Anyone who knows Rod Parker is likely to see him with a bagpipe in hand, and it is this dedication to piping that has seen him recongised on the Australia Day 2019 Honours List.
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The Batehaven resident and widely-recognsied pipe master has been awarded for a lifetime dedication to pipe bands with a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) this Australia Day.
Mr Parker, who has been involved with pipe bands since the age of 12, continues to foster his passion into retirement with the Batemans Bay Soldier’s Club Pipe Band, where he has been instrumental in revitalising the group in recent years.
Performing with the band at Corrigans Beach on January 26, Mr Parker said he was “thrilled” to receive an Australia Day honour for his service to pipe bands.
“I’ve been involved with pipe bands since I was a kid,” Mr Parker said.
“It’s almost like a malady there’s no cure for and it’s something I’ve battled since I was 12.”
A former chief inspector with the NSW Police Force, Mr Parker helped form the Parkes Pipe Band at the beginning of his piping career, when he quickly moved through the ranks to become pipe major.
After moving to Sydney in the mid 1960s, Mr Parker was a member of the NSW Police Pipe Band for several years where he was pipe sergeant.
His time in Sydney also saw him heavily involved with the Parramatta Boys Pipe Band and the City of Blacktown Pipe Band, where he participated in many world tournaments and tattoos, including the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
His time in Moss Vale saw him continue his piping pursuits, with the formation of Highlands Pipes and Drums in 1999. Mr Parker served as a tutor for the band and became an honorary life member in 2005.
His piping connections are spread right across Southern Inland NSW, with tutoring and teaching roles at Goulburn Soldiers Club Pipes and Drums, the Queanbeyan Pipe Band, Canberra Burns Club Pipe Band and Federal Police Pipe Band.
Since retiring from the police force several years ago, Mr Parker took on a contract with the Scots School in Albury, where he worked with the pipe band from 2011 to 2012.
Upon moving to Batemans Bay for a slower pace of life in 2013, Mr Parker has continued his passion for piping with the Batemans Bay Soldier’s Club Pipe Band.
“The band here had folded up, so the RSL got in touch with me and asked ‘what’s the chance of getting the band going for ANZAC Day’ – so that’s how I started off,” Mr Parker said.
“In the past three or four years, we’ve built this little group of people up. We’ve got terribly good support from the Soldier’s Club – the CEO and the president are just totally behind the pipe band.”
In his time with the Soldier’s Club Pipe Band, Mr Parker has been fundamental in attracting fresh blood to the piping world and passing on his expertise to the next generation.
“We’re just started to get some young people in and looking for more if we can so the area will have a continual growth of the pipe band,” he said.
“That’s my aim – to make sure young people are taught to play the bagpipe properly. A lifetime of study has paid off.”
Batemans Bay Soldier’s Club CEO Paul Biddlestone said Mr Parker’s dedication to pipe bands was “outstanding”.
“Rod’s experience with the pipe band in Batemans Bay has been outstanding, but also the way in which he has been able to attract so many young players to the band is nothing short of staggering,” Mr Biddlestone said.
“The skills they are learning would be world-class. People travel hundreds of kilometres to be a part of his pipe band and it just shows the high esteem in which he is held in the piping industry throughout Australia and globally.
“Rod would have to be one of the most approachable, decent and respected persons that I have come across.”
