The first gatherings and meetings of Orangemen took place in the early days of the colony in New South Wales amongst military personnel.  They held warrants issued by the Grand Lodges of the United Kingdom and lodges consisted of brethren of the various regiments, several of them being 17th, 50th and 63rd.

Research shows that in 1830 the 17th Leicestershire Regiment arrived in New South Wales and with them was Warrant No. 260 granted by the Grand Lodge of England.  The Secretary of that Lodge, Bro. Robert Fiddles, is recorded as having written to the Grand Lodge, stating that they were 75-strong and requested  an additional warrant for some 29 of their members who were stationed with the 63rd Regiment in Hobart Tower.

In 1829, the military commanders had ordered the return to Grand Lodge of all military lodge warrants.  However, a number of Orangemen disbobeyed the order and retained them, continuing to use the Irish and English warrants to hold meetings throughout the growing colonies as far inland as the gold rush areas of New South Wales and Victoria.   Lodge meetings under the military warrants were not allowed to admin non-military persons.

A Corporal Wm. McKeeee wrote to the Grand Lodge in 1823 advising that L.O.L. 260 was rapidly increasing in membership.  He also reported that, in his view, if Orange lodges were established in Australia the welfare of the community would be increased, for by now there were numbers of free respectable people and discharged soldiers who would support the Institution.

On April 9, 1835 the "Lady Nugent" arrived in Sydney.  Those on board including the families of 29 soldiers of the 50th Queen's Own Regiment.  Among them was Private Alexander, whose wife had sewn into his tunic the warrant of the 50th Regiment's Orange Lodge No. 1780.

They met as opportunity offered (it having been decided to secretly retain the warrant) in a room above the printing office of Bros Barr and Kitchen, two Londonderry Orangemen whose premises were situated next door to the Crown and Kettle Hotel, Sydney, with Bro. Alexander the Wor. Master.

These gatherings formed the nucleus of the first Australian Lodge.  Ultimately the old Military Lodge sitting under Warrant No. 1780, by now having admitted a number of civilians to membership, became Sydney No. 1 in 1845.

The first Australian Lodge (No 1) was formed with 39 brethren on April 13, 1845, the first Wor. Master Bro. Richard McGuffin and his Officers, being installed by Bro. Alexander, L.O.L. No. 1, operated in Sydney until its closure in 1968.

The first Grand Lodge was opened in Sydney in 1845, Bro. Robert Barr being the first Grand Master, and Bro. Andrew Alexander, the Deputy Grand Master.  Bro. Alexander was the Grand Master the following year.

The institution grew and prospered; No.2 Lodge was opened in 1845, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 (in Kiama on the New South Wales South Coast) in 1846, No. 6 and No. 8 in 1847, No. 7 in 1850.  Of those early Lodges No. 6 and No. 8 are still meeting.  Other Lodges more than 100 years old and still meeting are No. 11 at Penrith, No. 27 in Sydney, No. 36 at Bathurst, No. 96 at Taree, and No. 99 at Lismore on the far North Coast at New South Wales.

Expansion

During early years, No. 4 reported an attendance of nearly 400 members, and No. 3 reported an attendance of 700 at a supper in July, 1868.  As the colony grew so did the Institution and membership grew to many thousands.

Reports were printed in the "Sentinel" (one of the two Protestant press newspapers then in Sydney - operated by Orangemen) as early as 1848 of July 12 processions in Sydney and Melbourne.  Eventually there was scarcely a country town which did not have its Orange Lodge and Protestant hall.

The first Orange Lodges in Victoria were formed in 1843 and 1847, the direct result of civil unrest by sections of the local Roman Catholic community. The civil unrest followed the democratic election of a Protestant to represent the Port Phillip District in the first New South Wales Parliament.  Open voting at election then existed, so that each party knew how the other voted.  The conduct of many Roman Catholics at this election so aroused the Protestants that they resolved to band themselves together for mutual protection "and to resist in the future the lawless conduct of the Popish mob".

In June 1867, the two branches of Orangeism operating in Victoria merged to form the Loyal Orange Institution of Victoria, which continues to function successfully, currently with some 30 subordinate lodges.

The first Orange lodge in South Australia met in Port Adelaide in 1854 with 20 members.   By 1894 there were around 3,100 members in that State.  In 1860 the Grand Lodge of South Australia was constituted, there being 10 Lodges at that time.  In 1880, the first ladies' lodge was opened in Adelaide.

The Institution commenced operation in Queensland in 1865 and the Grand Lodge was constituted in 1867.  Initially, the Institution was called "The Loyal Protestant Association of Queensland", but on January 30, 1873 the name The Loyal Orange Institution of Queensland was adopted.  In 1898 a serious split occurred in the Institution because of a new R.A.P. ritual.  The rift was healed in 1905 and the Institution became "one" again.  By 1932, there were or had been 191 Warrants issued to male and mixed Lodges.

Little is now known of the origins of the Institution in Western Australia, but it is believed the first Lodge was formed in 1886.  The Grand Lodge was constituted in 1913.

The Grand Orange Council of Australia was formed in 1883 in order that ritual workings might be made uniform throughout all jurisdictions.  That objective, amongst others, continues to be the main function of Council.

Principles

The Institution in Australia today owns headquarter buildings in all states.  The Order continues to maintain its long-standing commitment to upholding the principles established by King William III at the Battle of the Boyne - to propogate and defend the interests of Protestantism; to promote the widest measure of religious and civil liberty and the separation of Church and State; and to support the welfare of mankind.

The Loyal Orange Institution of Victoria conducts a Protestant Information Centre and Bookshop.  The Centre is situated within Loyal Orange House, Melbourne, and provides information leaflets, books, etc. about the Protestant faith.

The Institution also conducts Protestant rallies, featuring prominent Protestant preachers, and throughout Australia has vigorously (but unsuccessfully) opposed the concept of State aid to denominational schools, it being considered as segregative and an infringement on the religious liberty of Australians.

In New South Wales and Victoria the Institution has established homes for the aged and invalid, which altogether accommodate some 140 people at low rental, and support other community welfare projects.

"The Sentinel" (not the publication referred to earlier), Australia's Orange Journal , is widely read in many parts of the "Orange" world and copies of each issue are posted to every Australian Federal parliamentarian as a public relations exercise.

Although the two world wars caused a great decline in membership as members enlisted, many never to return, and the Institution is nowhere near as strong as it used to be, it is still nevertheless alive and well and, by the grace of God, continues and will continue to support the basic principles - freedom of worship, freedom of speech and freedom of public assembly - and the welfare of mankind.

Hilton R. Wickham