Change allows women in band

Press, 2 September 1986, Page 9

Change allows women in band

By

RUTH ALLEN

Women will now be allowed to join the New Zealand Army Band after a recent policy change, says an Army spokesman, Major Mike Wicksteed.

No more than three women would be able to join the 35-member band initially, said Major Wicksteed. This was an “arbitrary” limit, which would "probably be refined upwards if need be,” he said. After a policy review, it was seen as "inappropriate” to restrict the band to men only, he said.

Women will not, however, be eligible for Army band postings to Singapore. Bandsmen on twoyear appointments there “had to do combat-type duties from time to time,” Major Wicksteed said. Women were not allowed to be involved in Army combat.

Women band members would be able to join the

band in Singapore for short tours of non-combat duty, he said. Jeannie Kwak, aged 21, has been trying to get into’ the Army Band since 198.4, as it is the only fulltime professional brass band in New Zealand.

She has played flugelhorn and cornet in brass bands for the last six years and won a brass scholarship to Australia in 1985. She is now a member of the Fire Service Band in Christchurch and a student at Lincoln College. Miss Kwak had not been told that women were not able to join the band but little progress had been made on her application and she had heard of other women who had failed to get in. She wrote to the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Mrs Hercus, earlier this year and her letter was acknowledged, but she does not know if this had any bearing on the policy

change. There had been rumours that women would be allowed to join the band but Miss Kwak saidj she was “waiting for the official word to comej through.” “I am really pleased — though it has taken long enough,” she said. She is now completing her application for an audition to join.

The new policy aligns the Army Band with other Armed Forces’ bands.

•The Royal New Zealand Navy’s full-time band, based in Auckland, had had women members for some time, said the Resident Naval Officer (Christchurch), Lieuten-ant-Commander David Watson.

The Navy Band is a “military band” — brass and woodwind instruments.

Bandswomen were not allowed to join the Navy band’s occasional duties at sea, however, because

of the ban against women in combat, said Lieuten-ant-Commander Watson.

The possibility of allowing women to serve in “white Navy” ships — ships on non-combat duties — was being investigated, he said. The Royal New Zealand Air Force does not have a full-time band, but most bases have a brass band of Regular and Territorial

personnel, including women. Four women were in the 20-member R.N.Z.A.F. Base Wigram Band, said the Wigram base adjutant, Flight Lieutenant John Buchanan. “There are no restrictions on the number of women in our band,” he said. This was because it was a part-time, non-com-bat band.