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A History of the Tanunda Town Band.

Wilhelm Ferdinand Draeger and his brother Carl Wilhelm Draeger, both natives of Prussia, arrived in South Australia in 1848. Both men were extremely talented musicians and it took little time for the pair to begin playing a leading role in the music scene of the time, notably in the Barossa Valley.

Tanunda Town Band, circa 1920s

Carl Draeger, who had attained the title of Professor of Music at Dresden University, formed his first band at Gawler. Wilhelm Draeger moved to Tanunda where he formed the Tanunda Brass Band, later to change its name to Tanunda Town Band.

Both brothers were close friends of Carl Linger who composed the "Song of Australia". It was Carl Linger who loaned Wilhelm Draeger sufficient funds to purchase 12 acres of land immediately behind what is now known as Heineman Park in Tanunda.

It was on the 6th of October 1857 that the Tanunda Town Band performed its first official concert at the Tanunda Hotel. That humble concert was the beginning of a long tradition of music making in the Barossa Valley. The Tanunda Town Band, having been in continuous existence from that date, is the oldest Brass Band in the Southern Hemisphere.

At the inaugural Classics Concert, Yalumba Upper Barrel Hall, 2005

In about 1880, the Band’s conductor was Swiss musician Rudolf Gilgen who composed and wrote music for the players he conducted. Sadly, from a historical point of view, the music he prepared has long since disappeared.

The Tanunda Band Competition was instituted in 1910. To this day the competitions held at Tanunda remain legendary and are remembered with fondness by all who participate, be it band personnel or spectators.

The band received it’s A-Grade status in 1927, the first South Australian band to receive this grading, and won the Australian National Band Competition in 1957. Since  then the band has regularly competed in state and national competitions, most recently winning the South Australian Band Championship in 2007.

Tanunda Town Band’s official 150th portrait.

2007 marked the band’s sesquicentennial anniversary, as it turned 150 years old in October. The occasion was marked with the combining of the Barossa Band Festival and South Australian Band Championships, which were attended by numberous bands from around the state and also Queensland and Victoria, a street party, and most notably a reenactment of the band’s first performance at the Tanunda Hotel.

Below is a list of the band’s Musical Directors since its inception:

• Wilhelm Ferdinand Draeger (1857-1862)
• Carl Wilhelm Draeger (1863-1870)
• Johannes Harder (1871-1874)
• Carl T. Heuzenroeder (1875-1878)
• Rudolf Gilgen (1879-1886)
• George Graue (1887-1896)
• Jack Riebe (1897-1904)
• O.E (Eddie) Juttner (1905-1922)
• Arthur P. John (1923-1947)
• Frank John (1948-1952)
• Aubrey Kernich (1953)
• Galvin H. John (1954-1976)
• Robert Neville Alderslade (1977-1990)
• John Pettigrew (1990-1994)
• David J. Polain (1995-1999)
• Jim Dempsey (2000-2004)
• Robert (Bob) C. Hower (2005-2006)
• David J. Polain (2007 - present)

The band’s rehearsal venue - the Tanunda Band Hall - has many trophies, photographs and memorabilia from throughout its existence, however through the annals of time some items have been lost. As such, Tanunda Town Band is constantly seeking any information, documents, artifacts or recordings from anytime in its history. Please contact us if you have anything the band may be interested in, either by donation, copying or purchase.

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