Robertson, James

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When John Center and his family immigrated to Australia in 1908, James Robertson Sr and his son, James Jr took over the premises at 64 Grove Street Edinburgh. James Jr. would have been 15 years old at that time. Early advertisements indicated that James Robertson was “successor to John Center & Son”. James Robertson Sr was a Seaforth Highlander, competition piper, and Pipe Major.  During the late 1800’s he was both Pipe Major and music teacher at Wellington Reformatory.  He died in July 1915.

Robertson Bagpipes in the 1920’s and early 1930’s

Robertson Bagpipes during the late 1930’s into the 1950’s

Robertson Bagpipes during the late 1950’s until closing in 1964

James Jr. saw active duty from 1914 to 1918 with the 4th and 9th Battalions of the Royal Scots. He served as Pipe Major until 1925, when he returned home. During his active duty he became close friends with Alexander Ross, who was awarded a patent for “Improvements or relating to Bag Pipes” in June 1924. Robertson manufactured this bagpipe, which was very distinctive in profile and detail. These attributes carried over and can be seen in Robertson’s Great Highland Bagpipe from that same period.

The earliest example of a Robertson bagpipe can be seen at the right. This bagpipe was purchased new in 1914 from the Robertson shop in Edinburgh. James Jr. would have been away with the war, so we can assume that the bagpipe was made by James Sr. The shield is original to the set however the rest of the silver was added by Bernie Leigh. The profiles of this bagpipe line up with those  James Robertson bagpipes made up until the early 1930’s. Profiles are quite severe.

Robertson’s famous AIRTIGHT bag seasoning is still in production today. It has seen several changes in packaging over the years. He published a booklet regarding the manufacture of bagpipes. Although a very brief read it contained information not found elsewhere.