St Martin's Anglican Church
Mullumbimby

B. 1933 Whitehouse Bros., Brisbane for Congregational Church, Eagle Junction, Queensland.
Electrified & inst. c.1978 present location
Reb. and enl. 1980 and 1989 Allan Grant, Graham Hyde, Bert Jarrott
2m., 16 sp. st. (12 rks.), 4c., el.pn.
Gt: 8.8.8.4.2-2/3.2. Sw: 8.4.2.1-1/3.8. Ped: 16.10-2/3.8.8.4.




Photo: Trevor Bunning (November 2011)



 

Written by: Graham Hyde - Organist and Choir Director 1981-1991

 

FORWORD

This history is dedicated to my friend and colleague - the late Allan Grant. We spent many an hour together building and maintaining the St Martin’s organ at no cost to the Parish. Ours was a labour of love, and we had a lot of fun along the way. I first knew Allan when the Rev Allan Kitchingman (Kitch) introduced us in 1980. I had arrived with Wendy and the four boys to take up the position of Chief Executive Officer to the Bangalow, Byron and Mullumbimby hospitals and to my great excitement found that St Martin’s was to build a pipe organ. My love of the instrument started in 1958, when still in High school in Sydney, and decided to take up formal training with a number of teachers. From 1958 until 1979 I had spent many an hour on organ benches as organist and sometimes Choir Director in Sydney and Gosford Parishes. Allan was also from Sydney, and we often reminisced about the Sydney organ fraternity - past and present. One look at Allan’s garage at Myocum, (full of organ parts and some room for the small car) and us sitting on the verandah sharing the occasional ale, talking organs and organ music, would have most probably remind people of Steptoe and Son. Our time together will be some of my cherished moments in life’s journey.  

 

PREAMBLE

The history of the St Martin’s organ is most probably only fully known by two people - the late Allan Grant and the writer, and as Allan is no longer with us, it remains to me to provide the history. Kitch wrote the ‘History of the St Martin’s Organ’ in 1981, but there has been nothing written since. This article is based on some written information I have, and my memory, so in parts it could be wrong, not so much in content but in respect to dates. In 2001, we decided to move from Brisbane to Caloundra and I had to part with a great few things, as we did not have the room we previously had (we only had half the room and to a hoarder that is a real problem). The Press clippings, Organ Recital Programs, the Blessing service of the Organ were sent to the Organ Historical Trust of Australia (PO Box 200 Camberwell Victoria 3124) for safe keeping as part of the organ history of this country. This ramble will aim to cover the history from 1979 until 1992 and some of the funny incidents that happened during Allan and my time with the organ.

 

WHAT MAKES UP A PIPE ORGAN

A pipe organ is made up of some essential parts to make it work. So as to appreciate some of the terms I am going to use in the following paragraphs, readers need to understand the basics of the ‘King of Instruments’. A pipe organ consists of:

• Pipes which are metal or wood (usually 61 in number) and make different sounds;

• Ranks which are the number of different types of stops (sounds) available on the organ, which is also called the specification; 

• Windchests - a rectangular wooden boxes on which the pipes sit ;

• Sliders which allow the wind to go into each selection of pipes;

• Wind supply, which is usually an electric motor/s in a sound proof box;

• Bellows (the lungs) which store the wind from the motor, and allow the wind into the chest and into the selected rank of pipes; and

• A console which allows the organist to select which rank of pipes he/she wants to listen to.

    


THE CONCEPTION AND BIRTH OF THE ST MARTIN’S ORGAN

Initial ideas

There can be no doubt the St Martin’s organ would not exist today if it had not been for the vision and foresight of Kitch.  In 1978 Kitch convinced the Parish Council to replace the Harmonium with a pipe organ. Kitch had been a theatre organist for some years, mainly in Cabaret, but then came to appreciate the beauty of classical organ music as part of the Anglican Liturgy. An essential part of good Anglican Church music depends upon two things: clergy and organists who appreciate Anglican liturgy and the importance of music in services; and an instrument capable of leading congregational singing and allowing the organist/s to play a wide range of quality organ music.

The Marsden Organ

Kitch searched around for some time, in order to find a suitable instrument. Eventually, in 1978, he found an instrument in the Eagle St Congregational Church in Clayfield, Brisbane (the Marsden organ). The Marsden organ was donated, as a Thanksgiving Offering, by their Deacon and Choirmaster Fred Marsden. The instrument was built by Whitehouse Bros, Brisbane, at an original cost of 500 pounds, and was installed in 1933. The organ consisted of 6 ranks of pipes, with two 61 note manuals (keyboards) and a 30 note pedal department.

