NZ bagpipe company

23/11/2022

After 25 years of marital bliss we’re still piping together. My wife Fiona and I were out piping in a haggis at cultural festival in our hometown of Gore recently.

13/06/2022

Found this 20 year old video tape of me playing at a concert- apologies for the poor video quality. Some cracking tunes written by a guy who played in our band around 100 years ago

20/11/2020

Busy few days making stocks. A real pleasure to work on some modern stuff and some old McDougalls. Makes me wonder about the quality of today’s African Blackwood compared to 100 years ago.

21/06/2020

Been a busy time over the last few weeks, here’s a selection of some of the work I’ve been up to.

13/09/2019

https://www.facebook.com/272207199484983/posts/2514725788566435?sfns=mo

28/06/2018

I restored these stocks this week. Cool story behind these pipes. They were played on Guadal canal during the second world war. He credits the pipes with saving his life because he was in shore piping at a function for the Americans when the boat he had been on was bombed. Now his great grandson is learning and getting them going again. Working with history, unreal.

15/09/2016

here's me playing the McDougalls restored in the pictures in the other post. Very satisfying to restore a piece of NZ pipe band history. Over 100 years old. from the customer: "Hi Brendon, I must say that the pipes are excellent, you have made a brilliant job of restoring them to their former glory."
history of the pipes: "A little on the history, When the Ellesmere pipe band formed in 1920 a group of young lads began tuition and when ready to start on the pipes the committee purchased a number of sets and the members drew straws for the pick. Piper George Manson was the last to pick up what was left which he described as a mottley heap in an old box. However it turned out they were actually MacDougalls and with a bit of a tidy up were the best set in the band and were always used as the set to tune too. Geordie played them for many years but when age caught up they sat in a box and left to the moths and dust "

15/09/2016