Spirit to march on forever

JANICE Davey will be remembered for her immense pride and dedication to brass bands and paving the way for women in the past time.

Ms Davey, who died in August 2021, received an Order of Australia Medal as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her service to marching and music.

Accepting the honour on her behalf, husband Ernest Davey said band was his wife’s life.

“Right from birth she was raised in it with her four brothers, her father was bandmaster,” he said. “She was in the marching girls for many years where she started.”

Mr Davey said he first met his wife working in the knitting mills.

“Jan worked in the office, and I saw her walk through, and I had to find out who she was,” he said. “I thought she was the loveliest girl I’d ever seen.”

Ms Davey joined the City of Greater Bendigo Brass Band in 1957, eventually leading the musicians.

In 1981, she became the first woman to receive the Australian Champion Drum Major award from the National Band Council of Australia and was her drum major for 30 years.

In the late 1990s, she was state drill adjudicator for the Victorian Bands’ League, of which she became a life member in 2008.

Her daughter, Karen Davey, joined the band when she was 10 years old.

“I was so proud of her, that was my mum. Everything she did she did with grace, elegance, sense of humour,” Ms Davey said.

“She was a natural born leader, it was innate.

“Mum was the only women for years as the drum major, so she trained all those guys to do their marching.

“So as far as getting women into bands and being a leader for women, so many women have moved through the ranks now. I have no doubt she’s been a massive influence to women.”