St Andrew's Anglican Church
cnr New & Church Streets, Brighton

First organ, B. c.1842 Peter Hurlstone
Second organ, B c.1857 Jesse Biggs, later at Wesley Church, Ballarat,
Methodist Church, Pleasant Street, Ballarat,
St Mark's Anglican Church, Camberwell and
St Paul's Anglican Church, Fairfield, broken up.c.1968

Third organ, B. 1858 Hill & Son, installed 1860,
see: St Peter's Lutheran Church, Stawell

Fourth organ, B 1923 Roberts Ltd;
elec 1930, 1941 W.L. Roberts; destroyed by fire 1961.
3 manuals, 32 speaking stops.

Present organ, B 1962-64 Davis & Laurie;
addtns 1973 Laurie Pipe Organs (great reeds, pedal 32 flue and upperwork);
res & revoiced 1988-89 with addtn (32 reed) S.J. Laurie.
4m, 64spst, 12c, elpn, 2 consoles.





Historical and Technical Documentation by John Maidment
© OHTA 2008 (last updated October 2020)

 




 

ST ANDREW’S ANGLICAN CHURCH, BRIGHTON

 

The history of the Anglican church on this site dates back more than 160 years.  The first two buildings, from the 1840s and 1850s, have been demolished.

The third church was begun in 1855 and completed in 1857 to the design of Webb & Taylor.  Part of the original nave survives as the pioneer chapel of the present church.  It is constructed of bluestone with a prominent bellcote surmounting the gable.  It has been designed in a simplified gothic style without elaboration.

In August 1886, new Oamaru stone transepts, chancel, apse  and the first section of a new nave in elaborate decorated gothic style were opened, this costing £7,000.  The architect was Lloyd Tayler.  His grand design remained incomplete until the church was largely destroyed by fire on 19 February 1961.

The present building was designed by Louis R. Williams and was opened on 15 December 1962.  The total cost was £185,000.  The building has a steel frame with brown brick used for the exterior and cream brick for the interior which has a ceiling of anodised aluminium tiles.  It is of cruciform shape with shallow transepts.  The dimensions are most spacious: the building is almost 200 ft long; the copper flèche over the crossing is 115ft high and the height of the nave is 47ft.  This is the largest post-war church in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne and Williams's last major work.  It is comparable stylistically with his slightly earlier St John's, Camberwell.

The interior of St Andrew's focuses on the large wooden high altar 13ft wide upon which is often placed a silver altar cross (137 cm - 4ft 6in high) and candlesticks, made by J.W. Steeth & Son, Melbourne to the design of Louis Williams.  The sanctuary floor is of parquetry (Johnson River hardwood from Queensland) while the large bronze sculpture at the base of the rear wall is by Guy Boyd (1987) and depicts The Return of the Prodigal Son.

The metal work (pulpit, lectern and font cover) is by Reine Slagmolen.  The pews and fittings are of mountain ash and were all designed by Williams.

The Pioneer Memorial chapel comprises a section of the 1850s nave.  The large mural is by Napier Waller and depicts the pioneers of Brighton landing from Port Phillip Bay and setting about the task of building a new church.  Many of the windows here have been filled with memorial stained glass from 1984 onwards.

The separate Lady Chapel to the left of the chancel is known as the Chapel of the Incarnation and incorporates stained glass by D. Taylor Kellock, a Scottish-trained local maker favoured by the architect.

The first organ in St Andrew's Church was built by Peter Hurlstone, who was born in 1802 and arrived in Australia in 1838. He was trained as a millwright but clearly had mechanical skills. He also installed the Richard Nicholson organ at Wesley Church in Collins Street, Melbourne, in 1842. Little is known about the first Brighton organ.

The church's second organ by was built c.1857 by Jesse Biggs, who had arrived in Melbourne in 1856 and had been trained with Gray & Davison, London. This was a large single manual organ of nine speaking stops, up to a Mixture and had a Gothic-style case. This organ was moved in 1860 to the Wesleyan Church, Lydiard Street, Ballarat, and was later placed in the Methodist Church, Pleasant Street, Ballarat, St Mark's Anglican Church, Camberwell and finally in St Paul's Anglican Church, Fairfield in the late 1920s; it was broken up c.1968. The specification was noted at this time by John Maidment.

MANUAL
Open Diapason Bass
Open Diapason
Stopped Diapason Bass
Stopped Diapason Treble
Dulciana
Principal
Flute
Twelfth
Fifteenth
Mixture
Manual to Pedal

PEDAL
Bourdon


8
8
8
8
4
4
2-2/3
2
II-III



16
(enclosed)
CC-BB unenclosed wood
TC
CC-BB
TC
TC

metal Chimney Flute with sealed tops and ear-tuned







 

Compass: 54/30
Mechanical action
Trigger swell lever


 

This instrument was replaced in 1860 by an organ of outstanding tonal and visual quality built in 1858 by the leading London organbuilding firm of Hill & Son for the residence of Peter Davis, Great Dandenong Road, Prahran, which had two manuals and 12 speaking stops. It was probably placed initially in a rear gallery of the bluestone nave but later moved to the new chancel. The instrument was moved in 1923 to Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Stratford, in Gippsland, and then in 1969 to St Peter's Lutheran Church, Stawell where it still survives, with little alteration from the original.



