TRANSPLANTED IRISH INSTITUTIONS - University of Canterbury

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exclusion this did not preclude other interested parties in the wider total community from
taking part in the festivities. The subsequent banquets, concerts and sometimes dances gave
an opportunity for other members of the local community to join in the festivities. These
opportunities for the public to take part in a banquet or concert obviously had their
limitations since a Catholic would generally not feel inclined to partake in an Orange soiree.
There were exceptions such as the St Patrick's Day banquet in Christchurch in 1885 in
which the correspondent stated- "if anyone were to ask me what was the feature of the
evening, I should say it was the fact that Catholics and Orangemen sat down comfortably to
dinner together on St Patrick's Day."29
Celebrations of the various anniversaries of these Irish groups in New Zealand as
already seen did not always take the form of a parade. The Orange soiree and concert were
an important component in the Orange celebrations especially in years when there were no
parades. These forms of celebration gave ample opportunity for grandiose speeches,
recitals and a celebration of music that generally had an Irish flavour. The Orange soiree
gave opportunities for speakers to air topics that ranged across the religious and political
spectrum. An array of subject headings included "The need of Orangeism Today", which
stated that "Wherever Papacy existed, there also were Orangemen needed. Take Papacy out
of New Zealand and then the Orange Order could disband. Orangeism is synonymous with
protest, and so long as there is any need to protest, so long would he and others be
Orangemen and the flag of liberty and truth. "30
The parade and the speeches afterwards all expressed a protest by the Orange
Institution against Roman Catholicism and affirmed the upholding of Protestantism. These
speeches were a part of the 'symbolic power' that the Orange Institution displayed on their
anniversary celebrations. This 'symbolic power' existed in the speeches, which could only
have legitimacy if the hearers believed in the words uttered. As the only ones who went to
an Orange soiree were Orange members or sympathizers, the speeches were very
2~ew Zealand Tablet, 3 April 1885. This may indicate some harmony among these two groups of Irish
but this was hardly the norm, and why this occurred is difficult to establish since the local papers did not
even refer to this point when reporting the banquet.
3~ew Zealand Methodist, 28 July l888.