History of the AABC

Australian Army Band Corps History

Since the first colonisation of Australia by the British in 1788 there have been bands associated with the military. The first bands were those of the Royal Marine units and later the regimental bands of the British Army regiments that were based in Australia. These bands provided musical support for regimental and state ceremonial occasions as well as performances for the public.

From Federation onwards, Australian military units have formed bands (often unofficial and part time) consisting of musicians drawn from the ranks. These bands were of varying standards and other duties such as stretcher bearing took up much of their time in war years. There was no central policy on equipment, manning, performance standards or training of bands. In large cities such as Sydney and Melbourne there was a continuity in at least one band which served the musical and ceremonial needs of the time.

Before the formation of the Australian Regular Army in 1949, a large proportion of Army Bands then in existence were 'un-official' bands and were staffed with soldiers held against normal establishments. Instruments were provided at public or unit expense and in most instances music, band uniforms and accessories were paid for from unit regimental funds.

Bands with 'official' status included those of the three Australian Infantry Battalions stationed in Japan, as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces, and Lines of Communication Bands which were stationed in the major capital cities in Australia.

With the formation of the Australian Regular Army a brass band was raised in each of the five major Commands (Northern, Eastern, Southern, Central and Western Commands) and given the title of 'Command Band'. Thus the Victorian Lines of Communication Band became the Southern Command Band etc.

Progressively, authority was given for the raising of the Royal Australian Engineer Band, Recruit Training Battalion Band, Royal Military College Band, Ingleburn Garrison Band and Puckapunyal Area Band. By 1955 there were 13 bands in the Australian Regular Army, all officially raised and maintained.

In 1951 Captain R.A. Newman was appointed as Director of Music, to be responsible for all of the Army's Bands. In 1952 'Band Boys' were first recruited to be trained as musicians for the Bands and were taught at Woodside in South Australia. A School of Music was established in 1953 at Balcombe in Victoria and the 'Band Boys' were retitled as Apprentice Musicians.

Prior to the re-organization of the Australian Regular Army in 1960 there were 355 Bandsmen, however these numbers were reduced to 274 with the Ingleburn Garrison Band, the Puckapunyal Area Band and the Recruit Training Band being disbanded. Two of these areas were to regain bands at a later date with the raising of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals Band at Kapooka (RTB) and the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Band at Puckapunyal.

In June 1964 the Royal Military College Band became the first band to change from brass to a military band with the addition of woodwind instruments. Subsequently, the other bands also changed to military bands with Eastern Command Band converting in 1965, Southern Command Band in 1966 and Northern Command Band in 1967.

The Australian Army Band Corps was formed on 2nd August 1968, and consisted of 12 bands (including one in Singapore), a school of music, an instructional element with the Cadet Corps and a Directorate. This brought the total establishment to 489 musicians.

In 1972 the Army again was re-organized and many of the bands were disbanded. The 9 bands that survived this period were renamed after the Military District in which they were located.

The Army School of Music trained Corps Trainees until 1972 when conscription was abandoned, and Apprentice Musicians until December 1982. In January 1983 the School of Music relocated to Simpson Barracks in Melbourne where it became a tri-service establishment known as the Defence Force School of Music. The Apprentice Musician scheme was ceased and the Army Trainee Musician Scheme was started. Training for band officers was also introduced at the DFSM in preference to sending potential candidates overseas for training.

The band structure was to remain stable until 1984 when the North Queensland Army Band was disbanded and it's members absorbed into other bands. The band's musical duties were taken over by the Band of the 1st Battalion the Royal Australian Regiment, which was also based in Townsville, this band being manned by both AABC musicians and Infantry soldiers.

Further changes came about in 1987 when the Army Reserve Bands located in Hobart, Darwin, Perth and Newcastle were incorporated into the AABC while still remaining members of the Australian Army Reserve.

With the disbandment of the Military Districts as a result of organisational changes which began in 1991, the titles of the bands were changed to unique titles which would not require change as a result of any future organisational changes and which would provide a clear Army and geographical identity.

The bands in Perth and Adelaide became Army Reserve Bands in the early 1990s while still retaining the same title and having a regular Bandmaster and Warrant Officer as part of the manning. All of the regular bands were also reduced in strength to 34 members.

In December 1997 the Australian Army Band Melbourne has been co-located with the Defence Force School of Music with no loss of structure.

Notes: The Band of the First Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), remains in Townsville with a smaller complement of Full time AABC musicians.

A review of establishments in 2001 saw the introduction of 20 part time (reserve) positions to complement the full time (regular) bands in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Kapooka and Melbourne.

The information on this page was based on an article printed in the Journal of the Australian Army Band Corps, April 1972, edited by Captain R.K. Larner that was subsequently updated by Stuart Colhoun in 1997.