St Paul's Anglican Church
(former Pro-Cathedral)
Hay
1887 E.F. Walcker & Cie., res. 1968 A. Jones. 1m., 6 sp.st., pedal pulldowns, tr.
The present St Paul's Church was built in 1885, replacing an earlier building completed in early 1868. Vestries were added in 1908. The interior includes stained glass windows on either side of the nave and a war memorial altar of 1926. Around 1960 the interior was extensively refurbished under the direction of Louis Williams while in 1966 he designed a canopy and reredos as a memorial to Archbishop R.C. Halse. In 1984 the building ceased to have cathedral status exactly a century after the consecration of the first bishop of the region. It is of brick, in the Gothic style, with a bellcote surmounting the main façade, which incorporates a narthex and vestries placed under a transverse gable.
The organ was built by E.F. Walcker & Cie, of Ludwigsburg-Würtemberg, Germany in 1887, the firm's opus 487 and was imported by the Sydney music warehouse Palings. It was purchased from this firm in December 1900, arriving at Hay by paddle steamer. It was initially installed at the front of the church, near where the pulpit now stands, and was moved to its present position, at the rear of the church, in 1927. The instrument unusually has the console placed at the side of the instrument, the stops being operated by a very early form of stopkeys with porcelain labels (later replaced in celluloid). All of the pipework is enclosed, with swell shutters at the sides of the case. The specification originally included a Trumpet 8 ft which was later removed and replaced by a Flute 4ft (it is possible that the Trumpet survives within the Rendall organ at the Presbyterian Church, Randwick, NSW). This could well have been due to the location of the instrument in an area far from regular maintenance. The windchests are of cone pallet formation and have stood up well to the rigours of the local climate. The oak casework is of exquisite quality, the façade pipes arranged 5-9-5, with French mouths and surmounted by an elaborate carved superstructure incorporating a curved pediment surmounted by a cross, shell motif and carved head. The instrument was renovated in 1968 by Arthur Jones.
John Stiller comments:
"This organ is an outstanding example of late nineteenth century German organbuilding. Its superb tonal qualities illustrate the various concepts of tonal design which were in vogue in Germany at the time. In particular, the husky Principals endow this organ with tremendous acoustic power. In contrast, the very mellow Gedeckt and silvery Salicional are an indication of the utmost effort to obtain maximum tonal variety from a limited tonal scheme. The firm and solid Bourdon provides a good support for the other stops."
| MANUAL Bourdon Principal Gedeckt Salicional Octave Flute |
16 8 8 8 4 4 |
(13 pipes C-C, wood) (wood bass; slotted, tin trebles) (wood & metal) (slotted, tin, bass from Bourdon) (slotted, tin) (open wood, replacing Trumpet 8) |
Manual compass:
Pedal pulldowns C-C, 13 notes
Octave coupler
Composition pedal for full organ
Balanced mechanical swell pedal
Mechanical key action operating cone pallet chest
Hand blowing
Caroline Merrylees & Derek Woolcott, The Witcombe Heritage: A History of the Buildings of Hay (Hay Historical Society Proceedings no.8). Hay: Hay Historical Society, 1993, pp.57-58
Gladys Marie Moore, Louis Reginald Williams (thesis submitted … for degree of Master of Planning and Design, Faculty of Architecture, Building & Planning, University of Melbourne, August 2001)
John Stiller, St Paul's Anglican Pro-Cathedral, Hay, NSW: Detailed Documentation of Pipe Organ built by E F Walcker & Cie 1887; investigated 17th July, 1985. Camberwell, Vic.: Organ Historical Trust of Australia, 1985.
Historic Pipe Organ, St Paul's Anglican Church, Pine Street, Hay; information compiled from parish records by Revd. Ian Forsyth, Rector of Hay, © 2002
Personal communication Peter Jewkes to John Maidment July 2003.
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