History
The band was started in 1936, with generous funding from Mr W.E. McPherson (hence the McPherson tartan), by a small group of full-time police officers. For some fifty years following this, there is little noted in the history of the band and it is assumed that it continued on much in the way it had, filling its ranks with police who performed part time.
However, 1987 is seen as the year when the band began to aspire for something more. It recruited Pipe Major Nat Russell from the Royal Ulster Constabulary and got some funding from the state government. It began fierce competition in Australia in grade two. One year later, the band attained the title of Australian grade two champions, and gained third place in the August world championships for the same grade. This earned regrading to grade one.
Buoyed by this, Victoria Police spent the next decade decimating Australian competition, claiming six consecutive grade one titles locally, and continued competition at a world scale. In 1992, 1994 and 1997 the band again claimed third place in the world championships, this time in grade one.
After some minor adjustments by then Drum Sergeant Harold Gillespie and Pipe Major Nat Russell, the Victoria Police Pipe Band was crowned World Champions at Glasgow in 1998.
In October 2000, the band's competing days were over as it re-formed, now performing mainly at official functions and for charities and schools.
Read more about this topic: Victoria Police Pipe Band
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