The first musical instrument to arrive with European colonisers in Australia was a piano made in 1780 – but there are older ones still being played

“Was it love at first sight?” asks Max Bibeau. “I would say no.”

The relationship between a musician and their instrument is always complicated. But for Bibeau and his double bass – tall, heavy and dark, with a distinctive mottled patina and floral carvings – it was a long journey from introduction to intimacy.

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