History of our Lodges
Orange Order has had many Lodges in NZ over the years. Today, we continue to have nationwide coverage and representation with Lodges in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Timaru and Invercargill.
The beginnings of Orange Order Lodges in New Zealand
The first general meeting of the Order in Auckland was held early in 1843 at the Osprey Inn and was called by advertisement. After a few months the venue wasn’t suitable so the meetings were moved to the Masonic Hotel in Princes Street. At the first meeting there, Bro. Hill was elected Master and it was also here that the first July anniversary was held. According to Joseph Carnahan in his book “The Life and Times of King William III and the History of Orangeism in New Zealand” the function was “well attended by members, civilians, Government officials, and officers of the 58th Regiment which was then in garrison at Auckland.”
Orangemen were not welcome in various venues in Auckland and had to keep changing their meeting place. The Lodge moved from the Masonic Hotel to Palmer’s Hotel but again a move was made after threats were made to destroy both life and property to Palmer’s Hotel. Although the proprietors of the various hotels were supportive of the Orange Order there were so many threats of withdrawal of custom or damage to property that it wasn’t long before the Lodge couldn’t meet in any of the establishments. Such were the challenges of the Orange members of so many years ago. They then met in a house belonging to Mr. Rutherford in Albert Street, but he was informed that if the Lodge continued to meet there, the house would be burned down. Shortly after, members were called away on military duty so the Lodge ceased working temporarily. It is recorded that several times, this Lodge was suspended because military personnel were posted to various different regions, but it did re-open again. It then re-opened in a house at Cabbage tree Swamp the house being loaned to them by the sexton of the Church of England Cemetery, Bro. Walker.
Warrant No. 225 was issued by the Grand Lodge of England to members of the 18th Royal Irish, who arrived in Auckland in July 1863. In 1870 only five of the original 65 members of the regiment returned to England, several were killed but the rest remained in New Zealand. By May 1866 the membership had increased so much it was decided to build a hall in Auckland.
Auckland 19th Century
Other Lodges sprang up around the country as more Orange settlers arrived with warrants from the Grand Lodge of Ireland.
Bro. Geddis had written to the Grand Lodge of Ireland asking for a Grand Warrant for New Zealand, he duly received a reply stating that a resolution had been passed in the Grand Lodge of Ireland held in Dublin in December 1866 authorising the formation of a Grand Lodge for the Colony of New Zealand. The Grand Lodge was given the power to issue warrants and make laws for its guidance. On 8th March 1867, a meeting was called to take steps to open the Grand Lodge. There was much work to be done, lodges around the country had to be contacted, membership lists were requested, etc. On 29th April 1867 a meeting was held in the Protestant Hall in Wakefield Street, when a committee was appointed to revise rules, constitution etc, so that everything might be ready when the official information arrived. The Grand Lodge warrant duly arrived in New Zealand in October 1867, transportation being very slow in those days. On Thursday 26th December 1867 the first meeting of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand was held, officers were elected and installed. Boxing Day was just another day! The annual meeting was held on 27th December 1870 in the Red Lion Hotel, Drake Street, and it is recorded there were twelve warrants issued.
The first Lodge in Wellington opened on 12th July 1848 in a small hotel “The Cottage of Content” on Pipitea Point. It was started by seven members serving in Her Majesty’s 65th Regiment, they had arrived bringing with them certificates from various lodges in different parts of Northern Ireland. A Lodge opened in Wanganui in August or September 1849. After a while the members were transferred to Wellington and the warrant not only lapsed, it was lost for some time. Eventually it was found in the possession of a brother in New Plymouth. His wife took charge of it and during the Taranaki wars, she carried it on her person for safety.
Grand Lodge of the Middle Island
In 1864 five members applied to the Grand Lodge of Ireland for a Grand Warrant for New Zealand. The warrant No. 1886 was granted to Bro. F.J. Redpath as Master to open a Lodge in Lyttelton. Although this warrant was a private one only, the members thought it was a grand warrant and used it as such, issuing several warrants under it. The Auckland members refused to recognise the proceedings of the Canterbury members who then wrote to the Grand Lodge in Ireland asking they be granted authority to form a Grand Lodge. After this the Grand Lodge of the Middle Island (as the South Island was then known) was officially constituted in 1870.
It was more of a struggle for the South Island Lodges, the population was not as great as in the North Island, and roads were very rough, in many cases they were mere tracks and it was difficult fording the braided rivers.
