The Australian Army Band Corps (AABC) is the
Australian Army's musical branch. It is roughly the equivalent of the
Music Branch (Canadian Forces) and the
Royal Corps of Army Music
The Royal Corps of Army Music (RCAM, widely known by its former acronym CAMUS) is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music.
History
The formation of the Corps of Army Music was triggered by a defen ...
of the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
. The Corps was formed on 2 August 1968 and provides the Army with musical support and seeks to improve the Army's public image. It consists of 11 individual bands; five full-time and six part-time which are located in the capital city of each state as well as the regional cities of
Wagga Wagga
Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...
,
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
, and
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
.
The band’s mission is to support land operations and strategy through military and community engagement.
History
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
there was a need to make an assessment of the state of Army Bands. In 1951, Captain R.A. Newman was appointed the first Director of Music and in 1953 an Army School of Music was established to provide standardized formal training for Army musicians. Until 1961, Newman held the concurrent roles of Director of Music and Commanding Officer of the Army School of Music. In the 1960s focus centered on the conversion from brass band to military band instrumentation. First with the Band of the Royal Military College in 1964, all Regular Army bands were converted to this new format by 1974. Prior to the formation of the (AABC), Army musicians were held on the
Royal Australian Infantry Corps
The Royal Australian Infantry Corps (RA Inf) is the parent corps for all infantry regiments of the Australian Army. It was established on 14 December 1948, with its Royal Corps status being conferred by His Majesty King George VI. At her corona ...
Special List. It was the ambition of senior band personnel to have the specialization of music recognized by the creation of a corps. This goal was realized on 2 August 1968 with the establishment of the AABC, the first of its type in the world. After the creation of the AABC, bands previously belonging to infantry battalions were reassigned to become area bands and were affiliated with particular host corps.
Three of the now former bands were recognized by the granting of Freedom of Entry to their units:
*1MD Band (AAB Brisbane) – City of Brisbane in 1988
*1MD Band (AAB Brisbane) – City of Gold Coast in 1989
*1MD Band (AAB Brisbane) – Shire of Redland in 1989
Composition
* Headquarters
* Australian Army Band Tasmania
*
Australian Army Band Sydney
The Australian Army Band Sydney (AAB-S) is a full time military band of the Australian Army. It is a sub-unit of the Australian Army Band Corps, the army's official music branch.
An Army band was first formed in 1874 as the resident band at Vict ...
* Band of the
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) is a regular motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion of the 34th Brigade (Australia) on Balikpapan in 1945 and since ...
*
Band of the Royal Military College
* Australian Army Band Perth
*
Australian Army Band Newcastle
* Band of the 1st Brigade (formerly Australian Army Band Darwin)
* Australian Army Band Brisbane
*
Australian Army Band Kapooka
The Australian Army Band Kapooka (AAB-K) is a full time military band in the Australian Army. Being a band, it is a sub-unit of the Australian Army Band , the army's official music branch. It is one of eleven military bands of the army and as the ...
* Australian Army Band Melbourne
* Australian Army Band Adelaide
Former bands in the Army
Historical military bands in the AABC include:
*
Army School of Music (ASM)
* Band of the
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
The 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) is a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army, based in Kapyong Lines, Townsville as part of the 3rd Brigade. 3 RAR traces its lineage to 1945 and has seen operational serv ...
* Band of the
5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
* Southern Command Band
* Eastern Command Band
* Northern Command Band
* Central Command Band
* Western Command Band
* Tasmanian Command Band
* Band of the
Royal Australian Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a Regiment of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia's first ...
* Band of the
Royal Australian Engineers
The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army (although the word corps does not appear in their name or on their badge). The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, be ...
* Band of the
Royal Australian Corps of Signals
The Royal Australian Corps of Signals (RASigs) is one of the 'arms' (combat support corps) of the Australian Army. It is responsible for installing, maintaining, and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems. The m ...
* Band of the
Royal Australian Armoured Corps
The Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) is a corps of the Australian Army which provides the Australian Defence Force's armour capability. Armour combines firepower, mobility, protection and networked situational awareness to generate shock ...
* Australian Army Band
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
* 1st Recruit Training Battalion Band
* North Queensland Army Band
* 1st Military District Band
* 2nd Military District Band
* 3rd Military District Band
* 4th Military District Band
* 5th Military District Band
* 6th Military District Band
* 7th Military District Band
* Band of the
1st Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
AABC Association
The AABC Association originated from an idea expressed at the opening of the J.J. Shelton Band Centre at the
Army Recruit Training Centre
Army Recruit Training Centre (ARTC) is the official name given to the Australian Army's basic training establishment since 1 December 1998. Situated at Kapooka, an outer suburb of Wagga Wagga, in the Riverina region of New South Wales, the Army ...
in March 1987. The association organized its first meeting on 10 June 1989, during which it was formally established. Since then the association has held reunions throughout Australia every year, growing to be an organization parallel to the
Returned and Services League of Australia
The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force.
Mission
The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...
.
The goals of the association include the following:
*The communication between all former members of Army bands through personal contact and annual reunions
*To foster the development of relations between former and current serving members of the AAVC.
*To support the activities of the AABC
The AABC Association was incorporated in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
on 5 October 2004. The association is led by an Executive Committee which is composed of a President, a Vice President and a Secretary.
Gallery
File:Australian Army Band Kapooka at the Centenary of the Kangaroo March commemoration ceremony (1).jpg, Australian Army Band Kapooka at a Kangaroo March commemoration ceremony
File:Australian Army band at the No 28 Squadron RAAF freedom of the city parade August 2013.jpg, The Australian Army Band Corps at the No. 28 Squadron RAAF
No. 28 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Active Reserve squadron, based at HMAS ''Harman'' in the Australian Capital Territory. Its main role was public affairs and imagery. The squadron was formed in 1983 and disbanded in 2020. ...
freedom of the city parade in Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
, 2013.
File:AAB-D proforming at the AAHC Open Cockpit Day in April 2008.jpg, Australian Army Band Darwin in April 2008
File:Australian Army Band Kapooka at the Kangaroo March commemoration ceremony.jpg, Army Band Kapooka
File:US Navy 070617-M-9449T-117 Musician 3rd Class Jessica Hatfield, vocalist with the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet Band, left, and Musician Tanya Christensen, vocalist with the Australian Army Band Brisbane sing Waltzing Matilda at the open.jpg, Jessica Hatfield, a vocalist with the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
7th Fleet Band (left), and Tanya Christensen, a vocalist with Australian Army Band Brisbane singing Waltzing Matilda
"Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem".
The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) ...
at a concert.
File:Northern Command Band performs in Chi Lang Gardens, Saigon.jpg, Northern Command Band performs in Chi Lang Gardens, Saigon in October 1970
See also
*
Army Recruit Training Centre
Army Recruit Training Centre (ARTC) is the official name given to the Australian Army's basic training establishment since 1 December 1998. Situated at Kapooka, an outer suburb of Wagga Wagga, in the Riverina region of New South Wales, the Army ...
*
Defence Force School of Music
*
The Lancer Band
*
RVR Pipes and Drums Association
*
Australia's Federation Guard
Australia's Federation Guard (AFG) is a tri-service ceremonial unit made up of members from the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, and Royal Australian Air Force. Formed in 2000 for the centenary celebrations of Federation of Australia, it ...
References
External links
Australian Army Band CorpsAbout the Australian Army Band
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Military units and formations established in 1968
Band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
*Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
*Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
Australian military bands
Musical groups established in 1968
1968 establishments in Australia