In 1974 D.I. Williams retired from being M.D. To acknowledge his 21 years of continuous service as conductor of the Band of the Canterbury Regiment, the Band of the Royal NZ Infantry Regiment and the Christchurch Garrison Band, members Mr and Mrs Clayton presented a trophy in his name to the Band as an annual award for services to the Band. The D.I. Williams trophy is still awarded annually.

The position of conductor was filled by Terry McGowan who had for some years been Drum Major. His appointment as Musical Director was confirmed in May 1976. In 1981 D.I. Williams resigned as Assistant Conductor and the role was taken over by Andy Simmonds.

There appear to have been at least four ‘away’ trips that took a lot of planning. Two were particularly notable. In September 1975 the Band participated in the Westland Nelson Marlborough Brass and Pipe Band Festival, street marches and concerts in Westport and apparently wowed with its different sound and repertoire. At Labour Weekend, October 1976 - the Band attended the Reunion of the 27th Battalion in Nelson that was also highly successful.

A second recording of the Band’s version of ‘Evening Hymn’ and ‘Last Post’ was recorded in the Christchurch Town Hall Auditorium in 1978. This was in demand from military organizations throughout New Zealand.

Towards the end of 1979 Terry McGowan proposed that the band take up the opportunity to play in Working Men’s Clubs namely Hornby, Riccarton, New Brighton, to fill in the quiet time of the band’s usual summer outdoor schedule. By the mid 1980’s the band’s income was reported as rising dramatically because of the higher returns received from playing at indoor functions. The Band’s annual income rose from $5000 to $20,000 in 1982. Outdoor functions, where the whole band could perform en masse, were becoming less frequent. A band newsletter (The Garrison Gurgler) warned players that the evening engagements, being of a more professional nature, required a higher level of musicianship. Sectional practices were to be initiated and musicians were expected to practise at home to improve their musicianship. Members could expect that the better-rehearsed and more proficient players (and those with more regular attendance) would be the ones selected for these engagements.

Rehearsal venues were hard to find. Initially, rehearsals were held at the Rugby League Clubrooms on Ferry Road and then the Band had been fortunate to have rooms made available at Shirley Boys High School. In the 1980’s the band was considering the possibility of building its own rooms on land that had become available but this didn’t work out. In January 1981 the ‘Continental Lounge’ on Aldwins Rd became available and was purchased by the Band for $22,500 in February of that year. The money was raised by debentures, private loans and a bank mortgage. Remarkably, all debts were paid off within four years. Second-hand furniture was purchased from Ballins Industries and to help fulfil its role as ‘home’ for the band, crockery and a pool table were also purchased. The AGM of May 1980 was the first one held in the new band hall. The adjacent section was purchased from the C.C.C. in 1986 for parking. Yet more work was required to tidy this up and fence it.

The purchase of its own premises resulted in a notable change in the Band’s fundraising focus. Now emphasis was given to upgrading the facilities of their new home. The toilet block needed to be replaced and to this end a pre-fabricated toilet block was tendered for and purchased from the Dept of Education. Stan Ainsworth did the plans and organised the permit for the toilet block addition; Colin Hill scrounged the plumbing fittings for the toilets; Bruce Holgate and Stan with assistance from others built the addition, working every weekend for 3 months. Ted O’Hare’s father-in-law laid the bricks for us; Arthur van Roy did the majority of the addition painting; Joe Srzich made the windows for the addition and made and installed the kitchen in the hall. Over the next few years the interior was repainted, new curtains purchased, a stage was constructed and the out-buildings tidied up. The band also purchased a trailer for carrying all the gear to and from venues.

The hall was made available to a number of other musical and community groups as well as its own ‘Housie’ fundraising activities, all of which contributed to the hall maintenance funds.

The nature of the band had continued to evolve with the changing nature of work available. Although already strong in reeds (clarinets and saxophones), it was proposed that a new, dance-band style drum kit be purchased and in 1981 the band appointed its first electric bass guitarist and purchased an electronic piano. In 1981, it was apparently also sufficiently notable to be recorded in the minutes that 3 women members were appointed and a suitable uniform had to be agreed upon although records show that there had been a sprinkling of women musicians in the band before that. The size and composition of the band for the Club dance engagements was a point of contention and Terry had to explain that individual reliability was the main factor governing the choice of players, but also the type of engagement and size of the venue would determine how big a band would be on any one engagement. In December 1984 Terry proposed that a new name be used for evening engagements to get away from the military image. The name ‘Golden Brass’ was agreed upon. A new uniform was selected for evening work with new jackets and trousers and a cummerbund, white shirt and bow tie and black ‘evening type’ shoes. Ladies could wear a skirt.

In 1985 concerns were expressed about the Band’s playing and the Musical Director suggested purchasing a cassette recorder so that the Band could listen to itself and readily hear the faults. In 1985 there was the first mention of the Norm Berry Trophy for the ‘most improved player’ in honour of one of the Band’s foundation members.

By 1986 it was decided that the band would no longer do any marching as there was little demand for it and the existing band members were not skilled enough. The band continued to play in the Hay’s Christmas parade by sitting in the back of a truck, but eventually new safety regulations meant that this was no longer possible and the band ceased to be involved in the parade.

Further reinforcing the new sound and style that the band was focussing on was the purchase of additional percussion instruments - glockenspiels, cowbell and tambourine. A mixer desk and fold-back speakers were purchased in 1987 as the band shed more and more of its military origins.

In 1988 there was more discussion about a suitable name for the band that better expressed its new style and after much discussion the name was chosen from a short list comprising ‘Garden City Big Band’, ‘Red Jackets’, ‘Tickled Pink’ and ‘Mainland Connection’. In October of that year the name ‘Garden City Big Band’ was formally adopted for stage purposes and was widely publicised.

Sadly, in the middle to later years of the 1980’s there seems to have been a general unease and low morale. Concerns were expressed about below standard performances and the Conductor was given committee backing to be more forceful with players at fault. From having 44 members at rehearsals in 1982, over the ensuing years membership fell to 12 or 13 and professional players were having to be brought in to boost numbers for engagements. Meetings involved much discussion about the future direction of the Band.