St John's Anglican Church

Burke Road, Camberwell

First organ, built 1875 George Fincham;
rebuilt 1954 Hill, Norman & Beard (o/n V274);
destroyed by fire 1955.
2 manuals, 20 speaking stops, 5 couplers, electro-pneumatic action.

Second organ, built 1958 Hill, Norman & Beard (o/n V384);
completed 1985 Australian Pipe Organs (addition of choir organ and pedal reed).
Great upperwork replaced 1996 Australian Pipe Organs.
3 manuals, 43 speaking stops, 17 couplers, electro-pneumatic and electro-magnetic action.

Present organ, built Wakeley Pipe Organs and Pipe Organs Victoria 2019-2024.
3 manuals, 58 speaking stops, 11 couplers, electric action.

Gallery organ (prepared-for): 2 manuals, 28 speaking stops, 7 couplers, electric action.
Transept organ: built 1967 Laurie Pipe Organs for St John's Anglican Church, Geelong West.
2 manuals, 3 ranks plus Mixture extended, electro-pneumatic action.

 



St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – exterior view circa 1930
[Rose postcard, from State Library of Victoria]


Historical and Technical Documentation by John Maidment
© OHTA (last updated October 2024)

Construction of the first church on this site began in 1862 and it was opened in February 1863.1 Built from brick, it was designed by Melbourne architect Leonard Terry. In 1869, a chancel was added to the existing building, designed by Nathaniel Billing.2 In 1887, a new nave with transepts was partially constructed, on a far grander scale, to the design of Heath, Jackson & Gray,3 but this was not to be continued until 1912 when a further bay of the nave was constructed with a temporary west wall, opened in 1914.4 The architect was C.G. McCrae. The remainder of the nave and a tower and spire 140 feet high were constructed to the design of Twentyman & Askew and opened in 1924.5 This building was consumed in a fire on 18 March 1955 lit by an arsonist. Almost the entire contents were destroyed, including the organ, stained glass and many fittings.



St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – the 1957 church from the south-west
[photograph by John Maidment (8 August 2009) ]

A new church was designed by Louis R. Williams, retaining the previous tower and spire. The foundation stone was laid on 29 September 1956 and the building opened and dedicated on 29 November 1957. The church was constructed from cream brick in a simplified Gothic idiom and was 140 feet in length with an internal height of 49 feet. The building was consecrated on 24 February 1959. The focal point of the building was a large mural behind the high altar painted by Len Annois, and a number of fine stained glass windows by David Taylor Kellock and Napier Waller.

The first pipe organ was built by George Fincham and opened on 3 August 1875. The cost was £325.

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


8
8
8
4
4
2-2/3
2





gvd.bass






 
SWELL
Open Diapason
Stopped Diapason
Gemshorn
Piccolo
Oboe


8
8
4
2
8





wood


 
PEDAL
Bourdon
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal

16


   

Compass: 56/30
Mechanical key and stop action6

It appears that a Pedal Principal 8 was later added to the organ, maybe to complete a façade facing down the church.

This organ was rebuilt and enlarged by Hill, Norman & Beard (Australia) Pty Ltd (order number V274) with electro-pneumatic action and a detached stopkey console and dedicated on 22 August 1954. The spotted metal pipework was fitted with tuning slides, the soundboards rebuilt and the organ turned through 90 degrees. It was destroyed in the 1955 fire.

