St Anthony's Catholic Church, Alphington: exterior
[photograph by John Maidment (2006)]
Historical and Technical Documentation by John Maidment
© OHTA, 2020 (last updated October 2020)
St Anthony's Catholic Church, Alphington: exterior
[photograph by John Maidment (2006)]
Historical and Technical Documentation by John Maidment
© OHTA, 2020 (last updated October 2020)
The earlier St Anthony's Church was destroyed by fire on 27 March 1939. Building of the present church followed immediately following a fund-raising campaign. The new church was opened on 15 September 1940 and cost £16,683.1 It was designed in a contemporary Romanesque style and built in brick. The architect was Lionel D. San Miguel ARAIA and the builder Hansen & Yuncken.2 San Miguel was educated at Xavier College 1904-13 and then studied at the University of Melbourne 1917-21. His experience included time in New York with the prominent architects Carrère & Hastings.3 He worked predominantly for the Catholic Church and other works include St Francis Monastery, Melbourne, Sacred Heart Monastery, Croydon and the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Deepdene.
The organ at St David's Presbyterian (Uniting) Church, Glen Huntly
[photograph by John Maidment (c.2004)]
The organ was the final instrument built by Caulfield organbuilder Clarence William Andrewartha (1891-1950) and following his death was completed by F. Gavins and Charles Lomas.4 It was built for St David's Presbyterian Church, Glen Huntly as a Peace Memorial and dedicated in November 1951.5 The Pedal Open Diapason was reputed to have come from the Exhibition Building organ – maybe the smaller of the two Pedal open wooden diapasons – that instrument had been dismantled in 1948.6 This was one of the three largest organs built by Andrewartha and very similar to his 1938 instrument for the Baptist Church, Kew.
In 1984 S.J. Laurie Pty Ltd electrified the tubular-pneumatic action and provided new stopkeys, although retaining the existing console. The original Great Open Diapason and Swell Piccolo were replaced with new material, the former transferred to the Pedal, and only two other stops were added: a Mixture 3 ranks to the Swell and a Fifteenth 4ft to the Pedal.7
The organ at St Anthony's Catholic Church, Alphington
[photograph by John Maidment (2006)]
Following the sale of St David's Church, the organ became redundant and was acquired by St Anthony's Church where it was installed by Laurie Pipe Organs Pty Ltd in 2006. The organ remains unchanged from its 1984 rebuilding apart from the addition of a Trumpet 8ft to the Great, a second hand stop made by Geo.Fincham & Sons in the 1980s. The organ was placed to the right of the rear gallery and the console placed on the floor of the right hand transept.
| GREAT Open Diapason Stopped Diapason Dulciana Principal Wald Flute Fifteenth Trumpet Swell to Great |
8 8 8 4 4 2 8 |
1985 added 2006 |
|
| SWELL Open Diapason Hohl Flute Gamba Celeste Principal Rohr Flute Flautina Mixture 19.22.26 Oboe Sub Octave Super Octave Tremulant |
8 8 8 8 4 4 2 III 8 |
TC 1984 1984 |
|
PEDAL |
16 16 8 8 4 |
A B ex Great Open Diapason A B 1984 |
The organ at St Anthony's Catholic Church, Alphington: console
[photograph by John Maidment (2006)]
The organ at St Anthony's Catholic Church, Alphington: stopkeys
[photograph by John Maidment (2006)]
St Anthony's Catholic Church, Alphington: interior looking towards altar
[photograph by John Maidment (2006)]
1. Herald, 14 September 1940, p.24
2. Advocate, 19 September 1940, p.4
3. Advocate, 10 June 1937, p.16 (includes portrait)
4. OHTA News, vol 44, no 3 (September 2019) includes an article on the builder
5. Argus, 10 November 1951, p.17
6. Information supplied to John Maidment 1960s, source unknown
7. Bob Jefferson, Steve Laurie: His Life and Works (Somers, Vic.: the author, 1998), p.259
8. Specification and details noted John Maidment 2006