Marist College
Pearce, Canberra
(i) Junior School Hall Organ - B. 1908 Wadsworth Bros., Manchester
for the Church of the Good Shepherd, Tatham Fells, Lancashire, c. 1900,
Inst. 1999 2m., 11 sp.st., 3c., el. pn.
(ii) College Auditorium - Australian Pipe Organs 2000 (using HNB material 1936),
2m., 29 sp. st., 3c., el.pn. 6 rks ext. + Mixt.
From SOJ Winter 2001:
Marist College acquired two organs for the school. The first was a 19th century instrument built by Wilkinson & Sons of Kendal (England) and was installed by Steve Laurie (Melbourne). Steve had this small two manual instrument of 11 stops in storage for several years and advertised its availability in 1998. The headmaster of the College at that time, Br. Christopher Wade, hoped that this organ would fill a long-felt need in the school's main hall/gymnasium. In the event, the mellow and dulcet tones of the Wilkinson were deemed more suitable for the smaller space of the 350-seat hall of the Junior School. This instrument was installed in the second half of 1999 and commissioned in November 1999.
From 2001 OHTA Conference Handbook:
This organ was built c.1900 by the English firm of Wilkinson & Son, of Kendal, and was installed in the Methodist Church, Centre Road. Bentleigh, Victoria, in 1946. [1] Following the formation of the Uniting Church the building became redundant and the organ was removed to the Mordialloc factory of S.L. Laurie Pty Ltd. Following an extended period in storage the organ was finally sold to Marist College, being rededicated in November 1999. The organ was renovated and electrified by the Laurie firm, this being Steve Laurie's last project before retirement.
April 2006: JRM reports that the organ was built in1908 by Wadsworth Bros., Manchester for the Church of the Good Shepherd, Tatham Fells, Lancashire. The Wilkinson plate was substituted when it came to Australia.
The specification of the Wadsworth organ is:
| Great Open Diapason Rohr Gedact Dulciana Principal Swell Violin Diapason Lieblich Gedact Echo Gamba Voix Celeste Gemshorn Oboe Pedal Bourdon Couplers Swell to Great Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal |
8 8 8 4 8 8 8 8 4 8 16 |
TC |
Balanced mechanical swell pedal
4 composition pedals
Compass 58/30
Electro-pneumatic action (1999)
Marist College
Pearce, Canberra
(ii) College Auditorium - Australian Pipe Organs 2000 (using HNB material 1936),
2m., 29 sp. st., 3c., el.pn. 6 rks ext. + Mixt.
This left the College with the unresolved problem of the main assembly space which seats 1,200 people. Australian Pipe Organs had in storage an instrument by Hill, Norman & Beard Ltd in 1934 for the Littlejohn Memorial Chapel at Scotch College Melbourne. Eventually APO quoted for a new instrument incorporating some pipework and components from this instrument to occupy the south-eastern gallery in the hall. This was installed in September 2000. Much of the pipework is enclosed and extended. The Great Mixture is independent and the Great Diapason chorus is made up of two ranks. This instrument had initially been sold to St Bede's Roman Catholic Church, Balwyn, who subsequently decided not to rebuild it for their church.
When the hall is being used for sporting activites, the organ can be protected by the lowering of an electrically operated mesh screen.
The specification of the Hill, Norman & Beard/Australian Pipe Organs instrument is:
| Great Contra Gamba Open Diapason Stopped Flute Viola da Gamba Principal Stopped Flute Nazard Fifteenth Mixture Trumpet Swell Geigen Principal Stopped Flute Viola da Gamba Voix Celeste Geigen Octave Stopped Flute Gambette Flautina Gambette Mixture Double Trumpet Trumpet Octave Trumpet Pedal Sub Bass Quint Principal Flute Fifteenth Trumpet Octave Trumpet Couplers Swell to Great Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal Great and Pedal pistons combined |
16 8 8 8 4 4 2-2/3 2 III 8 8 8 8 8 4 4 2 III 16 8 4 16 10-2/3 8 8 4 16 8 |
TC TC |
Electro-pneumatic action
Combination pistons adjustable on 40 levels of memory
Wind: 5"
PIPEWORK
1. Open Diapason 1-61
2. Principal 1-73
3. Mixture 183
4. Geigen Principal 1-73
5. Sub Bass 1-97
6. Viola da Gamba 1-85
7. Voix Celeste 13-61
8. Trumpet 1-85
ACCESSORlES
6 adjustable thumb pistons to Great
6 adjustable thumb pistons to Swell
6 adjustable General thumb pistons
6 adjustable toe pistons to Pedal
6 toe pistons duplicating Swell thumb pistons
Great to Pedal reversible thumb & toe pistons
Swell to Pedal reversible thumb piston
Swell to Great reversible toe piston
General Cancel thumb piston
Balanced electro-pneumatic swell expression
All combinations adjustable on 40 levels of memory.
CONSOLE
Detached stop key
COMPASS
Manuals: CC to C-61
Pedals: CCC to F - 30
ACTION
Electro-pneumatic
Solid state switching, coupling and combination system.
Information supplied by Robert Heatley, February, 2001.
Console on mobile platform
The organ is in the far corner
Photos supplied by Trevor Bunning, June 2006