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


8
8
8
8
4
4
2-2/3
2




A

TC








with 31 new pipes








SWELL
Open Diapason
Stopped Diapason
Aeoline
Gemshorn
Piccolo
Trumpet
Oboe
Tremulant
Sub Octave
Octave


8
8
8
4
2
8
8



















new


new





PEDAL
Open Diapason
Bourdon
Principal
Flute
Octave Flute
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal

16
16
8
8
4



A
B
A
B
B



with 1-12 metal prepared-for






Compass: 61/30
Electro-pneumatic action
Detached stopkey console7



St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – the 1958 organ viewed from the nave
[photograph by John Maidment (31 March 2006) ]

The organ for the newly built church was constructed by Hill, Norman & Beard (Australia) Pty Ltd (order number V384). The pipework of two of the three manuals was installed at the time. The work was carried out in association with the church organist Selwyn Hooper and overseen by W.A.F. Brodie, managing-director of the firm, who had recently returned from an overseas study tour – the organ reflects his experiences in its tonal design. The organ was dedicated on 21 March 1958.

GREAT
Lieblich Bourdon
Open Diapason
Gemshorn
Claribel Flute
Stopped Diapason
Octave
Gemshorn
Nason
Gemshorn Quint
Fifteenth
Mixture 22.26.29
Trumpet
Swell Sub Octave to Great
Swell to Great
Swell Octave to Great
Choir Sub Octave to Great
Choir to Great
Choir Octave to Great


16
8
8
8
8
4
4
4
2-2/3
2
3 ranks
8








A
B
C

A

C
A
C













Hill & Son 1868 ex Sydney Cathedral








prepared-for







SWELL
Geigen Principal
Rohrflöte
Salicional
Viole Celestes
Principal
Traversflöte
Mixture 15.19.22
Double Bassoon
Horn
Bassoon
Octave Bassoon
Sub Octave
Unison Off
Octave
Tremulant to low pressure stops


8
8
8
8
4
4
3 ranks
16
8
8
4









TC



D

D
D






prepared-for


prepared-for

Bishop & Son ex Sacred Heart, Bendigo










CHOIR (all stops prepared-for)
Gedeckt
Dulciana
Flute Ouverte
Rohr Nazard
Flautina
Tierce
Cymbel
Regal

Bombarde division
Double Bassoon
Trumpet
Horn
Clarion
Sub Octave
Unison Off
Octave
Tremulant to low pressure stops
Swell Sub Octave to Choir
Swell to Choir
Swell Octave to Choir


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


16
8
8
4








   
PEDAL
Major Bass
Open Diapason
Bourdon
Lieblich Bourdon
Gross Quint
Principal
Flute
Quint
Fifteenth
Rauschquint 2-2/3 & 2
Posaune
Bassoon
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Swell Octave to Pedal
Choir to Pedal8

16
16
16
16
10-2/3
8
8
5-1/3
4
2 ranks
16
16






G
F
A
A
G
F
A
G
F, G

D





1-12 open wood and B
metal








prepared-for






A Trumpet 8 was added to the organ in the late 1970s by John S. Parker, sited on top of the swell box. Australian Pipe Organs Pty Ltd made the following additions in 1985:

• Pedal Posaune 16, notes 1-12 (possibly by Hunter) imported by St George's, Battery Point, Hobart and completed with resonators 13-30 by Norman & Beard 1912 from St Peter's Church, Eastern Hill.
• Choir swell box and slider chest made by Geo. Fincham & Sons Pty Ltd
• Choir division comprising:

Gedeckt
Dulciana 8
Principal
Nazard
Flautina
Mixture 19.22
Clarinet

Trumpet
Clarion
8
8
4
2-2/3
2
2 ranks
8

8
4
*
*




*



 

Some of these ranks (*) came from the 1922 Geo. Fincham & Sons organ formerly in Peace Memorial Methodist Church, East Malvern.

In 1996, the Great Fifteenth and Mixture were replaced by Australian Pipe Organs Pty Ltd.