The organ had the following ranks/stops:

Great
Open Diapason
Salicional
Sub octave coupler
Super octave coupler

Swell
Gedackt
Salicional
Violin Diapason
Oboe
Sub octave coupler
Super octave coupler

Pedal
Bourdon
Swell to Great coupler
Swell to Pedal coupler
Great to Pedal coupler

8
8




8
8
8
8




16




metal, 61 pipes
metal, 61 pipes (from Swell)




wood, 61 pipes
metal , 61 pipes
metal, to tenor C only
metal to tenor C only




30 pipes



 

Despite the limited size and poor tonal specification, the organ was playable when purchased, had been well maintained, was judged to be a sound foundation for the St Martin’s project, and  proved to be in very reasonable condition.

 

Purchase / Demolition/ Removal to Mullum

Therefore with a cheque in his pocket, and a volunteer band of young parishioners, Kitch set off to buy, dismantle  and pack the organ for its trip to Mullum. To quote Kitch: "The task of dismantling, cleaning and painstakingly packing the hundreds of components of the organ proved difficult, demanding and very dirty indeed". The transportation of the hundreds of bits and pieces back to Mullum was the task of another group of parishioners. The final resting place of the organ and its bits was to be old St John’s, until such time as it was finally installed in St Martin’s.

 

The first attempt, to rebuild the organ

Over the next few months attempts were made to find a suitable organ builder to install and complete the organ to a suitable specification and convert the instrument to electric action, with a detached console. Initially a quote was accepted from Whitehouse Bros, the original builders of the Marsden Organ. However, after thirteen months of little activity the Parish Council cancelled the order and the parts of the organ with Whitehouse, were returned to Mullum for another option to be considered. Needless to say the delays had proved very frustrating for all concerned.  

 

The second attempt to rebuild the organ

There is a truism, ‘that God works in mysterious ways’, and so it was to be in this case. Enter on the scene, one, Allan Grant, an organist who trained under Lillian Frost, one of Sydney’s leading organists in the 1930-1940’s. In addition, Allan was also an enthusiastic student of organ design and construction, and what’s more had retired to Myocum. He heard of the of St Martin’s problem, (through his sister Mother Hoving) and the Marsden organ, prepared a report on what needed to be done for the organ to be an appropriate instrument for St Martin’s, and was appointed Consultant to the project.

 

It would be true to say Allan needed something to occupy his mind, and what better way to do it than to live out one of his lifelong ambitions to help build an organ. Ask any of the Grant kids what it was like living with a Dad who was always trying to make an organ from anything he could find - a harmonium and a vacuum cleaner was one attempt.

 

At the same time, there was an offer from a friend of Kitch who was a keen organist to help supply organ parts.  Another encouraging factor was an offer by Bert Jarrott, a Brisbane organ builder, to provide advice and assistance to the Parish. Bert had built, maintained or rebuilt several organs in the Grafton Diocese, and his work was known to be of excellent quality.

 

Thus, it was in July 1979, the Parish decided to ‘go it alone’ in the organ rebuilding program with Allan leading a team of Parishioners and Bert providing advice and workmanship.

 

Placement of the organ

Previous decisions as to the placement of the organ in the church and the location of the Console were reviewed, but after much analysis and discussion, it was decided to adhere to the original plan. The pipe chamber fitted neatly into one arched bay on the southern side of the nave – the former chapel. The console was positioned on the northern side of the chancel almost opposite the organ.

 

The new Specification

The first problem to be solved was to arrive at a more satisfactory tonal specification. The original specification was both small in resources and meagre in the light of 1979 organ design concepts. It can fairly said, that in 1934 organ tonal ideas were at their worst in some 600 years of the development of pipe organs. Builders of the day were fascinated by the facilities offered by couplers using tubular pneumatic action. Couplers were cheaper than pipes, and so they were used in lieu of ranks of pipes at 4 ft and higher pitches.

 

The formulation of a new specification was an agonising experience. On the one hand there was a desire to create a satisfactory small modern instrument, and on the other hand, there were the limitations of resources from the pipe work available, and the funds for the project.

 

The general objective was to enlarge the Great Department from its one Diapason and borrowed Salicional, and to provide a much more adequate Pedal Department. Not much could be done to the Swell Department as there was only places for four ranks of pipes, with the possibly of creating space for a fifth rank by modifying the Chest via the borrowing action of the Salicional. After much research, consideration and discussion with Bert Jarrott, the following specification emerged.

