Goulburn, R.C. Cathedral, organ by Hill & Son, 1890
Address | 38 Verner Street, Goulburn, N.S.W. | |
Style | Gothic | |
General contents | Three rows of pews in the nave area. Floor coverings are mainly of linoleum and stone with a minimal use of carpet in the chancel area. | |
Ventilation | Only the small windows in the uppermost section of the nave open to the outside. | |
Acoustics | The chord shown in Fig. 1 was played, held for five seconds, and then released. The time taken for the sound to become inaudible after the release of the chord was recorded, as heard from the console, and was found to be 2.5-3 seconds with both of thefollowing registrations: | |
1. Gt 8,4,3,2,M + Ped 16,16,8,16 + Gt-Ped 2. Gt, as above + Posaune 8, Sw-Gt, Sw-Gt octave + Sw 16,8,4,2,M,Horn 8 + Ped as above + Sw-Ped |
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Position of the organ | The organ is sited in a gallery in the north transept which is also its original position. | |
Climatic conditions and heating | There is no installation for the continual heating of the church in the winter months, and the organ does not appear to have suffered any ill effects which could be attributed to heating or climate. |
General condition
Although the organ is playable, there are many signs of deterioration which
have developed in the course of time. Major repairs on the organ are being planned
in consequence of this. The main areas affected are as follow :
1889 | Order recorded on October 10th for the building of an organ for SS Peter and Paul's R.C. Cathedral Goulburn by Hill & Son 1 Job number 2055, as written on various pipes throughout the organ Plate 4 (It is interesting to note Here that various other pipes additionally bear another Job number, namely 1993, which has in most cases been all but erased). |
1890 | Organ presented to the Cathedral by Mrs J.C. Dalglish. Plate 5 |
1910 | "Rebuilt" by John B. Holroyd, Sydney. Plate 6 |
Basically, the organ has experienced no major alteration since its original
construction. The "rebuild" by Holroyd mentioned under the History of the organ
only involved the hooding of the Great Posaune 8 ft. 2 (This was
done very badly, and the poorly soldered joints are sealed with pitch!) Originally,
this plate only contained "John B. Holroyd, Sydney." The words "Rebuilt by"
and the date "1910" were added later. Since the original Hill name plate is
now missing, it is possible that it was removed by Holroyd, who then placed
his own nameplate on the organ, in the hope that posterity would believe that
he was the original builder of the organ. 3
On a point by point basis, the degree of originality appears as follows:
1. Pipework
Great Posaune B ft. hooded by Holroyd in 1910. Otherwise the pipework is completely
original.