The book that a dedicated author cruelly never got to see
Rodney Sutton was on his way with the final edits of a book he had been working on for many years when he suffered a heart attack and was involved in a subsequent car accident.
Close to a month ago, Rodney Sutton set off to meet with a couple of fellow Invercargill Garrison Band Society members.
With him in his car was the almost complete book he had been working on for many years.
Sutton had recorded the history of the Invercargill Garrison Band which dates back to 1863. It’s an impressive feat.
He was on his way to hand over the final draft to Kerri Hellyer and Pat Service. It included nine final amendments Sutton had marked in red pen. Then it was off to the printers for publishing.
However, Sutton sadly never made that meeting.
En route, the 89-year-old suffered a heart attack and was involved in a subsequent car accident.
Sutton died.
Those final nine amendments were eventually sorted though, and his words which were crafted over many years, did get to Craigs Design & Print for printing.
Cruelly, Sutton never got to see the finished product that he had poured so many volunteer hours into. But his legacy - through the book and other contributions - will forever live on.
At the Ascot Park Hotel on Sunday, about 60 people gathered for the launch of the book titled “Blast from the Past” - History of the Invercargill Garrison Band Society.
The event was just as much a tribute to Sutton as it was about launching the book.
Sutton’s former bandmate Kevin Dell said Sutton would have known when he made that trip with the final edits that the book was done.
“But he didn’t get to be here to celebrate it,” Dell told The Tribune.
Dell suggested you can probably go back 50-odd years to find when work on the book first started.
“Bit by bit he had been doing it for years. I think it all started with Rodney and Barrie Bain in 1967.
“They had a centenary in 1967, and Barrie collected a lot of photographs and notes, and newspaper clippings. That was the start of it all,” Dell told The Tribune.
“There was a gap and then later on they came back to it. Barrie was still alive, and they started to think about a book.
“Barrie died and Rodney needed a bit of a push to do it on his own. Graham Dick was the president of the band then and he was the one that gave Rodney the push.
“Once Rodney got into something, there was no stopping Rodney and he did it.”
Enter your email address to get each edition of The Southland Tribune sent to your inbox.
Dell said Sutton lived for the Invercargill Garrison Band Society and dedicated much of his life to it.
Sutton didn’t just take on the massive task of recording the society’s history - as a life member and patron of the society, he was a key figure in many projects.
In his own right, Sutton was also a superb musician. In fact, Dell declared Sutton the greatest player in the Invercargill Garrison Band’s history.
It’s a fair acknowledgment given the band has been in existence since 1863.
Sutton was the musical director of the 1980 National Band of New Zealand during its two-month concert tour in the USA. He was also a member of the National Band in 1962, 1965, and 1967.
Sutton was regarded as an outstanding euphonium player. Over the course of 20 years, he won the national title thirteen times.
He also won the Masters title three times and the Champion of Champions in 1954, 1956, 1963, and 1987.
Sutton was also made a life member of the Brass Bands Association of New Zealand in 2015.
His work capturing the history of the Invercargill Garrison Band might just be one of his greatest achievements.
It certainly is his gift on his departure to a society he loved so much.
Officially the Invercargill Garrison Band - now the Ascot Park Hotel Brass Band of Invercargill - dates back to 1867. However, there have since been mentions of the band found from as far back as 1863.
“I don’t know of many [organisations with that history], even sports clubs,” Dell said.
“Invercargill would have just been a village way back then.”
To put it all into perspective it’s the longest-running brass band in the southern hemisphere.
The Band’s base in Spey St - which it has occupied since 1956 - is now museum-like.
There are many treasures for those who get a kick out of delving back into the past.
Included is Alex Lithgow’s cornet which he won first prize with at the New Zealand Brass Band Association event in 1893.
Lithgow is one of the Invercargill Garrison Band’s most notable personalities.
He composed the Invercargill March in 1901 which became famous when it was played at the first parade in London of the Gallipoli veterans in 1916. It became popular in the United States as well.
The original piano roll of the Invercargill March remains on display in the Spey St band rooms.
The music that’s now stored in the organisation’s very own library dates back over 150 years.
Some of the music sheets have burns on them - a pointer to a time when the musicians put cigarettes down on their stands as the music was performed.
The book recording the Invercargill Garrison Band history was published with support from the Southland Regional Heritage Trust Fund and Invercargill City Council’s Community Wellbeing Fund.