The promise of music, dancing, vintage vehicles and highland games brought crowds flocking to the 159th Maryborough Highland Gathering.

The festivities started with a parade and continued at Princes Park.

Anne Ingham first came to the Maryborough Highland Gathering when she was a youngster, as a dancer.

All eyes were on her again this year, as the chieftain of the 159^th event.

Parade participants saluted Anne as they made their way along Park Road, and some of the people lining the streets greeted her with a wave.

The Castlemaine Highland Pipe Band life member said it was hard to explain how it felt to be up on that podium overseeing the bands, historical vehicles and highland dancers that passed by.

"It was a real thrill," Anne said.

The Maryborough Highland Society had wanted a chieftain that had a bit of history with either the gathering or the club itself.

"So my choice to pick Anne was very easy," president Andrew Rae said.

Anne had been involved in the highland gathering for years before she was offered the role.

"I've been in the town now for 34 years," she said.

She was a member of the highland society for "a long time", including sitting on the board of management.

Anne played bowls there, as well.

Her relationship with the event, held annually on New Year's Day, started in her capacity as a dancer.

"As a child, my mother thought highland dancing was good for me, so I did that. We had no Scottish ancestry," Anne said.

Later on, she learned to play the bagpipes.

"I danced and played pipes in Melbourne, then got married, had a family, and let it all go and then came up here to live," Anne said.

She moved to Maryborough about 30 years after she stopped playing the pipes in Melbourne.

One year, she came down the high street to watch the New Year's Day march.

"I couldn't wait to get here and walk down the street, with a few tears all the way," Anne said.

She said she spoke to one of the pipers, "and then a few weeks later I was part of a band".

Anne joined the Castlemaine Highland Pipe Band in the mid-1980s.

"I was also their drum major for a period of time," she said.

She said being named chieftain of this year's Maryborough Highland Gathering was a great honour - one that made her "happy and excited and terrified".

Anne was the event's third woman chieftain.

It came as organisers added the strong woman event to the gathering's sporting program for the first time

Mr Rae said the prize money for the women's race had also increased.

"In time, we're trying to make it the same as the men's," he said.

"We think the women should get the same money as the men.

"This costs a lot of money for the highland society to put on, so as we get more sponsors we can increase the women's prize money to make it the same as the men's."

The highland games were among the drawcards for Maldon's Stan Mead and daughter Lee Mead.

Ms Mead said her father, 96, used to be a very good sportsman.

He still played croquet and rode his bike up until about 10 years ago.

Ms Mead said they also enjoyed the dancing and the music - the pipe bands, especially.

"The last time I came was about 40 years ago," she said.

"I've been meaning to come back ever since."

She said the weather had been an incentive to return, with more pleasant temperatures than last year in particular.

"It's great, and I love the fact there's quite a few young people in kilts, too - the traditions are obviously being continued with the younger generation.

Alyta Gowty, 15, and Max Gowty, 12, were among the members of the Federation University Australia Pipe Band.

They said they had been looking forward to the event.

"I love it. Coming down here is so exciting and fun," Alyta said.

Max said being part of the pipe band was an opportunity to get experience and to have a community to go to.

All the while, they were learning more about their Scottish ancestry.

Federation University Australia Pipe Band snare drummer Frank Gillett said there tended to be a multi-generational element to band membership.

"It does tend to be more families tend to get into bands and stick together," he said.

"I've been involved in bands for about 26 years."

Mr Gillett said it was "really good" to see younger family members or children of friends from their band days getting involved.

He said the highland gathering was a way for people to get together, mingle, and experience something new.

The event still has hours left to go, but organisers are thinking ahead to next year.

Mr Rae said the 160^th Maryborough Highland Gathering would be much the same, "just bigger and better".

Maryborough will be in the spotlight before then, with the Australian Pipe Band Championships returning to the town 60 years after the first championships.