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Story: Popular music

Theo Walters and the RNZAF showband, Bougainville, 1944

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Theo Walters and the RNZAF showband, Bougainville, 1944

English musician Theo Walters arrived in New Zealand via Australia with his Personality Band in 1936. His speciality was swing, and the band had regular spots in Wellington and Auckland. This is Walters with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) showband on Bougainville during the Second World War. The band was mainly based in New Zealand and travelled round the country to keep the home front's spirits up. In 1944 it toured the Pacific, entertaining New Zealand and American troops. 

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by Jim Warren

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How to cite this page

Chris Bourke, Popular music – Wartime music and early recording, 1930s and 1940s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/42619/theo-walters-and-the-rnzaf-showband-bougainville-1944 (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Chris Bourke, published 16 September 2013.