The Timaru Scottish Society formed its own pipe band in September 1975, comprising a mixture of new players and experienced players from other local bands.
The band was originally known as the Pipe and Drums of the Timaru Scottish Society and Don Sorenson was the first of only five pipe majors to be appointed, along with four drum majors. The longest-serving pipe major was John Bennett.
The society funded uniforms and equipment, and the band also did some fundraising in its own right.
In the early days, the band was highly involved with community and society events, including fairs, Christmas parades, retirement home visits, Anzac parades, and race meetings.
In the 1980s the band began to attend local band contests in Timaru, Geraldine, and Ashburton, and attended its first national competition, held in Timaru, in 1981.
Costs and membership proved challenging at various times over the ensuing years, resulting in several rebuilds taking place — training pipers and drummers and recruiting players from other bands.
Throughout the 2000s, despite sometimes struggling with low numbers, the band continued to carry out normal activities in the community and at society events, and in about 2009, pipe major Stewart Hughes, with help from others, set about teaching young pipers and arranging tutors for drummers.
In recent years, the band gained back some experienced members — both pipers and drummers — and showed steady progress, performing and operating at a high degree.
September 27 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Scottish Society Pipe Band.
