TRANSPLANTED IRISH INSTITUTIONS - University of Canterbury

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Orange parade this linking of the past with the future helps to explain the continued use of
banners and sashes. As already mentioned the sash was an important component in this
ritual and the song "The Sash My Father Wore" highlights this:
It is old but it is beautiful, and its colours they are fine;
It was worn at Derry, Aughrim, Enniskillen and the Boyne:
My father wore it when a youth in the by-gone days of yore:
So on the 12th I always wear the Sash my father wore. 15
Undoubtedly there was tremendous pride in wearing the sash because of its link with the
past victories of William III over James II. Indeed these victories go even deeper than mere
military events in a bygone era. A recent example of the meaning of marching on the
Twelfth of July gives some added insight- "Orange men that day not only commemorate a
very significant military and political victory, but a great deliverance from Roman slavery,
in much the same way as the Jews each year commemorate their deliverance from bondage
in Egypt. "16 This celebration of past triumphs and its meaning holds true for past Orange
parades. An important aspect is the 'Roman slavery', which is referring to the Roman
Catholic Church whom the Orange Institution saw as the oppressors of Protestants. These
marchers saw a link with the past to the present through the annual celebrations.
Auckland, had a strong tradition of marching on St Patrick's Day as shown in
Table 6. It was celebrated by the whole Catholic community, which had an annual parade
and sports day under the auspices of the Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society.
Table 6: Attendance at St Patrick's Day Parades in Auckland, 1880-1910.
*
Year Catholic School Hibernians
Children
1880 2000 ISO
1885 1200 160
1890 1577 60
1895 * 80
1900 * *
1905 2000 70
1910 3500 *
Figures were not available.
Source: New Zealand Herald.
15Billy Kennedy, (ed.), A Celebration: 1690-1990- The Orange Institution, Belfast, Grand Orange Lodge
of Ireland, 1990, p. 55.
16Richard Rose, Governing without Consensus: An Irish Perspective, London, Faber and Faber Ltd,
1971, p.258. Quoted from a letter to the Belfast Telegraph in Northern Ireland, 1969.