The moment an Invercargill truck driver reached the pipe band peak
“There was a whole lot of work that paid off. It’s indescribable really, it meant a lot. For me, I wanted to see if I was up to that standard on the other side of the world.”
Southland’s David Clark threw himself into an adventure and gets to now call himself a world champion as a result.
Clark has arrived home to Invercargill this week following a four-and-a-bit month stint in Scotland.
It ended with him winning the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow as part of the Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band.
It was the 50-plus-year Scottish pipe band’s first-ever World Champions title. The Invercargill logging truck driver can proudly say he was part of it as a snare drummer.
It was the moment in time when Clark reached the peak that he’d set out for.
He started out as a nine-year-old in Rotorua when he followed in his father Willy’s footsteps. Willy Clark was also a snare drummer.
“It’s the pinnacle of pipe-banding in the world, being the World Championships. The standard of the bands over there is very high, there’s a lot of good fun but a lot of hard work goes into it,” Clark said.
“There was a whole lot of work that paid off. It’s indescribable really, it meant a lot. For me, I wanted to see if I was up to that standard on the other side of the world.”
For all of the 42 Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band playing members it was their first time winning the World Pipe Band Championships title.
After finishing fifth last year their leading drummer of 30 years - Gordon Brown - retired. They appointed an 18-year-old by the name of Kerr McQuillan to step into the role.
“In all honestly it’s very young for someone to take on a role in a band like that.”
A Kiwi friend of Clark’s - Liam Argyle - had been involved in the band previously and made his mind up that he wanted to go back and be part of it again.
When Argyle was talking to 18-year-old McQuillan, Clark’s name popped up in conversation.
Southland’s Clark then talked to McQuillan which led to an opportunity - one that involved a significant commitment.
It included a four-and-a-bit month stint living, working, practicing, and competing in Scotland.
Clark worked as a forklift driver for a roofing company while he was in Scotland to pay his way.
He had just started a new job in Southland with Kings Log Transport in Southland in September last year when the idea surfaced.
“Once me and my wife decided we could make it happen I wanted to be as upfront as possible. At the start of my third week working there I told them this opportunity had come up.
“The response was pretty much: ‘That sounds like an awesome opportunity, just make sure you come back’.
“It was really good that they were so open-minded to it because a lot of companies could just go; ‘you can go, but you’ll have to quit’. But they said there will be a job for me when I get back.”
He headed off in April and returned on Monday.
Clark today [Wednesday] holds up his end of the promise by returning to his job as a driver at Kings Log Transport.
While ticking a significant box by becoming a world champion, Clark isn’t content.
He likes the sound of heading back and trying to win the title again with the Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band.
“I’ll be doing a similar trip next year in the hope that we can retain the title,” he said.
In the meantime, he’ll be continuing to work on self-improvement while back home in Invercargill.
Clark is a member of the City of Invercargill Highland Pipe Band.