Pipe it down! Student unleashes on noisy Inner West bagpiper

Studying for the HSC is hard enough, let alone listening to blaring bagpipes for days on end - as one Year 12 student has discovered the hard way.

A “struggling” year 12 student has made a desperate plea for a mysterious neighbourhood bagpiper to quit blasting the noisy reed instrument in an Inner West park.

The unknown student left a handwritten note taped to the fence of Petersham Park pleading with the persistent musician to “consider taking a day off every now and then” after blowing the bagpipes for eight days straight.

The frustrated student acknowledges “lockdown is hard” and “we all need a creative outlet” but pleads “I’m not sure how much more bagpiping I can take”.

The note was accompanied with a small illustration of a bagpipe to ensure the message was clear to the person playing the instrument, stating “this note is for you.”

The note pinned to the park fence.

Inner West Council, who follows the Protection of the Environment Operations (POEO) Act 1997 for managing ‘offensive noise’, said no formal complaints have been made against the bagpiper.

“Musical performances on community land would usually require prior approval from Council. Failing to obtain approval could result in a fine,” a council spokesperson said.

“However, the information provided suggests the person is just practising their instrument.”

Some tests found that the bagpipe peaks at 111 decibels outdoors, slightly louder than a pneumatic drill. When the pipes are played indoors they peak at 116dB about as loud as a chainsaw.

The Greater Sydney lockdown has forced hundreds of year 12 students to continue their final year of school at home.

Some tests found that the bagpipe peaks at 111 decibels outdoors.

Noise complaint... The unknown student left a handwritten note taped to the fence of Petersham Park.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said yesterday that she is “certainly confident” students will be able to return to classrooms by the end of year given that the number of coronavirus cases continue to reduce.

“I can’t predict the future, but I certainly am confident that schools will go back before then [2022],” the premier said.

NSW Health is set to take up to 40,000 Pfizer doses from rural and regional communities to vaccinate year 12 students in Sydney and allow them to return to face-to-face learning.