General News
6 June, 2023
Band marches to a new beat
The Horsham Rural City Band is to strike up for the last time at its home of the past 54 years. After months of negotiations, the band is set to leave its O'Callaghans Parade headquarters before it is demolished to make way for the Horsham City Oval...
The Horsham Rural City Band is to strike up for the last time at its home of the past 54 years.
After months of negotiations, the band is set to leave its O'Callaghans Parade headquarters before it is demolished to make way for the Horsham City Oval upgrades.
Horsham Rural City Band president Karl Carman admitted it would be an emotional move.
"Within our current members, there is a lot of sentimental attachment to the hall, myself included," he said.
"I have been here since 2014, so nearly 10 years.
"Our longest serving member, and our newest life member, Jo Ellis, is approaching 20 years in the band, and I know she holds a lot of sentimental value with the hall.
"Music for a lot of people is a way of life. So having part of that taken away, it's like having your childhood home ripped down."
However, Mr Carman said Jubilee Hall, on Roberts Avenue, where the band is moving to, is an overall better location for the band.
"It is better equipped, it has better facilities, and ultimately with the current situations with the re-development, it is in the best interest of the band to make the move," he said.
"With all the renovations that council have done with the building, the hall is going to be big enough for us with the access we need to continue to run the way we are without being adversely affected in any way."
On Tuesday, June 13, starting from 6pm, to mark the move to their new home, the Horsham Rural City band will march from its old home to Jubilee Hall.
"When this hall was originally opened, the band marched from where the old hall was to here, and we thought it was probably fitting to do the same thing, leaving one location to go to the next one," Mr Carman said.
The Horsham community is invited to support the band on its commemorative march.