Great
Diapason
Dulciana
Principal
Twelfth
Fifteenth
Clarinet
Swell to Great Coupler

Swell
Gedact
Open Flute
Fifteenth
Nineteenth
Oboe
Swell Octave Coupler
Tremulant

Pedal
Bourdon
Bass Quint
Principal
Bass Flute
Choral Bass
Great to Pedal Coupler
Swell to Pedal Coupler

8
8
4
2-2/3
2
8



8
4
2
1-1/3
8




16
10-2/3
8
8
4



metal - from the Marsden organ
metal (revoiced Salicional) - from the Marsden organ
meta l- new purchase
metal - new purchase
metal - new purchase
metal - surplus pipes from the All Saints Murwillumbah rebuild



wood - from the Marsden organ
wood - surplus pipes from the All Saints Murwillumbah rebuild plus some new pipes made by Allan Grant
metal - new purchase
metal – new purchase
metal - from the Marsden organ




A - wood- from the Marsden organ and extended by 24 pipes - pipes and chest made by Allan Grant
A
B - borrowed from the Great
A
A


3 Combination Pistons to each manual and 2 Pedal Pistons

 

Other parts for the Organ

Apart from the new pipes for the organ, the Parish was able to buy a quantity of new and used parts at a substantial saving:

 

THE REBUILD STARTS

Somewhere round about 1980 the rebuilding process started. The old St John’s looked more like and organ builder’s workshop than a Church Hall - there were bits of organ parts everywhere, and you had to be part of the Team to know where the parts you needed were hidden. Bert led the Team which consisted of Allan Grant and the writer. I drew the short straw of cleaning the pipes and repainting and gilding the show pipes. Bert would come down for a day, sit on the organ bench with Allan, smoke continuously, in fact they both smoked continuously, and draw up the program of what had to be done. The ashtray consisted of a large green glass butter container like Grandma used to have. Guess who was in the program to empty the ash tray? Then off we would go to do our various tasks.   

 

As is always the case between the Organ Builder and the amateur builder and the organist, there was some robust debate about many issues. Mathematics plays a large part in pipe design. All pipes differ in diameter and length. In making the Salicional into a Dulciana careful planning was necessary, because once a pipe is cut it is not so easy to uncut it. That debate was worth hearing, albeit the air got a bit thicker than the fog from the fags. However we always respected each others opinions.  Much of the work in making new pipes, and wiring the chest were done in the Grant garage, and many’s the time the car had the pleasure of observing the stars in the sky. The patience of Allan in soldering and installing the miles of fine telephone wiring was something to be believed, but it was finally done to perfection and in the end all worked.  Whilst all this was going on two things occurred simultaneously - the console was rebuilt, the framework was built for the interior of the organ and the ‘hole in the wall’ for the console was made.

 

The Console

Originally the console was built into the Marsden organ and the new organ required a detached console. Console woodwork was extended by Ross Buckle together with panelling from the memorial pulpit filling in the pipe chamber façade where the console originally stood. Both the organ case and the console are made of silky oak.

 

The Framework and the huffing and puffing

The other not to be forgotten troops: Cec Pratt, John Jamison and others whose names I have forgotten got the job of lifting the Great windchest (which weighed a ton), the Swell Box and Chest (also a ton), and the large Bourdon pipes into place. This was no job for the faint hearted as the boys can well remember. Both Chests had to lifted 2.5 metres and placed on the framework.

 

The Hole in the wall

The new console was to be placed in the chancel but this required the removal of a section of 14” thick solid brick wall. Now it is not an easy task to take out a large piece of wall and have the rest of the wall stay in situ. Prayers seem to be the first order of the day. Prayers must have been answered because after many hours of cutting, layers of dust, sweat blood and tears, the hole appeared and was quickly shored up so as the roof did not collapse.

 

THE BIG DAY ARRIVES

Once Allan and Bert had the organ to a playable stage it was moved into the Church. At that stage the Swell and Pedal Departments were almost complete and the Great Diapason was working. For several weeks we worked on the organ ironing out the bugs and tuning it. The only people who actually heard the organ at that stage was Allan, Bert, the writer and the Kitchingman family who listened with patience, and at times endurance. It would be fair to say we were pleased with the organ, albeit it really needed the extra Great pipes to give the instrument its full glory. The only complaint I had was the Pedal Board, which was from the original Marsden organ - it was narrow and damn uncomfortable to play. So Bert found us another one for which I was eternally grateful.

 

THE FIRST RECITAL

Kitch was keen to have an opening recital, and rather than invite a celebrity organist he decided, quite rightly, I thought, to have all the Parish organists have a go. Except for Kitch and I none of the others had ever played a pipe organ, but they made a pretty good fist of their first experience. Those who played were: Gwen Stanford; Doris Wilson; Jean Bender; Kitch, and myself.  We were allowed to play two or three pieces - Kitch played: ‘A Wedding Fanfare’ by Arthur Bliss, and the chorale prelude ‘Now thank we all our God’, by Karg Elert and I played a chorale prelude ‘Christ Lay in the Bonds of Death’, ‘Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring’ and the little ‘Prelude and Fugue in F major’, all by J S Bach. I’m afraid my memory does not recall what the others played but the audience obviously enjoyed the program as the clapping was very audible. The original program is with OHTA.     

