Briagolong Brass Band

The Briagolong Brass Band existed in the Gippsland town of Briagolong, near Stratford and Maffra, in the late 19th and early 20th century.

History

The Briagolong Brass Band was formed in 1890, with the committee raising money locally and applying to the Maffra Shire Council for funds to purchase instruments, and a fundraising benefit held on 30 September.

The first performance mentioned in the local media was at a Sports Carnival held in Maffra on Boxing Day, 26 December 1890. They are regularly mentioned in the Gippsland Times as performing publicly until 1893, when they disappear from the record.

In January 1913, the Gippsland Times noted that the "newly-reorganised" Briagolong Brass Band had performed at an Athletics Carnival on New Year's Day, conducted by a "Bandmaster Sopp" from the Sale Temperance Band. They continued to play during the WW1 era, with their last mention in the local press being that they played at a function to welcome returned soldiers home to Briagolong and Valencia Creek on 25 June 1919.

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