Highland pipe band rooms heartbreak

DOWNBEAT: The City of Gisborne Highland Pipe Band rooms in Palmerston Road were flooded, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage, when Cyclone Gabrielle hammered the district last week. Drum Sergeant Kelly McCafferty holds one of the band’s tenor drums which, along with its mate at his feet, was among the instruments damaged. Picture supplied

The City of Gisborne Highland Pipe Band has been dealt a bad blow by Cyclone Gabrielle.

The band rooms, which are next to St John ambulance but accessed from Palmerston Road, were indundated with floodwater up to a metre deep.

The historic building dates from 1904. It is owned by the pipe band and is on land leased from the Gisborne District Council.

“There is thousands of dollars worth of damage, including carpet, most of the band’s drums, many sets of spare pipes and various uniform items,” said Pipe Major David Andrew.

The building itself may be compromised, with possible structural, plumbing and electrical damage.

“We did have things up and off the floor but nobody expected the water to be that high,” Mr Andrew said.

“It’s heartbreaking as we have just spent money on getting the internal walls ready for painting, and have been looking at the viability of re-piling and raising the whole building.

“However, we now have to reasssess our options for the future.

“It may mean that a new base is required, at least in the short term. So if anybody has bright ideas of where to from here, please make contact.”

Mr Andrew acknowledged that there were higher priorities for people to be concerned about than the pipe band.

A working bee at the band rooms on Sunday attracted a good number of volunteers who worked on identifying

what could be cleaned, dried and

salvaged.