Cameron Memorial Uniting (Presbyterian) Church
Macquarie Street, Glen Innes
J.E. Dodd, Adelaide, 1924
2 manuals, 8 speaking stops, pneumatic action
Additions 1929 Whitehouse Bros, Brisbane
Electrified 1978 Whitehouse Bros, Brisbane
2 manuals, 11 speaking stops, electro-pneumatic action
Rebuilt and enlarged 1985 Brown & Arkley, Sydney
2 manuals, 13 speaking stops, electro-pneumatic action
Cameron Memorial Uniting Church, Glen Innis
[Photograph by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]
Historical and Technical Documentation by Richard Ward
© OHTA 2014 (last updated March 2014)1
The first Presbyterian church building in the town of Glen Innes was opened in 1870, to be replaced in 1920 by the present Cameron Memorial Church building, named in honour of the Revd Archibald Cameron who began his ministry in the Glen Innes area (at Wellingrove) in 1854. Designed by architects Messrs Ross & Rowe and built by contractor Mr F.W. Hickey,2 the present building was dedicated and opened on 8 December 1920 by the Revd J.G. Gibson, Moderator General.3
The Cameron family offered to provide a pipe organ for the new building and negotiations with J.E. Dodd had commenced by early 1922. Correspondence between J.E. Dodd and the Revd A. Cameron shows that the cost of an instrument of 15 ranks had been quoted at £1360 plus £125 for freight and travel costs for two men. A smaller instrument with tubular pneumatic action and "with sub and super couplers" was eventually agreed upon and the organ was ordered in 1922. This seems to be the instrument quoted at a cost of £735.4 The organ was finally installed in February 1924.
The organ at Glen Innis was one of two organs built by Josiah Eustace Dodd of Adelaide in the early 1920s for new Presbyterian Church buildings (both now Uniting Church) in the New England region. The other was at Munro Memorial Church, Quirindi. Even though these organs were made at the same time, the Quirindi organ has mechanical action whereas the Glen Innes instrument was built with pneumatic action. The Glen Innes instrument has been altered substantially, though it retains some of its Dodd character. The only other organ by Dodd in the north of NSW is his large instrument of 1912 built for St Carthage's Roman Catholic Cathedral, Lismore.
The 1924 J.E. Dodd organ
[Photographs by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]
The Cameron Memorial Church organ was given in memory of Christina, the wife of the Revd Archibald Cameron and the opening and dedication took place on 24th February, 1924. An unusual heart-shaped brass plaque on the organ bears the inscription:
Heart-shaped plaque
[Photograph by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]
IN
LOVING MEMORY
OF
CHRISTINA CAMERON
PRESENTED BY HER
SONS & DAUGHTERS
24:2:1924
The opening ceremony was conducted by John Sinclair, of Waterloo with words, "I consider this beautiful organ is the crowning gift of all, completing the efforts of the congregation. It is more than that – it is a beautiful tribute to the life, the work and the memory of a parent who did so much in her generation."5
The Glen Innes Examiner further described the event:
Spacious as is the new church it was not equal to seating the vast congregation which assembled for the dedicatory service on Sunday morning. Every seat was occupied and, in addition, forms and chairs were placed down the aisles and wherever space permitted . . . After a short dedicatory prayer, Mr. John Sinclair, on behalf of the congregation, received the instrument and formally unlocked it and opened it for us. . . Mr. Sinclair then unlocked the console of the organ, and switched on the electric power. The organist, Mr. Arnold Coleman, took his seat at the key board and, the congregation rising, the Te Deum was sung . . . 6
The appearance of the organ is described:
The case is in oak, French polished. The arrangement of the front pipes consists of two flats, intersected by towers of the pipes of the great diapason, with a small tower in the centre. The tower pipes stand on a massive moulded truss, and are surrounded with handsome bands in oak, richly carved and moulded. The pipes are decorated in gold and silver, the ground work being a rich silver shade . . . The artistic lines of the case and execution are the acme of decorative art, and well worthy of the fine instrument it screens.
The Examiner article goes on to describe an organ of "ten speaking stops and three couplers," however, the organ actually had only eight ranks of pipes. It seems that the Examiner used copy from the newspaper article in The Quirindi Gazette of 11 January.7
The Dedicatory Service leaflet for the opening of the new pipe organ on Sunday, February 24th, 1924, is reproduced below:
Dedicatory Service for the New Pipe Organ, 24th February, 1924
[Land of the Beardies History House Museum & Research Centre, Glen Innes]
Please click on cover to download booklet.
