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Story: Irish

The Orange Lodge

The Orange Lodge

One of the distinctive contributions of Irish Protestants to New Zealand was the Orange Lodge. It was first established in New Zealand in 1858 and spread through the country in the 1870s. This certificate is the order establishing the Lyttelton lodge in 1870. The Orange Lodge was named after William of Orange, the Protestant King, who defeated the Catholic King James II in 1690. An image of King ‘Billy’ on his horse can be seen on the certificate.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Irish – Irish Protestant tradition, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/4458/the-orange-lodge (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2024.

Comments

Robert Mckee
22 March 2024
hello my name is Robert mckee ... l am tracing my family who moved to NZ from Kilkeel lreland about 1912/14 ...Mr Henry Mckee he joined the ANZC forces during the War and his wife and family where able to come from lreland to join him 1919/20 ...He was an orangeman and l have a photo of him in Taranaki with a Group of other orangemen..not sure of the date....l would love to find out more about his Life in the Orange Instution if that was possible.... he died in Eltham, South Taranaki , Jan 1922...... Many Fraternal Thanks...