The earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 changed everything. Many performance venues were lost, people left town, band members were coping with their own stresses and the band lost its hall. Damage from the initial earthquake of September 2010 was not too serious and the band continued using the hall after the central wall was reinforced, however the February 2011 earthquake was too much for this old double-brick building, and it was ‘red-stickered’. Stan Ainsworth kindly offered the band use of his show room (Alvista Interiors) in the depths of Woolston/Heathcote for rehearsals. He also allowed the Band to park several large shipping containers in the carpark for equipment and as much of the interior fittings as could be rescued from the hall. The idea was to onsell the almost-new appliances and fittings to recoup some costs. However, the market was flooded at the time with all sorts of building supplies, fittings and furnishings as more and more properties, commercial and domestic, were being demolished. In the end some items had to be given away!

Surprisingly, despite the distance and inconvenience, all members of the band accepted the new venue and were really grateful for the comfortable facilities, and it was good for morale to be able to continue with rehearsals.

The local Woolston Club surprised the band in 2013 by agreeing to book it for one Saturday night per month for the year, an arrangement which continued into 2014. These dances were well received, often with standing-room only and a crowded dance floor. It was just like old times! Unfortunately however our music tends to attract the serious dance crowd who are not big drinkers and the Club struggled to make money on our nights. This can only be made worse by the new, stricter drink-driving laws introduced in 2014. The Club has reduced the number of times in a year that we can play there and is suggesting they impose a small door charge to cover costs. It remains to be seen how successful this will be.

Highlights of the era since the 1990’s have been the engagement by the Banks Peninsula Vintage Car Club for their annual New Year’s Day picnic - originally held in the Hororata Domain but now held in the Little River Domain. This is a hugely popular and well-attended event with scores of vintage cars in attendance. Since many Band member’s families also come for the day’s outing it has also become a Band picnic!

Also of great appeal to Band members was the engagement for 2-3 years at the Waiau Guy Fawkes celebration - a well-attended community event that culminated in very spectacular fireworks displays that exceeded the offerings in Christchurch. It was a long day out but well worthwhile.

After enjoying the comforts of the Alvista showroom for two years the time came for the band to find new premises. The Band hall had been underinsured and the payout was insufficient to build new premises - either on the old site on Aldwins Road, which was designated TC 3 where new foundation rules would make it difficult and very expensive, or elsewhere. There was considerable discussion about whether or not the Band even wanted to be property owners again as it was a considerable liability. In August 2014 the band had discussions with the Addington Silver Brass band with a view to sharing their premises in Birmingham Drive. As their band didn’t require the rooms on a Wednesday - our usual practice night - and they had a room they could spare for storage, it seemed an excellent arrangement.

It is notable that the band has had a small but fairly stable membership since the mid 1990s and has evolved into a tight group in a traditional big band/dance band format of 16-18 members. The band has enjoyed during this time vocal contributions from Alice Steel (also trumpet and strings) and now the very talented Siu Williams-Lemi (tenor sax). Although only two current band member pre-date the 1990’s viz Terry (1964) and Stan (1972), there are three members with more than 20 years continuous attendance (we have only just recently lost a fourth) and one of 15 years. Many of the remainder can claim between 5 and 10 years’ membership. There is no room for complacency however as there are always musicians who move on for all sorts of reasons so the search for replacements is fairly constant.

Terry McGowan has been a prolific arranger of music for the band. Most of the Band’s huge repertoire is arranged by him. He writes all the music by hand with separate parts for each musician - a formidable task. The music ranges from Big Band and jazz standards to ballads, show tunes, rock and pop. He is a master of tailoring music and tempos for the dance specialists. At the Band’s recent 50th Anniversary celebrations Terry was presented with an award for ‘Musical Excellence’ - a new award named in his honour to acknowledge his many years of service to the Band.

John Wray on electric bass also writes/arranges new charts for the Band. He replaces our previous, long-serving electric bass player, Laurie Blower.

At the end of 2023, Terry McGowan retired from the band. His long service was recognised by the band at the annual Christmas party, where he was thanked for his many years of dedicated service as Musical Director, arranger and drummer. Colin Eaton has stepped into the role of Musical Director alongside his existing role as first trumpet. The band enjoys playing a mixture of the old favourites and the new arrangements that Colin sources for us.