Launceston
B. 1874 Bevington & Sons, Soho, London. Res. 1982 S.J. Laurie.
2 manual, 13 speaking stops, 3 couplers, tracker & tub.pn. pedals.
Photo: Trevor Bunning (Feb. 1970)
This large brick church with cement dressings in French Gothic style was designed by the Melbourne architects Grainger & D'Ebro and built in 1883-85 as a Congregational Church [1]. Grainger was the father of composer Percy Grainger. The exterior is dominated by a tall tower and spire which face across Princes Square. The spacious interior focuses upon a large apse where the organ is located.
The organ was built in 1874 by Bevington & Son, Soho, London, whose nameboard above the console proudly proclaims that the firm was awarded "prize medals Paris 1855, London 1862, Paris 1867.'' The instrument was initially installed in the former church building next door, now known as Milton Hall, and was placed in the present building in 1885. The pedal board, pedal action and positioning of the pedal pipes were altered in 1926 by George Fincham & Sons, of Melbourne [2] and in 1982 the organ was cleaned, and the action and pipework overhauled, by S.J. Laurie, of Melbourne [3]. It is undoubtedly the finest sounding example of its builders' work in the country and an organ of enormous charm.
GREAT
Open Diapason
Horn Diapason
Stopd Bass
Claribel
Principal
Twelfth
Fifteenth
SWELL
Bourdon
Double Diapason
Open Diapason
Bell Gamba
Principal
Suabe Flute
Cornopean
PEDAL
Open Diapason
8
8
8
8
4
2-2/3
2
16
16
8
8
4
4
8
16
CC-BB
TC
CCC-BBB
CC metal
3 couplers
3 composition pedals
balanced swell pedal (not original)
mechanical action to manuals
tubular-pneumatic action to pedals
compass: 56/30 [4][1] The heritage of Australia, p.7/124
[2] B.A.Clark & J.M.S. Johnson, Pipe Organs of Tasmania, rev.ed. (Hobart: Hobart Guild of Organists, 1981), p.61
[3] OHTA News, vol.6, no. 1 (January 1982), p.5
[4] Spec. noted J. Maidment 1970.
