"Speed and aggression win rugby matches not piping competitions" Donald Bain Report Sheet (1985)

Donald's early tuition in the art was provided by Pipe Major Donald MacLeod in Scotland in 1967-68. Later, through Pipe Major Bob Brown, Donald further developed his understanding of piobaireachd and his deep affection for it.

Donald was an enormously successful competitor in piobaireachd. In 1965 he won the Comunn na Piobaireachd Gold Medal. He won the Clasp on eight subsequent occasions. He was the winner of the New Zealand Championship Piobaireachd five times between 1970 and 1985. In 1979 he won the Highland Society of London's Gold Medal at Inverness. He won the Gold Medal at Braemar on three occasions.

Donald was a modest and unassuming man. He was honest and to the point. He was intelligent and critical. Importantly, he was interested in life and he was interested in its people. He was a loyal and fun friend. He loved his spuds.

Throughout his life Donald enjoyed the support of his magnificent wife Alice. It was she who provided the encouragement for his initial trip to Scotland. She was generous in spirit and in hospitality to visiting pipers. Her long illness was a tragedy and a source of great pain to Donald. Her death, shortly after Donald's own, is a further cause of sadness for those who knew and loved them.