KAIKOHE MAORI BAND

Northern Advocate, 27 October 1936, Page 4

KAIKOHE MAORI BAND

It will be agreed, we think, that none of the bands which took part in the Whangarei Gymkhana band contest attracted more attention than the Maori instrumentalists who came from Kaikohe. Other, bandsmen undoubtedly produced better music, but it was not so much the calibre of the Kaikohe musicians as their sporting spirit in standing up to the best that the Auckland Provincial Brass Bands Association could produce that won the admiration of the public. It must not be thought that the Kaikohe Maori Band did not play avcll ; they did, especially when it is remembered that the material with which they are provided, in the shape of instruments, was of a very inferior nature. The instruments are old, and, in many cases, battered and deficient in the requirements upon which every first-class bandsman insists, | The judge, who saw the Maori bandsmen at their quarters after the contest, was astonished that they had done so well with the material at their disposal, especially when some of the players were novices. He was much moved by the demeanour of the members of the band and their desire to obtain information that Avon Id help them to become better bandsmen. This indeed is a com-

menclable spirit, and we are sure that the bandsmen appreciated the kindly interest taken in them by the, man who, when in the judge’s tent, had to hold the balance fairly between all the bands, Mr Gray, as a practical gesture of regard and encouragement, promised to write a march for the band when he returned home and obtained the necessary leisure. No doubt the people of Kaikohe will j hear this march played in due jcourse. We would suggest that | the provision of new instruments with which the band might play I the march and take part in future ; contests would be a really worth- | while action appreciated by people lof both races in the North.