Presentation Sergeant-Drummer's mace : 37 Battalion Band, AIF

Wooden mace or staff, varnished or shellaced in dark brown, bearing a brass head which tapers from the neck to a flattened half-globe. Mounted at the apex is a cast silver Rising Sun and King's crown. A collar at the base of the globe bears the words '37th BATTN AUSTRALIAN IMPRERIAL FORCES' voided from the backing. The dome is engraved 'PRESENTED TO 37TH BATTN A.I.F. / BT THE / 3RD DIVISION TRAIN A.I.F. / SHIPMATES IN / H.M.A.T. "PERSIC" A. 34 / JUNE JULY 1916'. The head finishes in a collar of repeating acanthus leaves and a neck which bears the name of the makers (Hawkes and Sons Makers London) and the serial number '14589'. The head screws to the staff at this point, with the crown at the top acting as a locating bolt. Some 15 cm from the top of the staff is a decorated collar, from which are hung a pair of brass chains which drape the staff in an interlocking manner down to the foot, ending in a pair of gilded gold wire tassles. The final 30 cm of the staff is a tapering foot, in gilded brass. There is a double split just above the upper staff collar, behind which a small piece of shrapnel is lodged.

Sergeant Drummer's staff, made in England and presented to 37 Battalion's band on the troopship 'Persic' as the ship left Cape Town on its way from Australia to England in 1916.

The 37th Battalion was formed, as part of the 10th Brigade of the 3rd Australian Division, in February 1916 at Seymour in Victoria. Its recruits were drawn from Melbourne, north-east Victoria and Gippsland. The battalion embarked for service in France aboard the transport 'Persic' which departed Port Melbourne on 3 June 1916. After sailing via Albury, WA, the 'Persic' berthed at Cape Town to recoal, but with meningitis present on board, the authorities were loathe to allow the men to leave ship and mix with the local population.

The Battalion History ('The Thirty Seventh' by N G McNicol) notes that 'regulated parades ashore' were allowed 'and so during the first afternoon the troops were marched to a sports ground at Sea Point, sentries being posted around the place to prevent contact with the populace'. The troops were marched back to the ship that evening. The following morning, at 9:30 'the troops again proceeded ashore and headed by the 37th Battalion band, marched for seven miles in columns of fours to Groote Schuur, where they picnicked in an open park in the pleasant sunshine...Hundreds of natives accompanied the columns en route, being particularly attracted by the band.'

On another occasion, after picnicking close to the Official Residence of the Prime Minister, the battalion returned to the ship, marching 'down the full length of Adderly Street, amidst a throng of the white residents who gave the Australians a tumultuous welcome.' At 4.00pm on 30 June, the 'Persic' left Cape Town' to much mutual cheering. 'When the 37th's band struck up 'Australia Will Be There', all on board joined in. Then followed 'Auld Lang Syne' and 'God Save the King'. What memories those familiar tunes recall nowadays, particularly 'So Long Letty', which was a favourite piece of the 37th Battalion's band. The Army Service Corps units [also aboard ship], as a mark of appreciation, presented to the band a drum-major's staff which two years later, was 'wounded' on active service'.

'So Long Letty' was a popular sentimental 1915 American male/female duet written by Earl Carroll for a stage play of the same name; it was later filmed in 1920 and 1929. The lyrics centre around a lover's farewell ('And if you take my lovin' heart along / What good's a fellow when his heart is gone / So if you love me, love me, Stay, / don't make me say / So Long Letty Dear!').

On 1 October 1918, 37 Battalion was approaching Le Catelet after its role in the assault on the Hindenburg Line on 29 September. The battalion had only just dealt with the attempts to disband it a week earlier, and feelings were strong. The War Diary states 'During the night of the 1st a bomb was dropped on the Nucleus Camp at Peronne, killing 5 and wounding 6.' This bomb also damaged this staff, causing damage to the wood below the head - a small pellet of shrapnel remains lodged there. The battalion donated the staff to the Australian War Records Section in the early 1920s.