Emmaville boasted a brass band of about 22 payers in 1886. Known then as The Vegetable Creek Brass band, it had that name proudly emblazoned on the drum.
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By 1906 the name had become Emmaville Miners Brass band, and expert enough to come second in a contest in Inverell.
The following year under the leadership of Bill Coughlan they won the B Grade Championships at Gunnedah.
Bill’s brother Frank, also a member of the band, later went on to become famous as the band leader at the Trocadero in Sydney.
The Creek records: ”Thomas Truscott was band master in the years before Bill Coughlan and then his former pupil, cornet player, Thomas Nugent became band master in 1908. In 1911 the band won a competition in Toowoomba for the A-Grade March. The band played in front of the picture theatre every Saturday night. Nugent held the band together and was a renowned musician. He played at Anzac Day services at Emmaville and Torrington for more than 40 years.”
When he was a blacksmith at Ben Lomond he started a band there too.
About 1929 an orchestra struck up in Emmaville. This had been organised by Dr Richard Bartley Lynch. The members, all trained musicians, included Herb Lennon ( drums), Mrs Doust (piano), Charles Scherf (violin), Frank Brennan (trombone) Mrs A Curnow ( banjo mandolin) and “Bootie” (saxaphone). They charged 30/- till midnight and £3 to play until 2am.
Snowtime Band July 1918: Back L-R: Charles ?, Harold Howden, Sam O'Hara, Tom Nugent, Digger Glennie, Jim Donnelly, Tom Burley, A Coughlan, George Black. 2nd Row L-R: P Jobson, Jack Sweeney, Charles Potter, Gordon Douglas, R Fraser, ??, Ray Dawson, Drum Major Fred Tremble. 3rd Row L-R: Jack Griffiths, Harry Doyle, N Jeffcoate, Les Taylor, Jack Curren, Andy Morton, George Crawford, Charles Coughlan, Aubrey Bickle. 4th Row L-R: Norman Jeffcoate, Hugh Wells, Harry Jobson, Tom Coughlan, Frank Coughlan, Eli Lockyer, Jack Tutt, Jack Coughlan, Joe Wells, Charles Douglas. W H Coughlan – Conductor
