Pymble Ladies College

from OHTA Conference Book 1988, Kelvin Hastie writes:

The splendid organ in this Chapel may be considered one of the finest organs in Sydney. The organ was built in 1886 by T. C. Lewis of London and was installed in Petersham Congregational Church in April 1889. A prepared-for Pedal Subbass was a later addition and the original Mixture II on the Great was removed for a Clarionet 8, presumably at the beginning of the century when orchestral stops were in vogue [1].

Demographic changes in the inner suburbs of Sydney in the post World War II era have caused the closure of many buildings. The Petersham Congregational Church was demolished in 1971 and the organ was purchased by the Presbyterian Ladies College (as it was known prior to the formation of the Uniting Church) following restoration by Pitchford & Garside. Earlier restoration work had been carried out by Hill, Norman & Beard (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. in 1958 [2]. Although quite a number of changes have been undertaken, as listed below, the organ retains its original tonal brilliance:

a. Alteration of stop nomenclature for some registers when new stop domes installed.
b. Electrification of the Pedal action with the extension of the Subbass 16' to provide new 8' and 4' stops.
c. The rearrangement of the front pipes (back row) upon installation at Pymble to allow a clear view of the rear rose window and the painting over of the original stencilled pipe patterns.
d. The Trumpet 8 on the Swell was rescaled in 1971. This rank was originally a Horn 8, prepared-for by T.C.Lewis, and supplied a few years after the original installation.
e. The conversion of the original hitch-down Swell Pedal to balanced operation [3].

3 Couplers
Compass 56/30
Mechanical Action to the Manuals.
Electro-pneumatic to Pedals. [4]

1 Sydney Organ Journal. Vol.15, No.1, February/March 1984, p8
2 ibid
3 John Stiller, Documentation Pymble Ladies' College Organ, 3rd October, 1980, p.2.
4 ibid. p.3.