid., p. 9.