Somerville Road, Yarraville
B 1872 Hill & Son, London (job no 1450) for Wilkie & Co;
probably the Hill organ supplied 1876 by Allen & Co to Independent Church,
Lonsdale Street West. Opened present loc 1925.
Res & moved to front of church 1970 Geo Fincham & Sons.
1m, 5spst, pedal pulldowns, tr. Man: 8.8.8.4.4.
The William Hill order book volume III (May 1872-July 1875) p.8 records the order of the organ on 28 October 1872. It was ordered by Wilkie & Co., Melbourne which was a firm of musical retailers. The instrument had the Hill & Son job number 1450. It appears that this instrument was ordered with a view to a future sale.
GT CC to f Op Dulc St Dia Pr Lieb ged 4
General swell to all but open
Deal case diap pipes
Packed + delivered docks £131.5.0
The Argus of 19 March 1874, p.6 reported:
CHURCH ORGAN by HILL and SONS, Just received. 1 manual, 5 stops, open diapason, stopt diapason, dulciana, principal, lieblich gedact general swell, pipes decorated in colours and gold. Beautiful quality of tone. WILKIE, WEBSTER, and ALLAN, 16 Collins street east.
A second advertisement, in The Argus 3 September 1875, p.8S recorded that this instrument was for sale at a price of £150.
A ‘fine new organ by Hill & Son of London, bought from Allan & Co’ was installed in 1876 in the West Melbourne Independent Church. The organ was moved in September 1887 by George Fincham to the North Melbourne Town Hall and in May 1889 it was removed from the Town Hall and installed ‘in the church’. It would seem highly likely that this was the Hill & Son ordered in 1872 by Wilkie & Co which was later known as Wilkie, Webster & Allen.
A letter from George Fincham & Sons of 2 June 1921 records the tuning of the organ at the Independent Church Lonsdale Street West so it appears that the organ was located here until this date.
On 1 February 1925 the new church of St Augustine at Yarraville was blessed and opened by Archbishop Daniel Mannix. The building, designed in a Romanesque style by T.A. Payne, of Moonee Ponds, has an impressive facade facing Somerville road and a tower capped by a cupola of Spanish inspiration. The spacious interior focusses upon the sanctuary and side chapels, placed under three arches. A record of the opening, in the Footscray Advertiser of 31 January 1925, mentions that ‘a fine pipe organ is installed in the gallery’.
The organ was placed to the right of the rear gallery facing diagonally down the building. It is not certain who installed the organ at Yarraville.
In 1970 the organ received a thorough restoration by George Fincham & Sons Pty Ltd. It was moved to the left chapel and was placed facing across the building. The action and pipework were carefully refurbished, the casework and console timbers were repolished, and the previously-stencilled facade pipes sprayed in gold paint. A small facade of six matching dummy pipes was placed to the left of the organ in place of former side panelling. By contemporary standards, this was an exemplary restoration, the only alterations consisting of the minor changes to the side case, repainting of internal wooden components in grey paint and the fitting of tuning slides. The feeders and hand blowing gear have also been removed from the double-rise reservoir, which has stone weights. The organ has served the church admirably for 40 years.
The instrument sounds well in a resonant acoustic and gives the impression of a far larger instrument. The console retains its scrolled sides, oak fittings, keyboard and flat pedal board, and distinctive drawstops and engraved brass nameplate, all of which are original. The facade pipes have Hill & Son’s typical rounded upper and lower lips. It is interesting that while the 4ft flute is labelled Wald Flute 4, it is actually a 4ft Lieblich Flute, with stopped metal pipes, the stoppers made from turned wood. The Open Diapason 8ft is entirely unenclosed, with the pipework placed outside the swell box.
This is a charming small organ and the smallest example of Hill & Son’s work to be exported to Australia. The 1891 organ at St John’s Anglican Church, Albany, WA is one stop larger.
| MANUAL Open DiapasonFT Stopped DiapasonFT DulcianaFT PrincipalFT Wald FluteFT |
8FT unenclosed 8FT enclosed wood 8FT enclosed grooved bass 4FT enclosed 4FT enclosed stopped metal |
Compass: 56/29
Pedal pulldowns
Lever swell pedal
Mechanical key and stop action
William Hill order books (held at the British Organ Archive, Birmingham)
The Argus
E.N. Matthews, Colonial Organs and Organbuilders (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 1969), p.110
George Fincham & Sons letter books (held at the State Library of Victoria)
Footscray Advertiser 31 January 1925, cited in St Augustine’s Yarraville: a history of the church & school: compiled for reunion celebrations 19th – 20th October, 1985, edited by Mrs C.M. Taig
Photos: JRM (Jan 2010)
John Maidment
9 January 2010