Details

Latitude

-4.21173

Longitude

152.179

Start Date

1993-08-25

End Date

1993-08-25

Tape#1 : The Creation of Rabaul Indigenous Brass Band in late 1930s' Side A & B: Dokta Taule was born on 6th September 1928 and attended the Waterhouse Memorial School from 1937to 1939 where he tells the background and his knowledge of the creation of the Rabaul Indigenous Brass Band. The Brass Band was taught by David Crowley who had opposition and discouragements by the Australian colonial administrators who did not have confidence in the learning and skills ability of the indigenous people with discouraging response to the idea. Crowley took on the challenge to prove to them that the Brass Band with its members learning to play musical instruments as a skill is achievable. He proceeded to get the band together and began practicing the instruments for establishing the band which can develop towards entertainment and performances into the future. The members of the Band were selected students of Malaguna Technical, Malaguna Elementary, Nodup Waterhouse Memorial School. Dokta witnessed their practice sessions to eventual first ever Band performance marching through the streets of Rabaul Town after Crowley was satisfied of the competence of the Band. The display and entertainment provided on the streets became popular and event to expatriates all came out to the street to watch the Band march. As for the local and indigenous people, it was a great achievement of new music performance on learnt instruments as Dokta puts it, it felt like a "miracle" in action and unfolding. Other music history was with the first female choir conductor in Lila IaMatalau in Matupit. She had the skills of sowing uniforms for the choirs and other general patterns for laplaps, blouses for women and shirts for men. Dokta was also a choir conductor and was taught music by Ray Sheriden at Malaguna Technical School. He also worked for the Japanese during the war in their occupation of Rabaul and Gazelle Peninsula mainly digging tunnels at various locations and harvesting from the forests mainly in North Baining areas for timber. Other musical history of various Tolai people in brass bands and choral music were described by Dokta. (Steven Gagau, April 2019)

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