Founded in 1967 by Scottish-born craftsman Jack Dunbar, Dunbar Bagpipes is North America’s oldest full-time bagpipe maker — and the original inventor of the Polypenco bagpipe.
A native of Glasgow, Jack apprenticed as a turner with the legendary Peter Henderson firm in 1934, before his career was interrupted by five years of wartime service with the British Royal Corps of Signals. After the war, he co-founded Piob Mhor Highland Industries, working alongside figures such as Bob Hardie and John Weatherstone. But it was in Canada where Jack would leave his lasting mark.
Immigrating in 1951, Jack worked across industries — from General Motors to real estate — yet was eventually drawn back to his roots. In 1966, while still at GM in St. Catharines, he began repairing bagpipes in his basement. With custom-built tooling, ingenuity, and relentless work ethic, he laid the foundation for what would become a groundbreaking business.
By 1968, he had done what no other maker had achieved: he pioneered the use of synthetic materials in bagpipe construction. His creation of the first-ever Polypenco bagpipe forever changed the industry. Today, nearly every commercial bagpipe maker offers a synthetic line — but Dunbar was first.
For more than half a century, Jack proved that world-class Highland bagpipes could be built outside Scotland. His craftsmanship and innovation earned him lasting recognition, including being named one of the Top 15 Greatest (Deceased) Canadians by Pipes|Drums Magazine — a figure whose influence shaped piping across North America.
In 1985, Jack retired from GM to focus full-time on Dunbar Bagpipes. Over the next two decades, he trained a new generation of makers, including his son-in-law Rick Pettigrew, now regarded as the world’s foremost authority in bagpipe restoration and craftsmanship. Together with Jack’s daughter Jacquie, Rick continues to carry the Dunbar legacy forward today.
Jack’s vision was simple but enduring: keep the company in the family, keep the standards high, and ensure every set of pipes bearing the Dunbar name upheld the proud tradition of Scottish craftsmanship — reimagined for the modern world.
Jack Dunbar passed on not just a business, but a legacy. Today, Dunbar Bagpipes remains a family-run company in St. Catharines, Ontario — still building world-class instruments, still innovating, and still honouring the vision of the man who brought the ancient art of Highland bagpipe making across the Atlantic.
Dia duit, Jack.