St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Sale : exterior from south-west
[photograph by Ken Falconer (28 December 2008)]
St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Sale : interior from west
[photograph by Ken Falconer (28 December 2008)]
Historical and Technical Documentation by John Maidment
© OHTA (last updated June 2011)
St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Sale : exterior from south-west
[photograph by Ken Falconer (28 December 2008)]
St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Sale : interior from west
[photograph by Ken Falconer (28 December 2008)]
A substantial brick church, designed by prominent architect Nathaniel Billing and built in 1884, comprising a broad and lofty nave, with five-light traceried west window and a narrow chancel. The building incorporates many modern stained glass windows, mainly by Philip Handel, of Sydney.1
St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Sale : organ
[photograph by Anthony Hahn (20 March 2011)]
St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Sale : organ –
Anthony Hahn (cathedral organist) at the console
[photograph by Ken Falconer (28 December 2008)]
The organ was built in 1882 by George Fincham for the residence of Joseph S. Summers in Wellington Street, Windsor where it was used for teaching and practice. Summers (1839-1917) was at the time organist of All Saints' Anglican Church, East St Kilda nearby; he was the brother of the noted sculptor Charles Summers.2 Fincham placed the organ here on a monthly rental of £2 12s or purchase for £279.3 As the use of the instrument for teaching was not remunerative, it was sold shortly afterwards and installed in Sale in 1884. It was reported on 31 October 1884 that the organ had arrived and that its installation would begin immediately.4 St Paul's Church, as it was then, was opened on 5 November 1884.5
The local newspaper reported:
The new organ, which was built and erected by Mr Fincham, of Richmond, will be utilised for the first time in divine service, and is an instrument of mean order, being a two manual, independent pedal organ, containing 13 registers, and of modern improvement, with couplers, etc. The compass is of maximum church scale, viz. 56 notes on manuals and 30 on pedals. The case is in strict harmony with the architectural characteristics of the building and the illuminations are Mr Blair, of Swanston-street, Melbourne which are greatly admired. The height of the instrument is 15ft. 6in., width 8ft. 6in. and depth 7ft. 6in.; the keraulophon and flute stops in the (g t), and the gamba in the swell, are very delicately voiced and of excellent quality, while the open diapason (g t) is round and full. The contract price of the organ built in the church amounts to £290, and forms sine qua non to the success of the opening and future services of the church.6
The original specification of this organ was recorded as:
| GREAT Open Diapason Keraulophon Principal Flute Fifteenth Swell to Great SWELL Stopped Diapason Gamba Gemshorn Piccolo PEDAL Bourdon Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal7 |
8 8 4 4 2 8 8 4 2 16 1 |
stopped wood bass gvd.bass 1 |
At some stage a Dulciana stop was added to the Great on tubular-pneumatic action and a Viol d'Orchestre to the Swell, placed on a clamp on the rear of the Swell windchest.
St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Sale :
Swell pipework showing flared Gamba, tapered Gemshorn and wooden Piccolo organ
[photograph by Anthony Hahn (20 March 2011)]
St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Sale :
organ undergoing restoration at Laurie factory, viewed from rear
[photograph by John Maidment (1981]
The organ was restored by S.J. Laurie Pty Ltd in 1981. At this stage, the mechanical key and stop actions were fully overhauled and the double-rise reservoir and feeders releathered. The Great Dulciana and Pedal Bourdon were placed on electro-pneumatic action and a vintage Fincham Clarabella substituted for the Keraulophon. On the Swell, the Viol was replaced with a two-rank Mixture. The pitch was lowered to C = 523 Hz @ 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
The specification is now:
| GREAT Open Diapason Clarabella Dulciana Principal Flute Fifteenth Swell to Great SWELL Stopped Diapason Gamba Gemshorn Piccolo Mixture 19.22 Tremulant PEDAL Bourdon Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal8 |
8 8 8 4 4 2 8 8 4 2 II 16 1 |
gvd.bass 1 |
Compass: 56/30
Mechanical key and stop action; electro-pneumatic action to the Great Dulciana and Pedal Bourdon
1 Victorian Churches, edited by Miles Lewis (East Melbourne: National Trust of Australia (Victoria), 1991), p.146
2 Australian Dictionary of Biography online version: http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A060238b.htm accessed 1 June 2011
3 E.N. Matthews, Colonial Organs and Organbuilders (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 1969), p.183
4 Gippsland Times, 31 October 1884, p.3
5 Gippsland Times, 7 November 1884, p.3
6 Gippsland Times, 5 November 1884, p.2
7 Stephen Laurie, 'Notes on the Restoration of the Organ in St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Sale, Victoria', OHTA News vol.5, no 3 (July 1981), p.13
8 Ibid