TRANSPLANTED IRISH INSTITUTIONS - University of Canterbury

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required. IOI There was also a Death Benefit Fund but the details for this were not clear. At
an annual session for the Grand Orange Lodge of New Zealand, Middle Island in 1905,
there was a reference to "abnormal claims" being made on this fund during that year
because eight members had died in rapid succession. 102
Apart from this reference to
members who had died there were no other monetary benefits for members.
The Orangemen's outlet for charity tended to consist of donations to worthy
causes such as the St. Andrew's Protestant Orphanage in Nelson. 103 These forms of charity
made the Loyal Orange Institution more than a semi-secret society.
It was gradually
becoming a charitable institution.
This transplanted institution was undergoing a
transformation as its surrounding environment was not hostile.
The Loyal Orange
Institution in Ireland was essentially a minority of Protestants amongst Catholics whereas in
New Zealand the Catholics were the minority and the Protestants strong in numbers. This
change of environment contributed to the changes in the L.O.I.
Pecuniary benefits were not the main attraction for Orange Lodge membership in
New Zealand.
This benevolence "was an offshoot of the whole social meaning of
Orangeism. "104 The fraternal aspect of the Institution remained paramount. It may be said
of New Zealand, as is said of the L.O.1. in Canada that-
Like the other fraternal organizations, it crystalized 'an ethos of mutuality' but unlike the others its
ideology embraced a whole set of political and religious ideals which appealed to a wide range of
protestants, regardless of class. In the political spbere it exuded a sense of power which was
perhaps more mythical than real but nevertheless proved effective as an agent for recruitment. I 05
The ritual and confraternity of Orangeism satisfied a social need in colonial New Zealand
by reinforcing the social brotherhood, and later the sisterhood, who believed in the cause of
Protestantism.
1010p. cit., Constitutions and Laws, 1906, p. 25.
1020rand Orange Lodge of New Zealand. Middle Island. Annual Session, 1905, p. 9.
lO3'L.O.L. No. 21 "No Surrender" Minute Book 1899-c. 1908',21 November 1902.
1040p. cit., Houston & Smyth, p. 141.
105Ibid., p. 141.