Who knew there was a Canberra tartan?
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Well, it's there, on the Scottish Register of Tartans: dark blue for the Canberra flag, gold and white for the stars on the Canberra flag and medium blue for the Canberra Bluebell.
And it will be proudly worn for the first time at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, by members of the Australian Federal Police Pipes and Drums, which includes serving AFP officers, serving members of the Australian Defence Force, veterans and civilian volunteers.
The members of the band have been invited to the soul-stirring tattoo at Edinburgh Castle, as military performers from around the globe gather at Edinburgh Castle night after night throughout August, showcasing their talent to a live audience of 220,000 over the time and a TV audience of 100 million.
Twenty-one members will be travelling to Scotland in August for the tattoo, performing as part of the Massed Pipes and Drums alongside other international and Scottish regiment bands
Among them will be Detective Sergeant Stephen Ladd, who plays the bagpipes, and who last performed there in 2009.
He started playing the pipes almost 20 years ago, inspired by his grandfather, whose parents were Scottish.
"As a young lad, I distinctly remember him marching up and down the corridor of their house in Newcastle at all hours – much to the delight of neighbours within a four-block radius," Sergeant Ladd said.
"Growing up, I had never shown much interest in learning. As one of only five grandchildren, when I was 21 I decided the legacy of the pipes was something I would like to try and carry on.
"My grandfather started teaching me and arranged an introduction with the local pipe band, the Canberra City Pipes and Drums," he said. That band became the honorary pipe band to the AFP in 1993, before officially becoming the AFPPD in 2006.
"Sadly, six months later he passed away. I inherited his bagpipes which I still play to this day and continued learning and now playing - hoping to continue his legacy."
While Sergeant Ladd's policing career has seen him involved in investigating some of the most difficult crimes, including in child protection, piping has also been an important part of his job.
"With the AFP Ceremonial Team I have performed at too many AFP graduations, awards ceremonies and funerals to list," he said.
"Unfortunately, the funerals stand out the most – in particular [AFP protective services officer] Adam Dunning and Chief Police Officer Audrey Fagan.
"Performing at the repatriations in Melbourne of Australian victims of the MH17 air disaster over a six-week period as part of a combined AFP / ADF ceremonial cadre was one of the hardest things I have done, something I am immensely proud of and will never forget.
"Since 2005, as the only AFP representative, I have been the lone piper at the National ANZAC Day dawn service at the Australian War Memorial.
"The most nervous moment of my life was playing the lament atop of the War Memorial looking out across approximately 120,000 people and candles in the dark at the 100th Anniversary of ANZAC Day in 2015."
We wish them all well at the tattoo, representing the national capital in the Canberra tartan.
