CITIZENS' BAND.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 September 1918, Page 8

CITIZENS' BAND.

OPENING OF NEW BANDItOOM, The official ceremony of opening the new bamlroom, built for the New Plymouth Citizens' Band, took place yesterday afternoon, in the presence of a good gathering of the public, amongst those present being, a number of representative citizens. The members of the band gathered at the comer of Devon and Egmont streets, and marched through the town to the new room in Leach street, outside of which tliey played several selections. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. Mr .T. W. Penn, chairman of the citizens' committee, in asking his Worship the Mayor to open the new room, referred briefly to the history of band music in New 'Plymouth. From the earliest times the town and district had shown an appreciation of good music. That was particularly the case in the Maori war time, when there had been a regimental band in New Plymouth. Following the removal of the regimental band there had come Mr George Garry's band, in w*hich such men as the late Judge Rawson and Dr' O'Carrol had played in order to assist in building up a good organisation. Subsequently the band had been under the control of Mr Harry Cottier and other men, and had passed through varying experiences, until, on account of removals from the district and the decay of instruments, the band fell on evil days. Some three or four years ago, however, a fresh attempt had been made to resuscitate the band. A queen carnival was held to raise funds for the purchase of a fresh set of instruments, and that was a successful function. When applications were invited for the position of conductor the committee had some difficulty in securing a permanent bandmaster. Amongst the applications received was one from an ex-New Zealand bandmaster in Queensland, and Mr. Penn stated that when the application was submitted to him 'he immediately said, "That's the man for us." Some of those interested in the project had fears about raising the salary required, but the speaker said he believed if good music was provided the public could be relied upon to find the money. The result was the appoinment of Mr. McLeod to the position, and he felt sure everyone would regard the step taken a? a good one. Having secured a good bandmaster, the next problem was the necessity of providing a proper room for the band. The old room which had done service for so long was totally unfit for the band work, and the committee set themselves to the task of building a new room. In this connection they had been met very liberally by the borough council, who 'liad let them have the site at a very reasonable figure and had given them the money with which to buy it. (Applause.) Money for the building had been raised by donations and special efforts, including an afternoon at "Aotea," the residence of Mr. Sole, and also a Christmas carnival in the Park. Some money had been left over after the purchase of instruments; t'he old room had been'disposed of for about £4O, and they had received towards the building fund altogether nearly £4OO. The tender for the building was £7"26, and the balance" of the money they had , been able to borrow with the rig'iit te pay back by instalments as they were able. On October 28 it was intended to hold another carnival in order to raise further funds towards the room. Concluding, he said he desired to publicly express the committee's appreciation of the generosity of the borough council, his Wors'iiip the Mayor and Mrs. Burgess, the Taranaki Jockey Club (who had recently given an extra £SO to the band), and many others. He was sure the possession of such a room would encourage the bandsmen in their work, and would also afford the bandmaster a better opportunity of developing the work amongst the junior players. Mr. Penn mentioned the fact that as Thursday was a difficult day for some of the bandsmen to 1 'et away from t'heir work, some of the ; Miiors were on duty that day, ten of "em being included in the band. There ere also in the band that day the old ■teran bandmaster, Mr. T. Hughes, and ' mdmaster Taylor, of Waitara. The president read apologies for ab-

. sence from Messrs E. C. Ward and C. E. | Bellringer. He also read a letter from j the Taranaki Master Butchers' AssociI ation, enclosing a cheque for £ls, and l | handed in a cheque for £5 on behalf of ; t'he proprietors of the Taranaki Herald. . (Applause.) Mr. Penn then asked the Mayor to ' officially open the room, and in doing so presented him, on behalf of the band committee, with a golden key, suitably . inscribed. SPEECH BY THE MAYOR. The Mayor (Mr. C. H. Burgess), who i was received with applause, said he was genuinely pleased to be present and perform the ceremony of opening the room, and his presence was an earnest qf his interest in the band. Bands, like other institutions, had their ups «uiu downs. It was a good day for New ' Plymouth when the town woke up to the fact that it must have a band, and ' now, as well as a good band, they also ffV ]iad a proper bandroom. He congratuJf lated the town on the possession of such " ! an institution, and under t'he able direcJ