The organ was described in the Dedicatory Service Leaflet (above) as follows:
The organ has been built by Mr. J. E. Dodd, of Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth, Pipe Organ Manufacturer. The case is made of polished Pacific Oak, which has been toned to match the church furnishings. The console, being detached, has been placed within the choir stalls, which enables the player to have full control of the choir. The action is tubular pneumatic throughout, and the mechanical facilities are all that could be desired, enabling the performer to provide numerous combinations with the most pleasing effects. The organ contains eight speaking stops and six couplers, arranged immediately above the swell manual, thus giving tremendous facility in stop control.
This instrument has been manufactured in its entirety by Mr. Dodd at his Pipe Organ Works in Adelaide and Fitzroy (Victoria), all the wood and metal pipes being made in the before-mentioned factories of the builder, the metals used in the pipes being produced in the Commonwealth – the zinc from the Electrolytic Zinc Company, and the tin from Mount Bischoff (Tasmania).
The organ possesses many excellencies, and is undoubtedly one of the best and most effective instruments of its size in Australia, and is more than capable of holding its own with any other low-pressure organ of the same size. The builder is to be more than congratulated for the remarkable purity and character of tone of each of the stops, which in ensemble and with the couplers in use, gives a volume of sound that is truly astonishing.
SPECIFICATION OF THE ORGAN
Great Organ. Compass CC to A – 58 Notes 1.
2.
3.
4.
Claribel
Dulciana
Flauto Traverso
wood
metal
wood
8ft
8ft
4ft
Swell Organ. Compass CC to A – 58 Notes 1.
2.
3.
Viole D’Orchestre
Dulcet
metal
metal
8ft
4ft
Pedal Organ. Compass CCC to F – 30 notes 1. Bourdon
Every stop full compass, Total, 436 pipes.
Couplers
Swell to Great
Swell super octave
Swell sub octave (Swell couplers available throughout Unison to Great)
Unison to Great Off
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal
Accessories
2 Double Acting Pedals to Great Organ.
2 Double Acting Pedals to Swell Organ.
Balanced Crescendo Swell Organ Pedal.
Tremulant to Swell by Stop Key.
Electric Motor and Blower controlled from Console.8
The Dulcet is a narrow-scaled pipe of the Dulciana type, at 4ft pitch. In the specification given to E.H. Wood, who made the other metal pipes, this rank is shown as a Gemshorn 4ft,9 however, the Dulcet was substituted before the organ was completed. Dodd is known to have imported these pipes from C.C. Michell of Wakefield, Yorkshire and is thought to be the only Australian builder to have used pipes from this firm.10
A choral and organ recital was given on 22nd September, 1924 by the organist, Mr A.R. Coleman, and a number of choral items and solos were rendered.
Choral and Organ Recital Programme, 22nd September, 1924
[Land of the Beardies History House Museum & Research Centre, Glen Innes]
The Glen Innes Examiner reported that:
. . . Particularly pleasing were the violin soli given by Mr. N. K. Sligo whose fingers are by no means losing their cunning, and intonation and technique are always a delight. Mr. A. R. Coleman, who is choir master as well as organist essayed a number of soli which showed at once the quality and capacity of the magnificent Cameron Memorial Organ, and his own fine capabilities at the key board. In addition to those men mentioned, outside musicians assisting the choir were Mr. Tucker (bass) and Mr. G. Clark (cornet).11
The 1924 J.E. Dodd organ
[Photographs by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]
Whitehouse Bros of Brisbane commenced tuning the organ in 1927. In June 1928, it was evident that some repairs were needed and by April 1929, the "shocking condition of the organ" was reported on. Whitehouse Bros were contacted to quote for the cost of repairs and the installation of the new stops suggested by the organist, Mr West.12
In 1929, Whitehouse Bros of Brisbane carried out the following work:
| Alterations and additions to the pipe organ | £365 |
| Alterations to front case and back of pulpit | £18 10 |
| Supplying new Ventus blower | £50 |
________ £ 433 10 13 |
These alterations included the addition of cone-valve windchests operating on pneumatic action off the note channels of the Dodd slider chests. A Violin Diapason 8ft was added to the Swell, the Dulcet 4ft was moved to the new Great windchest and an Oboe 8ft was added to replace the Dulcet pipes on the Swell. The new pipes were made by Alfred Palmer of London.14
The specification of the enlarged instrument was:
| Great Open Diapason Claribel Dulciana Flauto Traverso Dulcet Swell Violin Diapason Hohl Flute Viole Oboe Tremulant Pedal Bourdon Bass Flute Couplers Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Swell to Great Swell Sub Octave Swell Super Octave Swell Sub to Great Swell Octave to Great Accessories 3 combination pistons to Swell 3 combination pistons to Great Compass 58/30 Tubular-pneumatic action.15 |
8 8 8 4 4 8 8 8 8 16 8 14 |
[formerly on Swell] [1929] [1929] A A 14 |
The organ continued to be maintained by Whitehouse Bros, who began a further rebuild in 1978. The action was converted to electro-pneumatic and the console was moved to its present side location with Laukuff keyboards installed.
