Carrington Avenue Uniting Church (formerly Methodist)
Carrington Avenue, Strathfield
J.W Walker & Sons 1979-80, 2m., 29 sp.st., mechanical
The first organ for Strathfield Methodist Church was built in 1908 by George Fincham & Sons. It had two manuals, 12 speaking stops, 3 couplers and tubular-pneumatic action. It was moved to Kempsey Methodist Church in 1925 by W.G Rendall and electrified in 1974 by Ron Mapstone.
[Gt: 8.8.8.4.4. Sw: 8.8.8.4.8. Ped: 16.16.]
The 1908 George Fincham & Sons organ
From SOJ February/March 1981, August/September 1985, October/November 1992, Spring 1998, Winter 2005:
The present organ was built in 1979, by J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd, of England and installed by the local branch of the firm in 1980. It replaced a three-manual, 31 stop organ originally built in 1925 by Roberts Ltd of Adelalde and electrified in 1970 by S.T. Noad & Son. The casework (extensively remodelled) and a small number of pipes survive from the Roberts organ. It was the largest organ he built for NSW and had a drawstop detached console.
The specification of the Roberts organ was as follows:
| Great Open Diapason (large) Open Diapason (small) Stopped Diapason Salicional Octave Harmonic Flute Twelfth Harmonic Piccolo Trumpet Swell Lieblich Bourdon Geigen Diapason Clarabella Viol d'Gamba Viol d' Orchestre Gemshorn Mixture Horn Oboe Tremulant Choir Lieblich Gedact Dulciana Suabe Flute Clarinet Vox Humana Trumpet Small Open Diapason Tremulant Pedal Harmonic Bass Open Diapason Sub Bass Bourdon Principal Bass Flute Couplers Swell to Great Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Choir to Pedal Swell Sub Octave Swell Octave Choir to Great Swell to Choir Choir Sub-Octave Choir Octave Swell Sub to Great Swell Octave to Great |
8 8 8 8 4 4 2-2/3 2 8 16 8 8 8 8 4 III 8 8 8 8 4 8 8 8 8 32 16 16 16 8 8 |
(harmonic trebles) (harmonic trebles) |
Compass: 61/30
1,656 pipes
20 combination pistons
Tubular-pneumatic action (electrified in 1970 by S.T. Noad & Sons)
The present J.W. Walker organ, in the Carrington Ave Uniting Church, Strathfield, made extensive use of pipework obtained from an 1897 Alfred Hunter & Son with the rest of the organ being broken up. It was built in London for the Strathfield-Homebush Congregational Church now used by a Korean Congregation of the Uniting church. The Hunter organ had 22 stops and was largely the gift of Mr G.F. Todman, a prominent Congregational layman in the nineteenth century.
Photos: Peter Jewkes (1970s)
The specification of the 1897 Hunter organ was:
| GREAT Open Diapason Stopped Diapason Viol d'Amour Principal Harmonic Flute Fifteenth SWELL Lieblich Bourdon Violin Diapason Gedact Gamba Voix Celeste Gemshorn Fifteenth Mixture Horn Oboe CHOIR Gedact Dulciana Flute Clarinet PEDAL Open Diapason Bourdon COUPLERS Swell Octave Swell Octave to Great Swell to Great Swell to Choir Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal Choir to Great Compass 56/30 Tubular-pneumatic action 7 combination pistons |
8 8 8 4 4 2 16 8 8 8 8 4 2 III 8 8 8 8 4 8 16 16 |
The J.W. Walker organ has 29 speaking stops, mechanical key action and electric stop action. The specification was devised by Andrew Davidson (church organist at the time) in conjunction with J.W. Walker.
The stoplist is as follows:
| GREAT Bourdon Open Diapason I Open Diapason II Stopped Diapason Dulciana Principal Harmonic Flute Twelfth Fifteenth Fourniture SWELL Open Diapason Lieblich Gedeckt Voila da Gamba Voix celeste Principal Open Flute Harmonic Piccolo Larigot Mixture Contra Fagotto Horn Oboe Tremulant PEDAL Open Wood Bourdon Octave Stopped Flute Fifteenth Mixture Trombone COUPLERS Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Swell to Great |
16 8 8 8 8 4 4 2-2/3 2 IV 8 8 8 8 4 4 2 1-1/3 III 16 8 8 16 16 8 8 4 III 16 |
* * * * * |
Great and Pedal pistons coupled
5 pistons each Great & Swell
5 toe pistons each Great & Swell
3 general pistons, 5 reversibles
General cancel piston
* new pipework
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Specification of Roberts organ from Rushworth Historic Organ of NSW p.200