Summary

Alternative Name(s): Token Shield
Small metal silver badge in the shape of a shield engraved and presented to a member of a Loyal Orange Lodge in 1931. Presented to a member of the Loyal Orange Institution by other members, probably in honour of long service or retirement.

The Loyal Orange Institution is a Protestant society first formed in Ireland in 1795 to defend the rights of Ulstermen. The first Orange Lodge in Victoria was founded in 1843, following a sectarian protest in Elizabeth Street Melbourne over the election of a Protestant candidate to the Legislative Council Lodge processions stirred sectarian violence in 1845, 1846, 1896 and 1897.

Physical Description

Small metal silver badge engraved and presented to a member of a Loyal Orange Lodge in 1931. The badge is in the shape of a shield. It has three tiny holes, two on the top edges, one at the base, to allow it to be sewn to a piece of cloth regalia. Presented to a member of the Loyal Orange Institution by other members, probably in honour of long service or retirement.

Significance

In Victoria, the Lodge, after its re-organisation in 1864, attracted ultra-Protestants of all backgrounds, not only from Ireland. By the 1890s, there were 169 branches in Victoria, engaged in political lobbying for mainstream Protestant issues like temperance, Sunday observance, opposition to state aid for church schools, and opposition to any expansion of the political influence of Roman Catholics. The monthly meetings had an element of secrecy, as members wore regalia and followed a simple ritual. No Catholics could join. The Lodge was never a Friendly Society, but had links with the Protestant Alliance Friendly Society. Women were admitted to Lodges in 1903.

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