St Peter's Anglican Church
Cnr Belgrave and Winnie Streets, Cremorne
Tony Welby 1981 from varous parts (Hill, Palmer, Richardson), 3/37 electro-pneumatic)
From the June/July 1981 SOJ. David Davies writes:
The first services in St. Peter's Cremorne were held in 1909. In 1914 the first Rector, the Rev. J.H. Chaseling, arranged for a three manual organ to be brought from England to be installed in the church. It was built by Palmer of London and was installed by Richardson in 1915. It was said by the organist at the time, Dr. J.G. Gardner, to be one of the first organs in Sydney to employ some of the new orchestral tones amongst its ranks, such as the Tibia Minor and the Tuba Minor.
This organ served the church well for some 45 years. However, a desire to clear the debt on the church building in the post World War II years 1ed to serious neglect in the maintenance of the organ. In the middle of the main service on Easter Day 1960 it sounded its last.
Quotes were provided by a variety of organ builders, both English and local but all were beyond the financial capabllity of the parish. With much regret the parish purchased a Miller Electronic Organ for 2,950 pounds in June 1960. The pipe organ remained in the church and some years later it was seriously damaged by vandals before any efforts were made to secure it.
During 1976 it became clear that the electronic organ was nearing the end of its life -- in fact, it needed life-support systems to keep it playing. A decision had to be made whether to replace it with another electronic organ or to rebuild the damaged pipe organ. The parish council, with only one dissenting voice, opted for the latter course. The Rector at the time was Father Tony Bagnall, a very progressive thinker, who persuaded the council and the Parish that when thinking of the rebuilding of the pipe organ it was necessary also to consider the whole internal arrangement of the church building in the context of the liturgical changes taking place within the Church at large. It was decided, therefore, not only to rebuild the organ out in the transept, rather than in the small organ chamber where it had resided, but also to remodel the entire chancel and sanctuary area of the church. The parish became one of the first, possibly the first, in Sydney to make proper and permanent arrangements for the westward celebration of the liturgy.
The opportunity arose to purchase the Hill organ (modified by Eagles) from St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Manly. The generosity of one parishioner made this purchase possible. The organ builder, Tony Welby, believed that it would be possible to "marry" successfully the Palmer/ Richardson organ and the Hill organ. Time has proved him correct. The Hill organ supplemented what had been damaged or destroyed in the other instrument. Some new ranks were purchased to provide upper work which both organs lacked. Money was the principal restraint during the rebuilding. This has necessitated certain extensions on the pedals rather than new ranks. It also meant that electro-pneumatic action had to be employed because mechanical action (desired by the organist) would have doubled the cost.
The specification of the rebuilt organ is as follows:
From SOJ June/July 1981, June/July 1982, December1993/January 1994:
Corrected by Peter Jewkes (Feb. 2008 and Sept. 2020 after some changes to the Swell)
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Great Bourdon Open Diapason No.1 Open Diapason No.2 Stopped Diapason Principal Twelfth Fifteenth Mixture 19.22.26 Trumpet Clarion Swell Open Diapason Lieblich Gedackt Voix Celestes Viole Gemshorn Harmonic Flute Mixture 17.19.22 Contra Fagotto Horn Oboe Choir (enclosed) Rohr Flute Dulciana Wald Flute Dulcetina Larigot Clarinet Trumpet Clarion Pedal Open Wood Subbass Bourdon Quint Principal Bass Flute Octave Flute Trombone Trumpet |
16 8 8 8 4 2-2/3 2 III 8 4 8 8 8 8 4 4 III 16 8 8 8 8 4 2 1-1/3 8 8 4 16 16 16 10-2/3 8 8 4 16 8 |
B A A TC new c. 2020 (replaced Fifteenth) previously called Hohl FLute changed from Scharf 19.22.26 c. 2020 TC sic A A B B B B A A |
Accessories and Couplers
Swell Octave
Swell Sub-Octave
Swell Unison Off
Tremulants to Swell and Choir
Great & Pedal Combinations coupled
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Swell to Great
Choir to Great
Swell to Choir
5 thumb pistons to each of Great, Swell & Choir
5 toe pistons to each of Pedal & Swell
Reversible thumb pistons for Swell to Great, Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal
Reversible toe piston Great to Pedal
All photos above: © PdL 2006
Stop photos: Alan Caradus (Sept 2020)