Story: Brass and pipe bands

Fife-and-drum band at Parihaka (1st of 4)

The Waitara Fife and Drum Band is shown at Parihaka around 1898. The band, from Mangaone, was closely associated with the Parihaka settlement. The raukura (white feathers) that band members wear signifies their allegiance to the teachings of the prophets Te Whiti and Tohu. The Taranaki chief Te Whetū, a follower of the prophets, helped set up this band, along with the Puniho Brass Band. This photo, by William Collis, may have been taken in 1898, when the band welcomed back a group of released prisoners who had been arrested during land protests.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, W. A. Collis Collection
Reference: 1/1-012052-G
Photograph by W. A. Collis

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Peter Clayworth, 'Brass and pipe bands - Brass bands, 1880s onwards', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/zoomify/43247/fife-and-drum-band-at-parihaka (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Peter Clayworth, published 22 Oct 2014