HAMILTON PIPE BAND WINS CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

Wanganui Chronicle, 10 March 1947, Page 4

HAMILTON PIPE BAND WINS CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

SUCCESSFUL DOMINION CONTEST CONCLUDES

Before a crowd estimated at 12,000, the Dominion Championship Pipe Band Contest was concluded on Cook’s Gardens yesterday in glorious weather with the spectacular drum-majors’ display, in which A grade honours went to the Ruahine Highland Pip? Band, Dannevirke, the B grade award going to St. Andrew’s College, Christchurch. Hamilton Caledonian Pipe Band carried off A grade championship honours on Saturday.. winning in the aggregate of quickstep and selection points by a margin of 3| points over last year’s champions, City of Christchurch. Burns (Dunedin), winner of the B grade championship last year, was placed third, and then eaine Hawcia and Wanganui. Twenty-three bands competed in the street march on Saturday morning and the footpaths and vantage points along the halfmile route were crowded. Timaru Highland won the A grade section, with City of Christchurch and Wanganui second and third, a point separating each of the place-getters. Champion B grade band, City of Wellington, added further to their laurels by winning the B grade section. Tauranga and St. Andrew's College were second and third, respectively. Taking the honours in the quickstep, Hamilton had the advantage of 4* points over their nearest rival, and this lead was too substantial t(Pbe overhauled. Brilliant playing in the selection by City of Christchurch gave this band the exceptionally high points of 99 out of a possible 100. City of Christchurch, however, was down in the quickstep, being placed fifth in this class, but as a result of the performance in the evening were able to beat all but Hamilton in the aggregate. As a result of City of Christchurch’s sterling recital in the selection; Burns and Hawera each slipped down on the aggregate compared with their placings for the quickstep. Wanganui improved its place by one as a result of a very fine performance in the selection, and in fifth place headed Timaru by half a point. Totals for Ihc quickstep, the selection and the aggregate points are as follow: A GRADS CHAMPIONSHIP

Hamilton Caledonian played the best music in the quickstep, the tone being rich and the drums well synchronised. Their marching and general appearance was of fairly high standard and the good all-round impression they created gave them a 41 point lead. Music was the forte, also, of the Burns Band, last year’s B grade winner, and they scored only half a point less than the winners. However, they did not do so well in the marching,'scoring lowest points in this section, but the total for the music and marching saw them second. Hawera, first band to parade, scored in the marching being placed half a point ahead of Hamilton. Hawera was a much improved band and was placed third in the music. Ruahine Highland, winner of the “Exhibition” contest at Wellington in 1940, was third in the military display, and their 175 points included “possibles” for paces and timing. QUICKSTEP POINTS Military, music and total points for the various bands were:

Very rarely is a band given 99 points out of a hundred for'the selection test, but then very seldom does a band play with the magnificence that City of Christchurch did on Saturday evening. The performance was arresting. There was a rich tone, with the drones keeping perfect tune and the drums in the right perspective. Another high marking went to Hamilton, four points behind, and closely tailing the champion band was Wanganui (94 points), who put up a much better showing than they did for the quickstep. The next four bands were spaced at hall-point intervals. SELECTION POINTS. Order of placings for the selection was: City of Christchurch 99 Hamilton 95 Wanganui 94 XJanawatu .................... 931 Burns 93 Hawera 921 Timaru 92 Canterbury Caledonian . . 84 Ruahine 83 "Ail the bands arc deserving of congratulations lor the way they played," stated the adjudicator, Mr. A. McMil - tan, when the results were announced. ' City of Christchurch was wonderful to listen to, and I find it hard to do them justice when working within a mere 100 points, but I am limited to 100. "There was very little to criticise in. their selection, and I am sure yon all must have enjoyed it as much as I did," Mr. McMillan commented. 'Hamilton had the luck against them in little accidents which marred their very good playing. Alter them came live bands which it was vjry hard to separate without doing any of them an injustice," he contihued. “The playing to-night lias been of a very, very high standard In fact, the highest I have heard,” Mr. McMillan declared. In conclusion, he thanked the committee tor its excellent organisation, which had made his job so much easier. The day's proceedings on Saturday were opened by the president o[ the Wanganui Centre ot the New Zealand Pipe Band Association, Mr. Andrew McSkimming, and th e Mayor, Hon. W. J. Rogers, M.L.C. About 6000 people attended for Hie A grade quickstep, and wine favoured with ideal weather conditions and an enjoyable programme. Highlight of the entertainment was the mass display by the nine A grade bands at the conclusion of the afternoon. An imprmessive spectacle, the exhilarating effects of which were not lost on the gathering. There was another good muster of the public in th e evening to hear the selections.

Hamilton , City of Christchurch Quickstep 271} 2634 Selection Aggregate 95 99 366} 3624 Burns 266} 93 359} Hawcra 266} 924 358} Wanganui 261] 94 355} Timaru 263.1 92 355.4 Manawatu 258} 934 351} Ruahine 260 83' 343 Canterbury Caledonian 255} 84 339}

Marching Music Tot al Hamilton 1751 96 2711 266 J Burns - 1711 951 Hawcra 175i| 90i 2661 Thnaru 174! 89 2634 City of Christchurch 1731 90 2631 Wanganui 1742 87 261J Ruahine 175 85 260 Manawatu 1721 86 2581 Canterbury Caledonian .... 1721 83 2551