Daily Photo – Erhu Busker on Queen Street
I strolled through the streets of Auckland’s CBD when I came across a man playing an Erhu. I thought it was rather good and added a silently different atmosphere to the area which wasn’t nearly as busy as I’d expected. However, clearly I was in the minority as his case wasn’t almost void money. Not being in any hurry, I stopped, dropped some money in his case and in return he let me take as many photos as I wished. He was a lovely chap, happily sitting there playing his music to those who were passing by. Watching him, it was hard to believe that playing music on these very streets was once considered a dangerous, criminal act. In fact, central Auckland has a surprisingly turbulent history when it comes to street performers.
It all started in the early 1880s, when The Salvation Army first arrived in Auckland, they did what any modern-day street busker might do: set up on a corner of Queen Street playing brass instruments, beating tambourines, and singing hymns to gather a crowd. Not everyone appreciated this, especially the Auckland City Council and the police. Rather than passing laws specifically banning music, authorities used general public obstruction and police offence laws to arrest Salvationists for blocking footpaths and disturbing the peace.
At the same time, organised anti-Salvation gangs known as “Skeleton Armies” marched through central Auckland carrying skull-and-crossbones flags, banging tin cans, throwing rocks, and attempting to drown out the musicians. The result was the bizarre situation of police arresting the Salvation Army performers for “inciting a breach of the peace”, on the grounds that their music provoked riots and disorder. Courts often fined the Salvationists, effectively ruling that making music in the street became illegal if other people reacted violently to it.
Erhu Busker on Queen Street
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