The 42 members of the Kilties Band of Bellville, Ontario, Canada boarded the SS Wimmera in Sydney on Wednesday 11 November 1908 and arrived at Auckland on 15 November. Their arrival was reported in the New Zealand Herald:
“THE KILTIES.
Between 5000 and 6000 persons gathered at the Quay-street Jetty last evening to witness the arrival of the ” Kilties ” (Canadian) Band from Sydney by the Wimmera. The visitors appeared in Highland costume, and as they stepped off tho steamer they were accorded an enthusiastic reception, the two drum-major, who stand 7ft 2½in and 7ft 3½ in respectively, coming in for special cheers. At the wharf they were met by the St. Andrew’s Pipe Band and ” played” to the Royal Hotel, several hundred persons accompanying them along the street. This evening the ” Kilties,” who have gained “a world-wide reputation as a band, and have just concluded a most successful tour of Australia, will appear at the Opera House…”
New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13908, 16 November 1908, Page 5
Postcard. Author’s Collection.
SS Wimmera 