After the railway was opened Lodges spread far and wide – into Westland, Otago and Southland, Blenheim, Nelson. The Grand Lodge of the Middle Island met in various places such as Oamaru, Lawrence, Invercargill, Timaru, Dunedin and Christchurch. That was a lot of travelling for lodges in such a young country. There were lodges in many small rural areas, and it is interesting to read some lodges met during the full moon so they could travel by the light of the moon. At the time of writing, I have been unable to find when the first lodge opened in Otago, however, a lodge was opened at Waitehuna in 1870, it was still working in 1890, it consisted mainly of gold diggers. No 8 lodge was at Blue Spur, No. 9 was working in Dunedin and Lodge No. 12 was at Caversham, it was later transferred to Dunedin city. No. 30 was at Tuapeka, and LOL No 38 was operating in 1882 at Green Island, while No 39 was at Port Chalmers, both warrants were issued on the same date. In November 1889, after the opening of the Exhibition in Dunedin, the Governor, the Earl of Onslow held a levee at which the Orangemen of that city presented him with an address of welcome.
With the growth of Orangeism throughout the country, it was decided to unite the two Grand Lodges, this was done in 1908 when the Grand Orange Lodge of New Zealand covering the entire country was constituted. All the old warrants were called in and cancelled and new ones issued. As some lodges in each island shared the same number, it was decided to add the letter “A” after the lodges in the South Island. Hence Lodge No. 1. Lyttelton became 1A, No 2 in Sydenham became 2A and so on. It is surprising to note this applied to the Men’s lodges only, the women’s lodges retained their original number without any additions. Hence, there was female lodge no 1 in the North Island and another in Christchurch.
District Lodges
As the membership and the number of lodges throughout the country grew, District Lodges were formed to oversee the workings of the lodges under their jurisdiction. Each lodge was entitled to a specified maximum number of delegates and it was from these delegates the District Lodge Officers were elected. It was the District Master’s duty to visit the lodges in his area, conduct elections and installations of officers and generally ensure their workings were of a high standard. Districts were formed in:- Timaru, Dunedin, Christchurch, Kaiapoi, Masterton, Southland, Wellington, Auckland, Mid-South Canterbury and more. The District Lodge also organised functions such as July Celebrations church parades and dinners. Many organised concerts as fund raisers. Many other fund raisers were held with the female members contributing most generously with their time and organisational skills.
Some lodges came and went with the result the warrant was transferred to an area where a new lodge was opening. Military personnel being posted to different areas, the gold rushes and other similar occurrences caused the rise and fall of lodges in some areas. On the West Coast of the South Island, the closing of a number of coal mines caused the demise of several lodges, the locals walked away leaving abandoned homes behind them. One notable Lodge on the West Coast was up on the Denniston Plateau. Visitors who go there now see bush, the remains of some relics and maybe one or two buildings. It used to be a thriving community, now it is all gone and the lodge likewise.
Today, Lodges are still active from Auckland to Invercargill.
Female Orange Lodges
The first female Orange Lodge was opened in Wellington in September 1888 in the Good Templars’ Hall in Manners Street. In 1889 two female lodges – numbers 1 and 3 opened in Christchurch both were attached to the No. 4 District. There was a female lodge No 2 attached to No. 16 Lodge in Southbridge prior to 1890 and No 4 was attached to No. 45 Lodge in Hokitika. No. 7 was opened in Ashburton.
Being a patriarchal organisation, it was thought the women were incapable of running a lodge. Because of this the female lodges always had a male instructor who was appointed by Grand Lodge. The female lodges were asked to nominate who they wished to have as their instructor but their wishes were not always granted. When this occurred, it was not unusual for the women to write letters of protest to the Grand Secretary. For many years women were very much relegated and at the annual conferences the men were more concerned with their part in the order to consider the women. It was noted at one of the Grand Lodge conferences the men had set aside a whole hour for women’s affairs. Yes, a whole hour! This was in 1917. In 1923, it was suggested the women could run their own affairs without having to have a male instructor present but it wasn’t until November 1930 that Ladies Lodge No 3 “Victoria” was informed they no longer needed an instructor and it was considered that women could carry on without one.
It was also in 1923 the Grand Secretary wrote to the female lodges in February informing them they could send a delegate from their own lodge to the sessions held in Dunedin. In March the Grand Secretary followed up with another letter dealing with what the delegates had to do at Grand Lodge. The women were able to hold their own conferences the same weekend as the men, however, they still had to have present, members of Grand Executive – all men. Anything passed at the women’s conference had to be approved or disallowed by the men. In the 1960s the men and women all met together with the women finally being granted speaking and voting rights on the affairs of the Institution. However, it wasn’t until 1980 that the women were permitted to take part in the election of, and vote for, the Grand Lodge Officers – 87 years after the women in New Zealand were given the right to vote for members of parliament! Finally in 1992 women could stand for Grand Lodge Office in their own right and the first female grand lodge officer was elected to a position which had always been held by a male. In the process the sitting male member was unseated much to his disappointment. In 2000, Grand Lodge of New Zealand elected its first female Grand Master – Most Worshipful Sister Patricia Ellis from Christchurch. At the age of eight, Sister Ellis had joined the Order as a junior and continued until her death in May 2023.
