St Paul's Presbyterian Church

cnr Moore and Castlereagh Streets, Liverpool

Arthur Jones, Sydney, 1971
2 manuals, 4 ranks + Mixture extended,
electro-magnetic action

Historical and Technical Documentation by Kelvin Hastie
© OHTA 1981 and 2023



The organ in this church was originally built in 1881 by J.W. Walker & Sons of London as job 1140, for the residence of Miss Georgina Mackie, College Buildings, Sydney. It possessed a single manual, three speaking stops, pedal pulldowns and mechanical action. Shipped to Sydney aboard the Thermopylae, its cost was £104.1

The instrument was apparently later acquired by Miss Mackie's niece, Miss Dunmore Lang, and installed at her Casula residence, south west of Sydney. In 1927, the instrument, together with a gift of £400, was given to St Paul's Presbyterian Church, Liverpool.2 There it was rebuilt and enlarged by T.C. Edwards with the provision of a second manual and additional pipework, being rededicated on 3 July 1927. 3

In 1969, a contract was signed with Arthur Jones to completely rebuild the organ for the new Presbyterian building in Moore Street, located some blocks to the north of the original site, which was demolished to make way for commercial redevelopment.

It is important to note that in 1961 Arthur Jones was sent out to Sydney to be the Australian tuner-representative for J.W. Walker & Sons, Ltd, of Ruislip, Middlesex. He severed ties with the company in 1968, returning briefly to England, but coming back to Australia to work under his own name until 1976.4 His brief departure from Australia may explain the difference between the year on builder's plate (1969) and the actual year of completion, which is 1971.

The rebuilding of the Liverpool organ bears some similarity, in tonal terms, to unit organs in the "Positif" range built by J.W. Walker & Sons and installed, mostly by Arthur Jones, in many churches throughout Australia between 1959 and 1969. The 75-pipe "repeating Mixture" is typical of the style.

The Liverpool instrument has two manuals, electro-magnetic action, four ranks and a repeating Mixture, with a total of 391 pipes for the whole organ. The ranks are extended as follows:

A - Principal 8', 4', 2' (85 pipes)
B – Bourdon/Stopped Diapason 16', 8', 4', 2-2/3' (85 pipes)
C - Dulciana 8', 4' (61 pipes)
D - Rohrflöte 8', 4', 2-2/3', 2', 1-1/3' (85 pipes)
Mixture III (75 pipes)

The 1881 case survives, but is flanked by pipework from the bass octaves of the Principal and Bourdon ranks.

Great
Principal
Stopped Diapason
Dulciana
Octave
Stopped Flute
Octave Quint
Principal
Mixture III


8
8
8
4
4
2-2/3
2
III


A
B
C
A
B
B
A


Swell
Rohrflöte
Dulciana
Flute
Dulcet
Nazard
Flautino
Larigot
Mixture III


8
8
4
4
2-2/3
2
1-1/3
III


D
C
D
C
D
D
D


Pedal
Bourdon
Principal
Bass Flute
Octave Flute

16
8
8
4

B
A
B
B

Coupler
Great to Pedal

Tremulant
Compass 61/30
Electro-magnetic action
Balanced swell pedal
4 pistons (preset) to Great
3 pistons (preset) to Swell




[Photograph: Kelvin Hastie (date unkonwn)]


1 Graeme D. Rushworth, Historic Organs of New South Wales: the instruments, their makers and players, 1791-1940 (Sydney: Hale & Iremonger, 1988), 342.

2 The Presbyterian Church in Liverpool New South Wales, 1861-1947. Church history booklet, 11.

3 Rushworth, op.cit.

4 Kelvin Hastie, Reviews – Books – A History of J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd in The Sydney Organ Journal, 55/4 (Spring 2023): 43.