Holy Trinity Anglican Church
Kelso
c.1883 A. Hunter & Son, Clapham, London. 2m., 11 sp. st., 3c., tr.
From 1990 OHTA Conference booklet:
Holy Trinity is one of Australia's oldest and most historic church. It occupies a commanding position high on a hill to the east of Bathurst above the Macquarie River. It is the oldest church west of the Great Divide and was consecrated in 1836 by Bishop Broughton.
The church has an interesting organ history - there was an earlier barrel organ of the 1840s and then another instrument built in 1890 by Telford & Telford of Dublin existed in the Sunday School until 1935 when it was moved to St Alban's, Epping. Now greatly enlarged, the Telford organ serves St Mark's, Granville.
The present organ in Holy Trinity was built by A. Hunter & Son of London and opened in July 1883. This was one of ten Hunter organs in NSW representing the work of the firm between 1870 and 1900. Four of these have been substantially altered or destroyed (Burwood Methodist, Strathfield-Homebush Congregational, Waverley Methodist and St Martin's, Kensington), leaving as survivors this organ, St Matthew's Cathlic Church, Windsor; All Saints', Petersham; St Peter's Cathedral, Armidale; Burwood Presbyterian and St Andrew's Anglican Church, Summer Hill.
The tonal, mechanical and visual quality of this organ and its originality make it an important example of a small Victorian era instrument. The case, console fittings, wind supply, action, pipework and soundboards remain absolutely unaltered and theorgan can still be blown by hand. one alteration was the fitting of a balanced swell pedal by Geoffrey Kendall in the mid 1970s. The survival of the organ in such a state of iriginality is remarkable.
© PdL 2006
The specification is:
| Great Open Diapason Stopd Diapason Dulciana Principal Harmonic Flute Flautina Swell Geigen Principal Gamba Salicional Geigen Principal Pedal Bourdon Couplers Swell to Great Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal |
8 8 8 4 4 2 8 8 8 4 16 |
Mechanical action throughout
Compass 56/30
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
Postcard from the late 1800s (SC)
Photos supplied by Trevor Bunning May 2006
Photo: Simon Colvin, taken at sunset April 2010
Photo possibly taken at the Harvest Festival after the installation of the organ in 1884,
showing the Hunter organ placed in the rear gallery before being moved to the front of the church.
Found in the parish records and reproduced in the church guide book published in 2010.