St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – the 1958 organ console with later modifications
[photograph by Ken Falconer (13 May 2009)]

Construction of the present organ was begun in 2019 by Wakeley Pipe Organs Pty Ltd and completed in June 2024 by Pipe Organs Victoria Pty Ltd. It includes pipework and windchests from the previous Hill, Norman & Beard organ, the Dodd/Walker organ formerly in St Francis Xavier's Catholic Cathedral, Adelaide and new material, including the two pipe facades, designed by Marc Nobel with the spotted metal pipes made by Tim Gilley who also made a number of other metal ranks including the full-length 32ft reed. The organ chamber has had a mezzanine floor erected so that the additional pipework could be accommodated at an upper level. The moveable amphitheatrical mobile console was made by the South Island Organ Company Ltd, of Timaru, New Zealand, from oak and Australian mountain ash. The project was carried out in conjunction with the church's advisors John Mallinson, David Byrne and Ken Falconer with Ian Wakeley responsible for the specification, tonal design and final voicing and regulation.9

The following people worked on the project:

Kate Buttery
Keith Denmead
Tim Gilley
Phil Henderson
Marc Nobel
Jeremy Smith
Chris Teed
Ian Wakeley




St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – divided cases of the present organ
[photograph by John Maidment (22 August 2024)]




St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – chancel case
[photograph by John Maidment (19 December 2020)]


GREAT
Double Diapason
Open Diapason no 1
Open Diapason no 2
Gemshorn
Gamba
Harmonic Flute
Stopped Diapason
Principal
Open Flute
Twelfth
Fifteenth
Mixture 19.22.26
Trumpet
Clarion
Swell to Great Sub Octave
Swell to Great
Swell to Great Octave
Choir to Great


16
8
8
8
8
8
8
4
4
2-2/3
2
3 ranks
8
4






A

A

B







C
C






WPO
HN&B rescaled
WPO
HN&B ex H&S 1868
JWW&S
WPO; stopped bass ex Cl Flute
JWW&S
HN&B
HN&B ex Cl Flute
WPO
APO
APO
Parker
Parker





SWELL
Bourdon
Geigen Principal
Rohr Flöte
Salicional
Viole Célestes
Principal
Traverse Flöte
Flageolet
Mixture 15.19.22
Double Trumpet
Bassoon
Horn
Trumpet
Oboe
Clarion
Tremulant
Swell Sub Octave
Swell Octave


16
8
8
8
8
4
4
2
3 ranks
16
16
8
8
8
4





D

D

TC




E
F

E
F
E





HN&B
WPO
HN&B
HN&B
APO
HN&B
HN&B ex B&S 1906
WPO
HN&B
JWW&S
HN&B
HN&B
JWW&S
HN&B
JWW&S




CHOIR
Stopped Diapason
Salicional
Principal
Rohr Flute
Nazard
Flautina
Tierce
Mixture 19.22
Clarinet
Tremulant
Tuba
Tuba Clarion
Swell to Choir


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

8
4













G
G


(enclosed – Tuba in separate swell box)
WPO - wood
WPO
APO
WPO
APO
APO
WPO
APO
JWW&S

JWW&S
JWW&S


PEDAL
Sub Bourdon
Open Wood
Open Diapason
Violone
Bourdon
Echo Bourdon
Open Flute
Principal
Flute
Octave
Octave Flute
Mixture 12.15.19.22
Contra Posaune
Posaune
Double Trumpet
Bassoon
Posaune
Trumpet
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Swell Octave to Pedal
Choir to Pedal


32
16
16
16
16
16
8
8
8
4
4
4 ranks
32
16
16
16
8
8






H
I
A
B
H
D
I
J
H
J
H

K
K
E
F
K
C






WPO (+ 12 stopped Quint pipes)
HN&B with new trebles
WPO
1-12 WPO
HN&B
HN&B
WPO old pipework
HN&B
HN&B
HN&B
HN&B
JWW&S
WPO/ APO
APO









2710 pipes

Compass: 61/32
Balanced swell pedals to Swell, Choir and Tuba

HN&B
APO
H&S
B&S
JSP
JWW&S
WPO 10
  Hill, Norman & Beard (from previous organ)
Australian Pipe Organs (from previous organ)
Hill & Son (from previous organ) / ex St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney
Bishop & Son (from previous organ) / ex Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo
John S. Parker
J.W. Walker & Sons ex St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide
Wakeley Pipe Organs (some material reused from elsewhere)10





