By Melissa Blewitt

The Condobolin RSL Pipe Band has celebrated a remarkable 70-year association with the Condobolin Show, with the milestone marked with a special presentation.
Condobolin PAH and I Association president Rex Press presented band members with a Certificate of Appreciation on Saturday, 29 August acknowledging seven decades of participation in one of the district’s much-loved annual events.
The band made its debut at the Condobolin Show in 1956, only a few months after its formation, and has remained an important part of the Show’s traditions ever since.
At the time, The Lachlander reported the band’s first appearance in the Grand Parade, noting that the Condobolin Pipe Band had “made great progress since its formation a few months ago”.
The band’s connection with the community predates its association with the RSL, which began in 1966.
The Condobolin Show, held at the end of August each year, has long drawn former residents, families and visitors back to town, providing an opportunity for people to reconnect with friends and the community.
For seven decades, the sound of pipes and drums has been a familiar part of that gathering.
The Condobolin RSL Pipe Band has played a prominent role in the Show’s Grand Parade, performances and other events, with its traditional riverside staging point becoming another recognisable part of Show day.
Over the years, the band has also been joined by visiting pipe bands and drum corps, including the 1/19 Army Reserve Pipes and Drums, Tumbarumba Pipes and Drums, Lachlan Valley Pipe Band, Canobolas Pipe Band, Yanco Drum Corps and Newcastle-based performers.
The Condobolin Show Society said the visiting bands had become part of a wider “big pipe band family” that had helped maintain the tradition over the years.
“The Band’s riverside staging point, their position leading the Grand Parade and subsequent performances, and the march through the Pavilion, are all integral parts of a Condobolin Show,” the Show Society said.
“Neither the Show Society nor the community can imagine Condobolin Show without our Condobolin RSL Pipe Band and their visiting pipers and drummers.”
The 70-year milestone recognises not only the band’s longevity, but its enduring contribution to the character and traditions of the Condobolin Show.