Inverell
Whitehouse Bros., Brisbane, 1927 and 1957
2 manuals, 15 stops, 7 couplers, electro-pneumatic action
By 1871 the Wesleyan Methodists numbered 50 and comprised a vigorous group. In 1874 both the Wesleyans and Catholics erected simple brick buildings for worship. The first resident minister, The Revd Henry Wise, arrived in 1872. The first church featured a steep iron roof, face brick, modest buttresses and Gothic shaped window heads. This church is the one of only six surviving buildings constructed in the 1870s in Inverell. In front of this building is the newer Romanesque revival church - the only such building in the region - constructed in 1904 as a result of a substantial legacy from the will of Thomas Taylor. [1]
The organ was built by Whitehouse Bros. in 1927. The fine case features two towers flanking a central flat in three sections, all of which is surmounted by carved pipe shades. Two recessed flats of three pipes each add visual depth and interest to the whole. It is important to note that the case was constructed by local joiners. The opening recital was hold in June 1929 by Mr H. West, organist of the Cameron Memorial Presbyterian Church, Glen Innes. Judging from contemporary reports, the occasion left a profound impression upon the reporter for the Inverell Times whose glowing terms of the organ included such descriptions as 'a sonorous Niagara of sound', 'majestic tones! and Swelling thunderous roll'.[3] In 1957 Whitehouse Bros. carried out an electrification of the action.
The current specification of the organ is:[2]
| GREAT Bourdon Open Diapason Claribel Dulciana Principal Harmonic Flute SWELL Violin Diapason Leiblich Gedact Echo Gamba Voix Celeste Flute Cornopean tremulant PEDAL Bourdon Echo Bourdon Bass Flute |
16 8 8 8 4 4 8 8 8 8 4 8 16 16 8 |
A [sic] TC A |
COUPLERS
Swell to Great
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal
Swell Octave
Swell Sub-Octave
Swell Octave to Great
Swell Sub-Octave to Great
compass: 61/30
electro-pneumatic action
detached stopkey console
[1] Inverell Shire Heritage Study, 1986.
[2] Rushworth, G.D., Historic Organs of New South Wales ... p.206.
[3] Specification supplied by Kelvin Hastie.
Photos: Trevor Bunning (Sept. 2007)