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A family of eastern rosellas was the unlikely catalyst for a major renovation of Warkworth Brass’s historic band rehearsal room.
The birds took up residence in the roof of the building on Church Hill last summer, but unfortunately failed to confine their activities to nesting and raising chicks. Band manager Donna Flack says members were aware of strange noises for a while, before someone spotted feathered faces peering down at them through a hatch in the ceiling.
“Then we came in one night to discover sawdust and bits of wood everywhere,” she says. “They’d been eating all the barge boards and the eaves. Council got worried they would eat through wires and electrocute somebody, so it got to a point where we had to start doing renovation and repair.”
The band’s bass trombone player and local vet Ross Lynch stepped up to manage the project, securing timber, paint and scaffolding, and the front of the hall has already been completed. The sides will be next, and Donna hopes the inside might be painted after that, not least since it is still sporting an arresting lilac and yellow colour scheme that dates back nearly 50 years.
“Way back in the 1970s, this was used as a little dance hall and I think it was painted by students back then,” she says.
The rehearsal room started life as one of the first Warkworth School buildings – the original blackboard is still on the wall inside – and it was moved to its site, next to the fire station in the early 1960s. Apart from a new roof, deemed essential when leaking rainwater started dripping into a band member’s euphonium as they rehearsed, this is the first time the band has carried out any renovation work.
“It’s as solid as a rock, this building,” Donna says. “But it needs to be done sooner rather than later.
We’d like to have it finished over next summer. We have to keep it looking nice, because it’s part of Warkworth and the anchor point of the band.”
Warkworth Brass was established in 1883 and, in recent years, has morphed from a traditional brass band into more of a swing ensemble. They are always keen to welcome new players and perform in a range of concerts, events and parades every year, with rehearsals on Wednesdays from 7.30pm to 9pm. Anyone interested in joining the band, or in volunteering materials or time to help with the renovation, should contact Donna Flack on 021 178 8570 or email flaxbush@maxnet.co.nz
