Pipe band’s tribute in tartan

The New Zealand Police Pipe Band is setting off to compete among the best of the best - with a new tartan which pays tribute to its Police heritage.

The McLeod Centenary tartan was chosen in tribute to the first member of New Zealand Police slain on duty - Scottish-born Constable Neil McLeod, who was shot dead 125 years ago.

The band – seven-times winner of the New Zealand grade one championships - is en route to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, stopping off on the way to perform at an event in Ulster.

The tartan was dedicated this week in the presence of descendants of Constable McLeod, including former police Inspector Barry Pickering, Constable McLeod’s great grandson.

At the ceremony at Police National Headquarters, the tartan was piped in by Pipe Major Emmett Conway, appropriately playing the air Macleod of Mull.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Grant Nicholls, pipe band president, told the gathering that though Constable McLeod died a long way from his native land, the band was carrying his memory back to Scotland.

Retired Inspector Dale Stephens, a band life member, said the band wanted to replace its King George VI tartan with one that more specifically reflected its Police heritage.

He recalled others among the 29 officers slain on duty. “This band wanted to honour not only Neil McLeod but all those who have gone before.”

The world championships take place on 14-15 August. You can stay in touch through the competition Facebook page.

Constable Neil McLeod

Constable McLeod, 44, was on the steamer Minnie Casey with his pregnant wife and six children on 30 July 1890, transferring from Dargaville to Auckland, when he was called upon to help put a troublesome passenger ashore. The passenger produced a gun and fired at the departing vessel, killing Constable McLeod.

Dargaville townsfolk had hosted a farewell function for the popular constable, signing a message that read, in part: “Whenever occasion arose for it, you spared neither time nor trouble in rendering yourself useful to our community.”

"Those words underline the fact that Constable McLeod was more than just a police officer," said Acting Deputy Commissioner Nicholls. "He was a member of his community, as all police officers are today. That's something we hold very dear in Police."