157 years of the Milton District Band
It’s Thursday evening, and the Milton Public School Hall is slowly transforming into a rehearsal room. Chairs are arranged in rows, music stands unfold, and instrument cases click open one by one. Brass gleams beneath the fluorescent lights. Reeds are adjusted, valves tested, bows tightened, and drums positioned. Around the room, musicians begin warming up in bursts of scales and half-familiar melodies. Then Bandmaster Stephen Hladio OAM raises his arms. The chatter subsides, instruments lift, and the rehearsal begins.
In one form or another, this scene has been unfolding every week since 1869, when the Milton District Band first came together. More than 150 years later, the band remains woven into the fabric of local life: part of celebrations, commemorations, festivals, civic events, and countless community memories. You’ve probably seen its members performing at ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day ceremonies, Australia Day events, the Blessing of the Fleet, the Milton Show, the Milton Folk, Jazz and Blues Festival, and the band’s own annual concerts. They are instantly recognisable in their black vests, white shirts, red ties and jaunty felt hats.
The band’s story began with eight members of the Ulladulla Volunteer Corps, who gave their first recorded performance at Milton’s Star Hotel on 22 April 1869. Initially known as the Volunteers Brass Band, the group later became the Ulladulla Union Band before eventually taking the name Milton District Band. The musicians, instruments, and uniforms have changed over the decades, but the spirit of the band has endured.
Among its most storied members was Laurie Petty, who joined at the age of 11 and remained with the band for 65 years, serving for many of them as Bandmaster. As a young man, Laurie would ride his pony to rehearsals and was known to play his euphonium on horseback as he travelled home. He also championed a philosophy that helped keep the band alive: “Each one teach one.” Experienced players were encouraged to pass on their skills, ensuring there was always another generation ready to take up an instrument. Reg Davis was another stalwart, spending 62 years with the band and playing accordion. His words still capture the organisation’s enduring spirit: “Though the years may change the instruments and change the faces too. Just keep the band flag flying and play when asked to do.”
There were times when keeping that flag flying was far from easy. During both world wars, numbers dwindled as members left to serve. During the Second World War, the band was at times reduced to Laurie, Reg and the occasional visiting musician. Yet it never disappeared. When the war ended, players returned, and membership began to grow again.
The band continued evolving with the community. The first female musicians joined in the late 1960s, and during the 1970s the group made a concerted effort to attract younger players, even running a colouring competition as part of its recruitment drive. Woodwind instruments joined the ranks in the 1990s, broadening both the band’s sound and its repertoire. The uniforms also changed over time, moving away from the formality of a traditional brass band towards blazers, ties and white shirts, with navy pullovers, red polo shirts and the familiar Akubra-style hats added for different occasions.
The band’s home has shifted too. Early rehearsals were held in a storeroom at Bisset’s Mart, on the site of today’s Milton IGA. The first dedicated band room was built in Church Street, Milton, in 1924. Later, the band moved to Green Street in Ulladulla before settling into its current rehearsal space at Milton Public School Hall in the 1990s.
Like Laurie before him, long-time member Vern Flay has played a crucial role in carrying the band forward. Vern joined in 2002, although he has been playing music since he was “a little fellow”. Over the years, he has mastered most brass instruments, including trombone, euphonium, baritone and trumpet, as well as clarinet. When the band needed a Bandmaster, Vern stepped forward. He remained in the role for 23 years. “It may be the oldest civilian band in Australia,” Vern says, noting with a grin that several bands claim the title. “But this band hasn’t had a year when it hasn’t operated since 1869.” When Vern took over, membership had fallen to just six players. Through persistence, teaching, and sheer determination, he rebuilt the group, expanded its repertoire, and welcomed musicians of all ages and abilities. “There’s a great core group of players now,” he says. “The band is always about the people playing.”
With his easygoing manner and natural gift for teaching, Vern has helped many beginners take their first uncertain steps into music. For him, one of the greatest rewards is watching people grow in confidence. “You see people begin to relax into the music they’re playing,” he says. Although he has now handed over the conductor’s baton, Vern remains deeply involved as the band’s music librarian, coordinating its vast archive of musical arrangements. He is also an enthusiastic recruiter. His first question is always: “Do you play an instrument?” His second: “Would you like to?”
In 2024, Vern handed the role of Bandmaster to Stephen Hladio OAM, whose musical career began when he joined the Australian Army as an apprentice musician at 15. He was assigned the tuba. “I was horrified when I first saw it,” Stephen says. “I had no idea how big it was going to be.” He later switched to double bass and spent 40 years in the Army Band Corps, travelling and performing across Australia. He went on to become Regimental Sergeant Major of the Band Corps in Melbourne and served as Ceremonial Officer at the Royal Military College, Duntroon. As Bandmaster of the Milton District Band, Stephen draws on that extensive experience while keeping the focus firmly on the musicians in front of him. “It’s a really nice group of people,” he says. “They turn up every week, they’re enthusiastic, and they work hard. It’s important to acknowledge and appreciate the players.”
