16th (Waikato) Regimental Band
The Hamilton Town Band became a military band in late-1912, as an adjunct to the 16th (Waikato) Regiment. The Regiment helped with funding throughout their association, and uniforms immediately following the merger.
In 1914, the band acquired a set of silver instruments due to a grant from the Regiment, rather then the brass instruments they would have bought otherwise. In May that year they received their colours in a ceremony at Hautapu, a silken banner with "Ka whawhai tonu ake ake", the motto of the 16th (Waikato) Regiment. This is a quote from a speech by Rewi Maniapoto, who fought British forces at Orakau in the Waikato in 1864; when invited to surrender, he replied that he and his people would ‘fight for ever and ever’. In September, the band headed the funeral procession for the victims of the Huntly Mine Disaster. That year they also played at the Ngaruawahia Regatta.
In February 1916, a call was made for instrumentalists to join the Regiment Band, as 21 having volunteered, so many had gone to the front it was becoming increasingly difficult to supply a band at required functions. Only 5 members remained from the original band. In July 1916, discord was reported to have arisen between the bandmaster, A. Salter, and many members of the band, with 13 instrumentalists resigning. Only ten remained in the band. It was suggested that the members had lost confidence in Salter. The alleged "ringleader in the disaffection", Charles E. Scott, joined the Frankton Municipal Band, along with many of the others who resigned. He was transferred from the Hamilton Post Office to Auckland, on the advice of the Regiment to the Postmaster, apparently in retribution. Questions were immediately raised regarding the ownership of the instruments. Official ceremonies were undertaken by the remnants of the Regiment band, combined with members of the Te Awamutu Regimental Band. In late 1916, the band began to play at the newly constructed Band Rotunda at Ferrymead.
By 1917, 23 band members had voluntarily enlisted, while the band was said to have one of the finest sets of instruments in New Zealand. In August, fallout from the earlier dispute continued, with the Borough Council declaring the Frankton MunicipalBand as the official Hamilton Municipal Band, rather than the Regimental Band. Court cases began, with those who had left claiming they had resigned from the Regimental Band, but not from The Hamilton Town Band, and that their instruments therefore belonged to the older Hamilton Town Band, and not to the Regiment. In early 1918, Colonel R.W Cumming of the 16th (Waikato) Regiment stated in a letter to the Hamilton Borough Council that the only way to resolve the issue would be to sever ties with the Hamilton Town Band, and move the Regiment Band to Te Awamutu or Cambridge. He saw any potential merger between the new Hamilton Municipal Band and the Regimental Band as impossible.
Members
- A. Salter - Bandmaster, 1912-1917
- Henry Salmon - cornet, 1914-1916
- Arthur Haybittle - tenor horn, E Flat Horn, 1914: Senior Corporal, wounded at Dardanelles (Gallipoli), 1915
- T.F. Owrens - tenor horn, E Flat Horn, 1914
- J. Taylor - euphonium, 1914
- J. Cook - F Flat Bass, 1914
- William (Billy) Allen - Flugel Horn, 1914: Bugler, wounded 1915
- A.E. Price - Drums, 1914
- Thomas Donovan - First Cornet: Private, d. 5 May 1915, at Dardanelles (Gallipoli)
- T.E. Rowe - E Flat horn: wounded 1915
- Herbert Victor Reading - First baritone: Private, d. 25 April 1915, at Dardanelles (Gallipoli)
- L.H. McKenzie - First Trombone: Private, wounded September 1915
- G. Stroud - Second Baritone: served
- N.J. Partridge - Flugel: served
- McMillan - served
- Meyer
- Pryor
- Guest
- Tuatara
- P. Jarrett
- Pass
- Robinson
- Clothier
- Charles E. Scott
Published Articles
- Patriotic Bandsmen; Waikato Regimental Ranks Depleted; Appeal for Instrumentalists, Waikato Times, 5 February 1916, p4
- Discordant Musicians; Regimental Band Dispute; Thirteen Members Resign, Waikato Times, 22 July 1916, p4
