The Early Days
The Lithgow City Band was formed as a leisure activity for the workmen at the ironworks and surrounding collieries. The musicians, most of who worked at the ironworks or colliery full-time, performed at many events. Some events included the 1879 inspection of the nation’s first commercially viable ironworks site where the Governor, Lord Loftus, paid a private visit to Lithgow as the
guest of the Premier, Sir Henry Parkes and the opening of the Sandfield’s Steelworks (1894), the blast furnace 1907) and the worker’s strikes of 1911. The War Effort
Ten men from Lithgow joined the 20th Battalion Band for the Great War. They served as stretcher-bearers in addition to their band duties with two being killed in action and four wounded by May 1916. More Recently
The current Lithgow City Brass Band, under the baton of Judy Kinnear, is an integral part of the local community. The Band performs at Australia Day Celebrations in Lithgow and Portland, Church Fetes, Anzac Day at Lithgow and Rydal, Railway Festivals, Ironfest, Lithgow and Rydal Shows, Concerts at the Union Theatre, the Daffodil Festival at Rydal, Festival of Lithgow, and Christmas Carols.
