The pipers warming up before the Te Kūiti Anzac parade. Photos Andy Campbell
With another Anzac Day over, the Te Kūiti and District Highland Pipe Band is turning its attention to its members and ensuring some of its newest young drummers and pipers are ready to join the band at next year’s commemorations.
For the band, Anzac Day is always the longest day, and this year was no different.
Before the 1960s there were three highland pipe bands, but Te Kūiti Highland Pipe Band is the sole survivor and has taken on the community ceremonies previously filled by pipe bands from Piopio and Ōtorohanga.
The band’s drum major, Ross O’Halloran, said for the past 20-or-so years, the band had played at home, at Ōtorohanga and Piopio, and also at Kāwhia from time to time helping out the Te Awamutu pipe band.
The day starts at Te Kūiti, where the civic ceremony is held earlier than usual at 7am, to enable band members to also play at Ōtorohanga.
“After Te Kūiti, some of us will go up to Ōtorohanga, two will go to Piopio and after Ōtorohanga, some some of us will possibly go out to Kāwhia. The Te Awamutu band usually goes out there; we go and help them,” Ross said.
The Te Kūiti Highland Pipe Band was founded in 1949.
“I actually grew up playing the bagpipes,” Ross said.
“My dad (Jim O’Halloran) was the drum major in Te Kūiti virtually from when it started in 1949 until 2015, was his last parade. He never missed an Anzac Day.
“He served in artillery during compulsory military training. Mum always complained they could never go anywhere because her birthday was [April 24]. They never went anywhere for a holiday.”
The band’s original colours were the Gordon tartan.
“They had to fundraise for it,” Ross said. “A lot of members got their kilts made for them. We’ve still got dad’s original kilt.”
The band’s original jackets were former RNZAF jackets cut down to wear with the kilt.
A change from the green and blue Gordon plaid to the red Brodie tartan came in the late 1960s or early 1970s. An expiring New Plymouth pipe band was selling off its gear, and instead of trying to buy new Gordon kilts, they bought the Brodie kilts.
(Which is ironic as the protestant Brodie clan and and the catholic Gordons had some bloody history. In 1645 Brodie Castle, near Forres was burned by Lord Lewis Gordon in the Covenanting conflict.)
Until this year, the band would have rehearsed for Anzac Day after tuning up for the big parade at the Muster.
“That was a big one, but there’s nothing happening with that now.
“We do Christmas parades. At the moment that’s pretty much it,” Ross said.
“When I was a kid, we went to all the A&P shows and the sports days. There used to be the Ōtorohanga County Fair in February. Then there was the Waitomo Sports, Te Kūiti A&P Show, Ōhura A&P show, and Anzac Day.
“At one stage we were competing. In 2013 we won the Grade 4A Pipe Band champs down in Timaru. But as members get older and that sort of thing, it becomes a bit of an issue to keep competing. You have to be on top of your game for that.”
He’s hoping whatever the replacement for the Muster is, the organisers will want the Te Kūiti Highland Pipe Band involved.
For the muster, pipe major Don McColl introduced If it weren’t for your gumboots and for Christmas, Grandma got run over by a reindeer.
“We try and change it up,” Ross said. “We go into local clubs at Christmas time and play in there. We will play in the Waitomo club, stay for breakfast and then shoot through to Ōtorohanga. And basically, do the same there.”
For Anzac Day, the band paraded with seven pipers and five drummers. But Ross said the band was drum heavy at the moment.
“We need more pipers. We have got a lot of young drummers at the moment.”
It was his son, Glen’s, first parade playing side drum, Ross said. His wife, Susan, was also a drummer.
The band has about half a dozen young drummers and about three learner tenor drummers.
They were all primary school age, he said. His eldest child, Shane (11), marched in front of the band with a drum major’s staff.
The other young drummers ranged in age from 9 to 12, including Diohan Davao from St Joseph’s School who marched on Anzac Day with a side drum.
“Unfortunately, a number of the drummers aren’t quite ready to march with us yet. Hopefully by Christmas we will have them on the drums,” Ross said.
“We’ve got a young fellow learning to play the pipes; one of the pipers’ grandsons. [It was piper Blair Hawkins first Anzac parade.]”
“We could definitely do with some more pipers. It always seems to be the same with pipe bands. You are either heavy with drummers or heavy with pipers.
“You are never about right, unless you are one of the top competing bands. It is one of those things where you have to have the time and the family support.”
