The St Austell Territorial’s Contest seems to have been a one-off. It was organised by, and in aid of, the St Austell Territorials and held at Trevarrick on either the 28th August 1909. Mr J Brier of Bradford was the adjudicator.
Playing the test piece Le Domino Noir, Camborne (own choice I Lombardi) won the day and, according to adjudicator J Brier, played “By far the best performance”. In second place was St Dennis (own choice Maschera) with Queen’s Band (own choice Tutti in Maschera) third with the remarks, “I presume you have no soprano, your numbers are rather small, I should think”. Saltash Band (own choice Bohemian Girl) was unplaced and an interesting comment in the adjudicator’s remarks is “clarinet good,” indicating that despite the passage of time since all-brass bands emerged, woodwind players were still involved in the movement.
Despite this being a seemingly minor contest, a huge crowd of people assembled at Camborne Railway Station on Saturday night to welcome the return of the Town Band. Lake’s Falmouth Packet of the 3rd September stated, “The bandsmen attempted to get away quietly, but the crowd forced them to march to the Commercial-square”. Perhaps it was the competition between Camborne and St Dennis that elevated the importance of this contest.
The Test piece was Le Domino Noir with an additional own choice piece as shown. The results were:
| Placed | Conductor | ||
| 1 | Camborne Silver Band (I Lombardi) | W Uren | |
| 2 | St Dennis (Maschera) | W H Juleff | |
| 3 | Indian Queens (Tutti in Maschera) | W G Morgan | |
| Saltash Territorials (Bohemian Girl) | Corporal Gregory | ||
Special awards were made to:
Cornet: Camborne
Baritone: Camborne
Horn: Camborne
Euphonium: Camborne
Trombone: Camborne
John Brush recorded that E O Gregory conducted Saltash military volunteers at two Cornish contests: St Austell in 1909 and Liskeard in 1914 where they gained a 1st in the second section.
Compiled by Tony Mansell (Bardh Kernow)