Official record set in Melbourne for largest all-female pipe band

It’s official: an assembly of 145 pipers and drummers from Australia and New Zealand performed in Melbourne City Square on July 5, 2026, to gain an official place in the Australian Book of Records for the largest all-female pipe band ever to perform.

The record-setting performance was part of the Melbourne Tartan Day Parade, surpassing the organizers’ goal of 100 players.

The event coincided with the one-hundredth anniversary of the Australian Ladies Pipe Band touring the world as an extension of the South & Port Melbourne Thistle Society Ladies Pipe Band, a group created during the Great War when many Australian pipers and drummers were serving their country.

The Australian Ladies Pipe Band toured Australia, Britain, Europe and North America from 1925 to ’27 for a collective audience of more than a million. The effort was commemorated forever by Willie Fergusson and his popular 2/4 march, “The Australian Ladies.”

“To see so many women and girls fill the City Square with sound today was extraordinary,” said event organizer Stephanie Scott. “They came from around Australia and even from New Zealand. It was about remembering those early pioneer pipers and drummers, and celebrating all that women have achieved in the pipe band community. We’re keen for people to understand that pipe bands are for everyone.”

For more than 40 years, pipes|drums has led the effort to highlight the contributions of female pipers and drummers, shed light on disparities and unfair practices, and advocate for the equitable treatment of women and girls in the still male-dominated competitive art.

“Women have been playing at the highest level, leading bands and carrying our music forward for generations,” said Amber Ives, the band’s designated lead-piper. “The day made an undeniable statement about women’s place in the pipe band world. Today, 145 of us stood together in the centre of Melbourne and made their contribution impossible to overlook.”

“I hope that by creating this official record we will encourage other groups to break it,” concluded event organizer Chris Bouwmeester. “It’s all about raising the profile of pipes and drums, recognizing the role of the early female pioneers, and encouraging more girls and women to join such a great community.”