St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – console
[photograph by John Maidment (22 August 2024)]




St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – left hand stop jamb
[photograph by John Maidment (22 August 2024)]




St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – right hand stop jamb
[photograph by John Maidment (22 August 2024)]




St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – Great pipework
[photograph by John Maidment (22 August 2024)]




St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – Swell pipework
[photograph by John Maidment (22 August 2024)]




St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – Choir pipework
[photograph by John Maidment (22 August 2024)]




St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – Tuba
[photograph by John Maidment (22 August 2024)]




St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – 32ft Contra Posaune
[photograph by John Maidment (22 August 2024)]

 

 

GALLERY ORGAN – prepared for on main console (stopkeys only provided)

GREAT
Bourdon
Open Diapason
Stopped Diapason
Dulciana
Principal
Harmonic Flute
Nazard
Fifteenth
Tierce
Tremulant
Swell to Great Sub Octave
Swell to Great
Swell to Great Octave


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





   
SWELL
Bourdon
Viol
Voix Celeste
Principal
Flautina
Mixture 19.22.26
Double Trumpet
Trumpet
Oboe
Clarion
Tremulant
Swell Sub Octave
Swell Octave


8
8
8
4
2
3 ranks
16
8
8
4




   
PEDAL
Open Diapason
Sub Bass
Bourdon
Principal
Flute
Fifteenth
Double Trumpet
Octave Oboe
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal11


16
16
16
8
8
4
16
4



   


Pipework reserved for this division includes material from the 1877 William Anderson organ ex St Mark's, Fitzroy and St Francis-in-the-Fields, Mooroolbark and from St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide.




St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell – transept organ
[photograph by John Maidment (19 December 2020)]


TRANSEPT ORGAN

A three-rank plus Mixture two-manual extension organ built in 1967 by Laurie Pipe Organs Pty Ltd has been placed as a temporary organ on the floor of the north transept. This was built for St John's Anglican Church, West Geelong and incorporated several restored ranks from an organ previously in Holy Advent Anglican Church, Armadale possibly built by William Anderson and damaged by fire in March 1956. It was later placed in the residence of Nigel Nettleship at Moorooduc and later acquired by Wakeley Pipe Organs.

MANUAL I
Open Diapason
Stopt Diapason
Gemshorn
Principal
Flute
Fifteenth
Mixture III


8
8
8
4
4
5
III


A
B
C
A
B
A









75 pipes repeating

MANUAL II
Stopt Diapason
Gemshorn
Principal
Octave Gemshorn
Flautino
Nineteenth
Twentysecond


8
8
4
4
2
1-1/3
1


B
C
A
C
B
B
C

 
PEDAL
Bourdon
Principal
Flute
Fifteenth

16
8
8
4

B
A
B
A
 

Compass: 61/32
Detached stopkey console
Electro-pneumatic action12


1 South Bourke Standard, 6 February 1863, p.2

2 Weekly Times, 8 January 1870, p.13

3 The Argus, 20 December 1887, p.11

4 Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell Citizen, 17 July 1914, p.2

5 Herald, 23 February 1924, p.5

6 George Fincham letter book 1874, p.91 (State Library of Victoria)

7 The order of service for the dedication of the organ, 22 August 1954

8 The order of service for the dedication of the organ, 21 March 1958

9 Details from opening recital programme 8 June 2024

10 Specification noted by John Maidment August 2024 with further details from opening recital programme 8 June 2024

11 Details noted from stopkeys provided on the current console

12 Society of Organists (Victoria) Incorporated Newsletter May 1967, p.11

 

Much of the additional historical information relating to the church has been derived from R.J. Macdougall, History of St. John's, Camberwell. Melbourne: Hall's Book Store, 1963