He is quick to credit Vern for keeping the band alive through its most vulnerable years and remains characteristically modest about his own role. “I’m just the guy at the front who waves his arms around,” he says. Stephen is also thinking about the future. Deputy conductor Kai Snyders, a percussionist and pianist, is already stepping into leadership. “It’s important to see a younger person out the front of the band,” Stephen says.
That emphasis on continuity runs through the entire organisation. David Munday has played tenor saxophone with the band for 25 years. His wife, Leanne, recently joined on double bass. “I finally dragged Leanne along,” David jokes. “I love being part of the band,” Leanne counters. “It’s an incredible community group.” David is an accomplished musician and teacher who, like Vern, feels a responsibility to share what he knows. “I’ve always felt some responsibility to pass these skills on to the next generation,” he says. “Being able to do that through the band is fantastic. It’s a key cog in the community that helps make it work.”
“The band is very encouraging. They accept your mistakes and nurture you along.”
The youngest members are brother and sister Loki and Klio. Loki, 14, plays trumpet and drums. He began learning trumpet at three and drums at eight, teaching himself the basics before finding a mentor in David. When 12-year-old Klio decided she wanted to learn an instrument too, David offered her a choice between flute and clarinet. She chose the clarinet. “Playing sideways is not my gig,” she says with a grin. “I was so thrilled to become part of the band like Loki.” This year, Loki performed the Full Reveille and Last Post solo at the local ANZAC Day ceremony. “It was magical,” he says. “Hearing the trumpet in the dawn while everyone stood, listened, and remembered.”
At the other end of the age spectrum is 89-year-old Hardy Hansen, who plays saxophone and clarinet and has been with the band for 26 years. Originally from Denmark, Hardy began playing at 14 and later performed in jazz bands alongside a long teaching career. He still teaches students today, although he has noticed younger musicians increasingly gravitating towards guitar rather than brass and woodwind. “They think brass and woodwind are too demanding,” he says. “It’s not just learning two or three chords. It requires practice, but they’re such rewarding instruments to play well.” Hardy smiles. “I’m starting to slow down, but I still enjoy playing.”
Norman Smith has played bass clarinet with the band since 1998. For several years, he was its only clarinet player. “I felt the pressure!” he recalls. He originally joined alongside his son and daughter, although they were eventually lured away by rock bands and netball. Norman remains impressed by the breadth of talent within the group. “Some players provide live accompaniment for productions by the Milton Ulladulla Entertainers,” he says. “Others play in the Milton Ulladulla Symphony Orchestra and in a range of other musical groups.”
Not everyone joins the band as a child. Catherine Craig began learning clarinet at 75 under Vern’s tuition. Already classically trained on piano, she could read music, but producing a clear sound from a clarinet was another matter. “Vern gave me a mouthpiece from a horn and a reed from a clarinet and said, ‘Make a noise,’” she recalls. “And I made a noise from the reed.” She practised diligently, partly because, she jokes, Vern was a “hard taskmaster”.
“I always feel quite elevated after playing with the band,” Catherine says. “You go home with a good feeling. Some rehearsals can be a bit hairy, but when it all comes together, it’s terrific. The end result is pretty impressive.” Her advice to anyone considering taking up an instrument later in life is simple: “It’s never too late.”
Beginner flautist Meghan Kempster agrees. At 58, she has been playing with the band for two years and is still learning to read music with the support of her piano and flute teacher, Christine McPherson. “It was nerve-racking to begin with, but it’s incredibly rewarding,” Meghan says. “The band is very encouraging. They accept your mistakes and nurture you along.”
For all its history, the Milton District Band remains a volunteer organisation sustained by the commitment of its members and the generosity of the wider community. Milton Public School provides the hall for rehearsals free of charge, while organisations including Community Bank South Coast, Ulladulla ExServos, and the Lions Club have contributed vital support for uniforms, music, and equipment. Members cover their own travel, lessons, and instrument servicing.
The band would welcome further support, particularly as it works towards a long-held goal: securing a permanent home where members can rehearse, meet, and safely store instruments, music, and equipment.
On 20 September, the band invites the community to its Latin Fiesta concert at the Ulladulla Civic Centre, featuring a vibrant program of Latin-inspired classics alongside contemporary favourites.
But before then, another Thursday evening rehearsal will unfold. Chairs will be arranged. Instruments will emerge from their cases. Stephen will raise his arms, and musicians aged from 12 to 89 will begin to play together. The faces may continue to change, just as Reg Davis predicted, but the music carries on. More than 150 years after its first performance, the Milton District Band remains part of the rhythm of local life—still gathering, still welcoming new players, and still keeping the music moving from one generation to the next.
To donate, join, or find out more about the band, contact:
MiltonDistrictBand | @miltondistrict
E. miltondistrictband@gmail.com
Thanks to the Milton District Band for providing access to
‘Milton District Band 1869-2019: The Story of 150 years’, by Catherine Le Brun. A copy is also available at Ulladulla Library.