tion of Mr. McLeod it had developed, into a band that the town might well be proud of. He also congratulated the band and the committee on their pluck in tackling the problem of proper accommodation for the band. The committec vas a very live one. 'J'Ley ( ii»d worked well, and deserved the praise and support of the people. The band belonged to the town, and the town work could not be carried on without the support of the people of the town. He hoped never to hear again that the town could not support a band The band was a big asset to t'he town. The Mayor expressed his personal thanks to the members for the services they had always willingly rendered whenever he had wanted their assistance, and lie also spoke on behalf of the Mayoress and the Women's Patriotic Committee in thanking the band for turning out every month to assist in farowelling t'lie men of the reinforcements when they left for camp. He concluded with a word of congratulation to the committee on the success attained in the band work during the past two years, and on their courage in undertaking the building of the room opened that afternoon. (Applause.) A VETERAN BANDSMAN. Mr, W. T, Jennings, M.P., himself a bandsman of many years standing, also briefly addressed the assemblage. He stressed the importance of cultivating a love of good music for the sake of the elevating influence it had on a community, and said that any organisation which aimed at that deserved the support of every right-thinking person. He referred to bands with which he himself lmd been associated, and concluded by congratulating the band, the citizens 5 cotnmittee, and citizens, on reaching a stage such as that marked by the occasion of that afternoon, and urged the people to continue the support of the band. THE BUILDING OPENED. The Mayor then mounted the steps leading to the entrance, and opened the door, declaring the room officially open, and invited the public inside. The publie showed a keen interest in the place, and expressions in praise of the building and its appointments were heard on every hand. BANDMASTER'S REMARKS. Mr. F. W. G. McLeod (bandmaster) expressed the thanks of the band to those who had taken part in the opening proceedings, and to the people who, by their presence, had shown interest in the band. He referred briefly to the circumstances of his coming back to New Zealand from Australia, and to the position of band work in the" two countries. He spoke appreciatively of the very practical assistance given to the band since his coming to New Plymouth, which had given the members hope and courage in their work and enabled them to launch out a little. lie considered the day had gone by when it was thought infra dig for tho son of any citizen to belong to a brass band. The building which had just been opened should refute such an idea, if it did prevail. It was a room into which the band would be proud to invite anyone, and should have tho effect of helping to teach the people something of the educational advantage of band work. He spoke of the work of the junior band, and said t'iie tuition given was absolutely free to the boys taking it up. All they were required to do was to undertake to return in good order any property of the band which they had the use of, also, when they became sufficiently proficient, to take their part in the senior band. He then referred to the work done for t'he band by Mr. E. Sole, and to his enthusiasm for the well-being of the bandsmen, and said the members wished to have Mr. Sole's photograph hung in

the band-room. This Mr. Sole had consented to, and lie therefore had pleasure in unveiling the portrait. (Applause.) Mr. Solo suitably acknowledged the compliment. ROLL OF HONOR ONVEILED. The Ven. Archdeacon Evans then unveiled an Honors Board, on which the names have been inscribed of bandsmen who have gone to the front. In doing so, he said he esteemed the privilege very highly. Personally, he always had a /reat interest in the band- He ap- , predated their splendid unselfishness, which was much to be commended. Referring to the men whose names were on the board, he said it was a great privilege for any man to go and take part, in this great war. which it was hoped was going to free the world from further wars. He stated that when the TiTain Expeditionary Force from New . Zealand and Australia reached the Gulf of Suez they were joined by the Indian force, and as the 30 transports went through the Canal they saw marked out in white stone bv the Royal Engineers, on the banks of the Canal, the words: "Thank vou for coining. 1 ' He thought those words would be re-echoed by the whole civilised world and even by the countries which are now our enemies, when the war was over and freedom again won for msnkind. Speaking of the two members who had given .their lives, lie paid a tribute to their gallantry, and quoted one of Rupert Brooke's poems, to the effect that where they lie must also be a little bit of New Zealand- He then unveiled the board, which is of chaste design and bore the following names: — Bandsmen: E. Shirley, A. Wiley, C, Robertson, N. Kinsclla, G. Knight, A. E. Mason (killed!, E. Revell (M.M.I, and .T. Bury. Ex-bandsmen: T. Donovan (killed), IT. Bellringer, 11. Koutham, C. R. Coleman, A. Q. Gavlard, S. Hodges, A. 0. Milligan (M.M.), E.Steele, Ii Simonson, and AV. Godfrey T'ie h a; :1 then played a selection, for which tiiey were heartily applauded,and the singing of the National Anthem concluded the proceedings. In the evening a social gathering was held in the band-room, when the members entertained their friends, including several ex-bandsmen. An enjoyable evening was spent in music and dancing.