In 1985, the organ was rebuilt by the Sydney firm of Brown & Arkley, with Kelvin Hastie as consultant. Work included restoration of the windchests, re-leathering of the bellows, installation of new solid state switching and wiring, and re-making the interior of the console with new oak. The Swell Violin Diapason was extended to give a Gemshorn 4ft and the Great Dulcet was revoiced and extended to give a Principal 4ft and Fifteenth 2ft.16
Hastie comments that the Violin Diapason and Dulcet pipes were of a good quality that leant themselves to extension with little intervention to the structure of the organ and at relatively little expense.17 A plaque on the console records:
This Pipe Organ was restored by the Congregation of the Glen Innes Uniting Church in 1985.
In 2005, the organ was cleaned by Ian Brown & Associates and a plaque records:
To the glory of God this pipe organ was restored in memory of Bill and Carlie Cameron active members of this church by their son and daughters Archie, Eve and Elizabeth. September 2005.
The console - interior modified in 1985
[Photographs by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]
The specification of the organ since 1985 is as follows:
| Great Open Diapason Claribel Dulciana Principal Harmonic Flute Fifteenth Swell Violin Diapason Hohl Flute Gamba Gemshorn Oboe Pedal Bourdon Bass Flute Couplers Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Swell to Great Swell Sub Octave Swell Super Octave Swell Sub to Great Swell Octave to Great Great Octave |
8 8 8 4 4 2 8 8 8 4 8 16 8 |
A A B B C C |
Accessories
Swell Tremulant
3 combination pistons to Swell
3 combination pistons to Great
Electro-pneumatic action
Compass 56/30
Console details
[Photographs by Trevor Bunning (September 2007)]
Whilst this organ has been altered considerably from its original form, the Dodd pipe work has been retained and tonal alterations have been in sympathy with Dodd principles. This has resulted in an instrument that has good tonal variety with a very satisfying ensemble sound. The organ has been well cared-for over the years and its heritage value lies in the fine casework by Dodd with some original pipe work and windchests.
1 The material presented here was published originally as part of: Richard Ward, 'The Dodd Organs in New England,' The Sydney Organ Journal, vol. 41, no. 3 (Winter 2010), pp. 31-36.
2 The Jubilee Year of the Cameron Memorial Church, Glen Innes, NSW, 1920-1970, p. 8.
3 'A spiritual pilgrimage – Presbyterianism's new home,' Glen Innes Examiner (9 Dec 1920).
4 Minutes of the Committee of Management, Cameron Memorial Church, 1909-1929, p. 158.
5 The Jubilee Year of the Cameron Memorial Church, Glen Innes, N.S.W, 1920-1970, p. 13.
6 'The crowning gift. Memorial organ dedicated,' Glen Innes Examiner (25 Feb 1924).
7 see: Munro Memorial Uniting Church, Quirindi.
8 The Cameron Memorial Church, Glen Innes, Dedicatory Service in connection with the New Pipe Organ, Sunday, February 24th, 1924. (Leaflet).
9 J.E. Dodd, Copy of letter to E.H. Wood, 28 Apr 1923.
10 Personal communication to Richard Ward from Ian Brown, 5 January 2008.
11 'Choral recital. Choice music at Cameron Memorial,' Glen Innes Examiner (25 September 1924).
12 Minutes of the Committee of Management, Cameron Memorial Church, 1929-1941, p. 3.
13 Whitehouse Bros Ledger (1922-1940), p. 480.
14 Personal communication to Richard Ward from Ian Brown, 5 January 2008.
15 Specification noted by Ian Wardle, Adelaide, 1970s.
16 Personal communication to Richard Ward from Ian Brown, 5 January 2008.
17 Personal communication to Richard Ward from Kelvin Hastie, 21 May 2008.