Power of orange and why it matters – to some

WATCHING the World Cup in December, I wondered why the Dutch team wore the colour orange, so of course I followed it up.

It seems that the Dutch love of orange is tied to the Dutch royal family – the House of Orange-Nassau.

The lineage began with William of Orange, who was crowned Prince of Orange in 1544. With his leadership, the colour orange became a symbol of the Protestant Dutch royal family.

Several generations later, in 1689, one of his descendants, William III, was invited to become King of England, Scotland and Ireland after Catholic James II had been deposed and fled to France.

William’s accession came at a precarious time in European politics because of the religious divide between Protestants and Catholics that dominated international relationships.

This played itself out in the British context at the “Battle of the Boyne”. This battle took place in 1690 between the Catholic forces of deposed James II and those of Protestant King William III.

The battle took place across the River Boyne, close to the town of Drogheda, now in the Republic of Ireland. It resulted in victory for

William’s Protestant “Orange” forces. William III subsequently reigned over England, Scotland and Ireland until his death in 1702.

In 1795, a secret society, the Orange Order, was organised in the north of Ireland to celebrate the outcome of the Battle of the Boyne, support the British sovereign and promote Protestantism. Its members are referred to as “Orangemen”.

In Northern Ireland, Orangemen in formal dress wear bowler hats because bowler hats are associated with loyalty to the British establishment (older readers will be aware that one was worn by that very British gentleman, Steed, in “The Avengers”). In Northern Ireland bowler hats are also a local symbol of authority, having been worn by shipyard supervisors when shipbuilding was a strong industry there.

Every year in Northern Ireland, Orangemen march loudly and provocatively near Catholic residential areas to perpetuate Protestant domination of the Catholic minority.

The Orange Order has endured for more than 220 years in Ireland and Britain. To most outsiders, it’s a sectarian anachronism, but for members and supporters, the Order still exists to defend Protestantism.

The Australian Orange Order was established in 1845 and has a presence in all mainland states of Australia. Each State Grand Lodge is autonomous but operates under the umbrella of the Grand Orange Lodge of Australia. There are members in all states except Tasmania. As far as I could ascertain, there isn’t a Lodge in Canberra.

Orange, the city in NSW, was so named by Major Thomas Mitchell in 1846 in honour of Prince William of Orange.

What religion you are is still important in Ireland. Quentin Crisp, the raconteur, once noted that when he told people at a book launch in Northern Ireland that he was an atheist, a woman in the audience stood up and said, ‘Yes, but is it the God of the Catholics or the God of the Protestants in whom you don’t believe?”

To conclude, given the Christian focus of this article, I thought readers might appreciate a relevant poem on decorum:

With heaving breast, the Dean undressed

The Bishop’s wife to lie on She thought it crude done in the nude

So made him keep his tie on.

Clive Williams is a Canberra columnist.