The Hill & Son organ in St Peter's Lutheran Church, Stawell (JRM April 2009)

 

GREAT
Open Diapason
Stopped Diapason
Dulciana
Principal
Flute  
Twelfth
Fifteenth
Swell to Great

SWELL
Open Diapason
Stopped Diapason
Principal
Oboe

PEDAL
Bourdon
Great to Pedal


8
8
8
4
4
2-2/3
2



8
8
4
8


16


CC-FF# open wood inside organ
wood, pierced stoppers in treble
TC

TC  open wood




(from TC, CC-BB from Great Stopped Diapason)

wood






compass: 54/30

3 composition pedals

Lever swell pedal

 

The fourth organ was built in 1923 by Roberts Ltd of Melbourne and Adelaide and was a substantial three manual instrument of 32 speaking stops with a case designed by Louis Williams. This was one of its builder's major works but slightly smaller than the almost contemporary organ at All Saints' Anglican Church, East St Kilda. It was placed on either side of the south transept and was totally destroyed in the 1961 fire. Two recordings of the organ have come to light. The organist is unknown but was possibly a student at Brighton Grammar.

Please click on links below to download:

Mendelssohn - Fugue in G Op 37/2

Boëllmann - Toccata from Suite Gothique

 


c. 1960





3 photos above: JRM

GREAT
Bourdon
Open Diapason (large)
Open Diapason (medium)
Hohl Flute
Octave
Harmonic Flute
Super Octave
Mixture
Tromba  

SWELL
Bourdon
Open Diapason
Rohr Flöte
Viole d’Gamba
Viole Célestes
Gemshorn
Lieblich Flute
Mixture
Contra Fagotto
Cornopean
Oboe

CHOIR (enclosed)
Claribel
Viole d’Orchestre
Dulciana
Flauto Traverso
Clarinet
Orchestral Oboe
Tromba

PEDAL
Open Diapason
Sub Bass
Bourdon
Bass Flute
Trombone

16
8
8
8
4
4
2
III
8


16
8
8
8
8
4
4
III
16
8
8


8
8
8
4
8
8
8


16
16
16
8
16

A





*
*
B


*



GG

*
*
*





*


*

B


wood
C
A
C
B *


* prepared for


 

 

The present organ, a war memorial, was built in 1962-1964 by Davis & Laurie Pty Ltd, of Moorabbin.  It has four manuals, 64 speaking stops and twin consoles.  The majority of the instrument is placed in the rear gallery but an ancillary division (the first section of the instrument to be completed – this was initially placed in the rear gallery) is placed high up in the south transept. 



Transept organ initially placed in the rear gallery 1962 - early 1964 
(St Andrew's Church Guidebook 1963)






2 photos above commissioned by Steve Laurie




These two recordings were made by Ian Thomas during the 1960s when the church & organ were both new. Ian Thomas held the position of Organist & Choirmaster from February 1961 (the week of the fire) & 1974.

Please click on links below to download

Grieg - The Last Spring  7MB

Stanley - Trumpet Voluntary  5MB

Additions and alterations were made by S.J. Laurie Pty Ltd in 1973 and 1988-1989, when a full-length 32ft wooden reed stop was added.  At the latter time, major revoicing of the organ took place in association with the organist of St Andrew’s, Lindsay O’Neill, to ‘Frenchify’ the sound and to offer improved tonal projection: the originally resonant acoustic had been considerably dampened down in 1974 through the insertion of baffles in the ceiling. The acoustic dampening has now been removed and the original resonance largely recreated.

The provision of twin four-manual consoles and the horizontal Festal Trumpet stop are distinctive features, the latter the first such stop in Australia.

The organ is heritage listed by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and is of considerable significance as the largest example of a totally new pipe organ built in Victoria at the time as well as remaining substantially intact.

 

GREAT
Contra Salicional
Open Diapason I  
Open Diapason II
Stopt Diapason
Principal
Harmonic Flute
Fifteenth
Quartane 12.15 
Tierce
Mixture 19.22.26.29
Trumpet
Clarion
Swell to Great
Choir to Great
Transept to Great

SWELL
Bourdon
Open Diapason
Gedeckt
Salicional
Vox Angelica 
Principal
Chimney Flute
Fifteenth
Mixture 22.26.29
Hautboy
Tremulant
Double Trumpet
Trumpet
Octave Trumpet
Super Octave

CHOIR

(a) enclosed

Wald Flute
Viola da Gamba
Dulciana
Salicet
Larigot Flute
Stopt Twelfth
Piccolo
Flute Tierce
Flageolet
Clarinet
Tremulant

(b) unenclosed

Festal Trumpet
Trumpet
Clarion
Swell to Choir
Transept to Choir

TRANSEPT (manual IV)
Open Diapason
Stopt Flute
Gemshorn
Octave
Stopt Flute
Gemshorn
Super Octave
Mixture 29.33.36
Sharp Mixture 19.22

PEDAL
Sub Bourdon
Open Wood
Open Metal
Contra Salicional
Bourdon
Principal
Flute
Fifteenth
Quartane 12.15
Contra Bombarde
Bombarde
Double Trumpet
Festal Trumpet
Clarion
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Transept to Pedal

TRANSEPT PEDAL
Bourdon
Flute
Flute

Great & Pedal Pistons Coupled
Transept to Great Pistons

16
8
8
8
4
4
2
II
1-3/5
IV
8
4





16
8
8
8
8
4
4
2
III
8

16
8
4






8
8
8
4
4
2-2/3
2
1-3/5
1
8




8
8
4




8
8
8
4
4
4
2
III
II


32
16
16
16
16
8
8
4
II
32
16
16
8
4






16
8
4




A  bass in façade
B








C 1973
C 1973







originally Hohl Flute

TC






D
D originally Cornopean
D




















E horizontal from CC
C
E




F
G
H
F
G
H
F

H


I bottom octave polyphonic

B
A
I
J 1973
I
J
J
C 1-12 wood 1989
C
D
C
C






G
G
G
























Photos: Trevor Bunning (April 2009)