nic hamilton photography

In June 1982, Rae Anderson wrote:

The accompanying specification describes the pipe organ in detail. Next year will be its centenary and plans are in hand for action revision and thorough cleaning to mark this important milestone in its history.

Alfred Fuller built four of Bendigo’s pipe organs: St Andrew (1882), St Paul (1883), Long Gully (1892) and Mackenzie St Methodist (1900). That at St Paul was the most ambitious and, as at St Andrew, was later rebuilt by Hill, Norman and Beard. At Long Gully his work has remained practically intact until this month of June 1982 when S. J. Laurie Pty. Ltd. commence restoration work in the huge church Cornish miners built amidst the sand heaps of the quartz mining era. The little Mackenzie St organ – apart from an enlarged Swell box – is also intact. It was probably intended for a residence. A few years ago it appeared to be wrecked, for, during internal re-decoration work within the church, a steel scaffold collapsed, almost bisecting the instrument. It was ultimately repaired with many spare parts salvaged from Fuller’s old organ in St Paul’s by the former organist of that church.

The organ in St Paul’s Cathedral provides an interesting study, having been moved from a west gallery built for it in 1883 to a south transept position high above vestries beneath, in 1927. Before this it had towered above the congregation until a temporary wall which had cut of the nave for 44 years was removed, to display Robert Love’s completed chancel transepts and sanctuary to his original plans and on foundations laid in 1867. The organ has always had ample space in which to speak clearly, even from early times. This also applies to the Long Gully instrument.

In 1957 when it became necessary to amplify Fuller’s specification, another slice of organ history began. about this time the authorities at  St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney decided to combine their two organs into one rebuilt 4-manual. An earlier Willian Hill organ had remained silent for years while another 3-manual by J. W. Whiteley located in the opposite transept had been in use since 1920. (In John Maidment’s invaluable Gazeteer of N.S.W Organs he records that this was for the residence of E. G. Meers, England. Whiteley’s works were at Chiselhurst in Kent, also the home town of Dr. Nicholson’s school of English church Music, now the Royal school of Church Music familiar to many of us.)

Through H. N. and B., who carried out the Sydney job, certain items were available and in 1954 30 metal Violone pipes of 16 ft. pitch, being redundant from the 1863 Hill organ were purchased, together with the 3-manual Whiteley console with its lavish solid ivory draw-stops and accessories, and sent to Bendigo, ready for the rebuild. In addition to this a redundant 8-note slider chest by Fincham of 1882 vintage remained unused when the former West Melbourne Presbyterian church building and organs went to box Hill – the organ reduced to a 2-decker. This provided a perfect match for Fuller’s other work and was used for the new Choir-Positiv at St Paul’s. Along withe the console came the Whiteley stool. On a later visit, Dr Barton Babbage, one time Dean of Sydney exclaimed “You should not have had it. It should not have left Barton. Many famous posteriors have slithered up and down that bench”.

The console was converted to electro-pneumatic and the Hill Violone pipes after re-voicing provided a manual double and a 16ft. Pedal stop. From a glance at the specification, the build-up on the new Choir-Positiv of 25 years ago displayed a trend towards ant entirely classic department, and Fuller’s English chorus is thus embroidered with many traditional voices now deemed essential in modern stop lists.

The old Hill pipes with their early diapering are located in the central flat of the case. Fullers’ more gentle tones and gilding make up the rest. Fuller’s old Swell reeds have been re-vitalised by John Parker and the whole organ will soon undergo further restoration work as the centenary approaches.