 

Over the years a number of recitals have been given, using local and imported talent. One local was Warren Whitney, Organist at St Andrew’s and St Carthage’s in Lismore and the late Christopher Dearnly from St Paul’s in London. Choral concerts have also been given at St Martin’s by visiting Choirs (The Lismore Orchestral and Choral Society performed Stainer’s 'Crucifixion' in March 1983, just to mention one performance) and the annual Nine Lessons and Carol service was always a highlight of the liturgical year.

 

THE 1989 CHANGES TO THE SPECIFICATION

Around about 1984, Allan embarked on building a small one manual pipe organ for St Thomas’s Brunswick Heads. The chest for the organ came from the parts we had left from our previous purchases, plus some surplus pipes from the Murwillumbah organ. For a number of reasons the instrument was not successful and so about 1989, with Parish Council blessing, we removed the organ and stored it in Allan’s garage until we could decide what to do with it. The history of the Bruswick organ is of course another story, for another time. But what is relevant here is that after long and serious discussions, again on Allan’s verandah, we decided to replace the Great Clarinet (which really did not fit into the tonal specification of the St Martin’s organ) with a Stopped Flute from the Brunswick organ. We considered the addition of a flute stop was more beneficial than the Clarinet.

Thus the current specification is:

Great
Diapason
Dulciana
Stopped Flute

Principal
Twelth
Fifteenth

Swell
Gedact
Open Flute
Fifteenth
Nineteenth
Oboe
Tremulant

Pedal
Bourdon
Bass Quint
Principal
Bass Flute
Choral Bass

Couplers
Swell to Great
Swell Octave
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal

8
8
8
4
2-2/3
2


8
4
2
1-1/3
8



16
10-2/3
8
8
4








metal - from the Marsden organ
metal (revoiced Salicional) - from the Marsden organ
metal - from St Thomas', Brunswick Heads organ
metal - new purchase
metal - new purchase
metal - new purchase


wood - from the Marsden organ
wood - surplus pipes from the All Saints Murwillumbah rebuild plus some new pipes made by Allan Grant
metal - new purchase
metal – new purchase
metal - from the Marsden organ



A - wood- from the Marsden organ and extended by 24 pipes - pipes and chest made by Allan Grant
A
B - borrowed from the Great
A
A









 3 Combination Pistons to each manual and 2 Pedal Pistons

 

MAINTENANCE

As stated elsewhere in this article Allan and I maintained the organ until I left Mullum in 1992 and he continued on until the time of his death. Organs, like many other mechanical things in life require maintenance. In addition the organ needed regular tuning. A pipe organ is very susceptible to weather conditions especially the reed stop (the Oboe). Many a time we tuned the organ on Saturday, only to find it out of tune on Sunday morning. This meant a trip inside the organ before the service by me, to retune the offending pipe/s.  This is not an easy task by one’s self, as it means jamming a pencil under the key so the note will sound and then climbing into the organ to tune the offending pipe.  All organists should know how to remedy out of tune pipes, and I can thank Allan for showing me the art of tuning. That of course is not to say I am an expert, I leave that the professional tuners, but one has to be able to fix the problem in cases of an emergency, an we had a few of those.

 

SOME OF THE FUNNY THINGS THAT HAPPENED ON THE JOURNEY

 

OUR ORGANISTS

No history would be complete without paying tribute to the dedicated few, who over the years turned up and played for the various services- the St Martin’s Organists: Jean Bender; Gwen Stanford; the late Brenda Cumber; Geoff Bock; Jeff Taylor; and more recently, Bruce Robinson and Ella Hayes. Organists are a rare find in many Parishes today. St Martin’s has been fortunate over the years to have people who have been blessed in the art of organ playing and who have the skills to maintain the musical liturgy of the Anglican Church at St Martin’s.  

 

CONCLUSION

For the last few pages I have aimed to provide some additional information about the St Martin’s organ from an organists view. Over my years as an organist I have played a fair few organs - some good and some not so good. The St Martin’s organ was always a pleasure to play and it never let me down. Whilst only a modest instrument is tonal design and size it adequately fulfilled the role it was designed to do and the vision Kitch had for the Parish. It has provided many organists, local and visiting hours of enjoyment.

 

Some of the component parts are well over 100 years old and as such the time has come to give the ‘old girl’ a new lease of life. It will cost a few bob to overhaul the organ but when done it will again provide years of faithful service as part of the history of St Martin’s and the Liturgy of the Anglican Church.

 

 

GRAHAM HYDE

March 2004