In medieval times, the right to enter a city armed and en masse was not readily given.
It became known as Freedom of Entry and continues, mostly as a symbolic gesture, even today.
The ancient tradition will be revived in Broadmeadows this Saturday as members of the 4th Combat Services Support Battalion, based at Maygar Barracks, march from Broadmeadows Town Park on Pearcedale Parade to Civic Plaza on Pascoe Vale Road.
Hume mayor Helen Patsikatheodorou says the parade will be a tribute to military units stationed at the Camp Road barracks over the past century.
The 101-year-old Maygar Barracks site is named after Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Cecil Maygar, a Victoria Cross recipient, who established the base to train soldiers for World War I.
The parade, beginning at 10.30am and finishing at 12.30pm, will include a display of military vehicles and a free sausage sizzle.