Palmerston North is a small city in New Zealand.

Located about 140 kilometres north of the capital city, Wellington, it’s home to about 70,000 people. Palmerston North Boys High School is a secondary school of 1800 pupils, with the PNBHS stage band consisting of 17 students. Some of these grew up in New Zealand, but about half of the band members were born in other parts of the world.

The band’s tour to Australia was a fantastic experience.

The day we flew into Melbourne was also the day we were scheduled to play at Federation Square. Most of the band had not been to Melbourne before, however from the moment we arrived the band easily slipped into the Melbourne culture and environment.

It was a beautiful day in the city for the performance. As the band prepared, expectations of playing to the Federation Square crowd grew. We were lucky to play to a receptive audience. It was great for our boys to have the locals there watching, but it was also great to realise there was a large number of ex-Kiwis watching our performance too – some even from our home town.

Staying in Melbourne for the following four days was a great experience that we will always hold dearly.

During this time we visited many iconic Melbourne places. From St Kilda Beach to Victoria Markets, there were plenty of wonderful and memorable experiences had by the group.

As Musical Director of the PNBHS Stage Band, I want to say thank you Melbourne for a great time. Our lives have been enriched by our short stay here and we hope to be back soon.