Rowe conquers Everest while Easton sees Brown at annual Wellington Pipers Club solo piping

Wellington, New Zealand – July 9, 2022 – Willie Rowe of Rata, New Zealand, won the Everest Cup in the piobaireachd event and Stuart Easton of Palmerston North, New Zealand took the Brown Cup at the 70th annual Wellington Pipers Club Brown Cup. Fourteen competed in the competition held at Scots College, including accomplished soloist and Grade 1 Manawatu Scottish pipe-major Stewart McKenzie who returned to solo competition after a long hiatus.

The event pays homage to the famed piper and teacher Robert Brown who travelled frequently to the antipodes in the 1950s and ’60 to pass along the piobaireachd knowledge he gained from John MacDonald of Inverness. The competition was a rare major event that managed to be held in 2020 and ’21.

Everest Cup
1st Willie Rowe
2nd Stuart Easton
3rd Callum Carn, Wellington
4th Scott Armstrong, Auckland
Judges: Marion Horsburgh, Tracey Williams

Brown Cup (MSRHP&J)
1st Stuart Easton
2nd Hamish Reade, Nelson, New Zealand
3rd Willie Rowe
4th Stewart McKenzie, Wellington
Judge: Ross Hanning