Despite all this, the women were undoubtedly the back bone of the Order, fund raising, catering, making regalia, table cloths, and so many other chores. They were always to the fore in any behind the scenes work to be done.
The original warrant for LLOL No 1 “No Surrender” Christchurch Ladies Lodge. It is dated 13th June 1889.
When the Grand Lodges of the North Island and Middle Island merged in 1908, new warrants were issued for all lodges.
This original one was cancelled and a new one dated 18th April 1908 was issued. (Cancellation is the writing on the right hand side of the warrant.)
Junior/Juvenile Lodges
In the late 1800s discussions took place re the forming of what were referred to at the time as youth lodges but they were given the title of Juvenile Lodges. However, they were not Junior or Juvenile Lodges with a separate ritual as was the case from 1930 onwards. An old minute book dated 1906 stated the Lodge was opened in the Orange Degree which is the degree used by the adult male lodges. However, another entry said a possible member had to revoke his application to join as he was over the age limit. These youth lodges did not last very long, was it a case of youngsters being expected to be young adults? An extract from the minutes of LOL No 2 Purple Star dated 22nd February 1910 states, “Worshipful Master admitted representatives from Ladies Lodges, Juveniles and Sister Lodges.”
Prior to becoming members of a Lodge, children and/or grand children of members or children of Protestant families could be placed on the Cradle Roll until they reached the minimum joining age. Children on this roll received birthday cards, also a Christmas gift each year.
The Juvenile movement (as it was known at first) began in 1930 with lodges opening up all over the country. The age limit was originally 8 – 19 years but in 1950 the joining age was reduced to 7 years of age. If a member was a Worthy Master or Mistress when he/she turned 19, they were permitted to stay a member until they had completed a year in the office of Immediate Past Master/Mistress in order to assist the new W.M. In the 1950s when Juvenile delinquents made the headlines of the daily news, the young folk requested the word Juvenile be changed to Junior which was approved by Grand Lodge, although it is interesting to read in old Reports of Proceedings of Grand Lodge, the word “Junior” was used.
Junior Lodges were run in the same way as the adult lodges, the young folk had their own rituals and ceremonies.
The youngsters took much pride in carrying out the lodge work but as soon as the meeting was finished, pent up energy was dispersed during energetic and entertaining games.
Of course supper always followed.
At first the Girls’ Lodge would meet one evening, the Boys’ Lodge would meet on a different evening and never the twain shall meet. It wasn’t until the 1950s the two lodges met on the same night in different meeting rooms but they shared social time together afterwards. Later the Junior Lodges merged and became completely mixed lodges. How things have changed over the years.
Junior Lodges had their own conferences separate from the adult members. They put forward remits and the discussions were of a very high standard. They also had debating competitions, and various inter-lodge competitions of parts of the lodge rituals. Camps and other outings were organised for the youngsters including various fund raisers, picnics etc.
Intermediate Lodges
The Intermediate Lodges – the youth group of the Order, were seen as a way of attracting young folk and educating them in the ways of the Orange Order. It was expected these keen young folk would progress into the adult lodges as some did. In fact, some are still members of the Order in 2024.
The first Intermediate Lodge was opened in Wellington in 1955. Intermediate Lodges catered for young folk aged from fifteen to twenty five years. These lodges flourished with the young folk running their own lodges and meetings and organising many other activities to which they could bring friends and prospective members. With the exception of three adults as Advisory Committee Members, adult members were not permitted to come to any of the meetings unless specially invited by the young folk. The three advisory committee members were elected by the young folk after they had received nominations from the adult lodges. Their job was to attend the meetings, answer questions, but did not give advice unless they thought some extra guidance was needed or a breach of the rules was about to happen. The Grand Lodge saw these young folk as capable and indeed they were. The only time the adult members saw the Intermediate Lodge workings was Easter 1960 when the members of the Christchurch lodge were invited to attend the Grand Lodge sessions and demonstrate their workings and ceremonies. They left a lasting impression on all the adults present that day. Following that demonstration, the Intermediate Lodge members were then invited to stay on and witness the installation of the newly elected Most Worshipful Grand Master, Most Worshipful Brother James and his Grand Lodge officers. The intermediate members were thrilled to be present and to witness one of their own advisory committee members installed as Grand Master. They were also thrilled to meet the Imperial Grand Master, Bro. Ashmore Kidd who was attending the Sessions in Christchurch.
Charitable work was very important to these young folk, they took on many projects, and raised considerable sums of money to help those less fortunate.
Sadly many members, through their work, were transferred to other places where there was no intermediate lodge, others married and moved away. In 1960 television arrived in New Zealand and this had a huge effect on, not just Orange lodges, but on all walks of society. No longer did people need to go out for entertainment etc, they could have it at home in their living rooms. The Intermediate Lodges started to decline and were eventually closed.