Some Organs by Joseph W. Walker and Sons of London.

This firm was originated by George England in 1740, who was succeeded by his son and his son-in-law, H. Nicholls, to whom J. W. Walker was apprenticed. Walker took over the business in 1820 after Nicholl's death. He died in 1870 and the factory was carried on by his son, James John (1846-1922). The firm is still in business today.

The Organ at St. Thomas' Church of England, Port Macquarie.

(according to the late Mr. Cherry's collection.) This instrument was originally a barrel organ and 2 barrels are still retained. The pedal board is permanently coupled and there is no bottom octave to the open diapason. .

The organ at St. Thomas' Church of England, Mulgoa.This is a 1 manual instrument of 4 stops, built by Walker in 1863. The compass is from CC---G (56 notes). The organ has 4 stops and is hand blown.

The Organ at St. John's Cathedral, Parramatta 1863. This organ is situated in the northern transept, and there is plenty of space around the instrument.

Although the swell organ has key slips to CC, the pipes only go to tenor C. The lower octave will give the great stop diapason if that key is drawn out. The keraulophon is a mild string stop. Bonavia Hunt (in "The Modern British Organ" p.56) describes it as "a favourite Victorian quasi-string stop invented by gray and Davidson. The peculiarity consisted in a small circular hole made in the top portion of the cylindrical pipe where the slot is usually cut, the bottom end of the hole being continued down the pipe by means of a very narrow vertical slot which was later covered by a tuning slide. The name "keraulophon" means "horn-flute tone" and is a most inapt description of the hybrid string quality actually produced". The stop is not made today, having gone out of fashion. The swell mixture has no breaks, while there are 3 breaks on the great mixture.

The Organ at St. John's Church of England, Cook's Hill, Newcastle.

This instrument was built in 1866. There is no string stop in this specification. The two diapasons have evidently received the same treatment in voicing as the later organ at St. Stephen's, Newtown.

The Organ at St. John's Church of England, Tamworth (according to the late R. Cherry's collection.)

This was originally a Walker organ. Pneumatic action was installed by Waterhouse (?Whitehouse) Bros., Brisbane.

The 4' stop labeled "gemshorn" is unusual, as will be noticed from the other Walker specifications. In a rough attempt to date the organ, the keraulophon suggests the earlier Walker, while the presence of the wald flute suggests the later Walker. There is no diapason on the swell organ. The super and sub swell couplers would almost certainly be a later addition. A photograph which accompanies the specification is of the old organ (only 15 stops, which is right if the swell super and sub couplers are deducted). The pedal compass is seen to be CC-F (30n) while the manuals give the appearance of CC-G (56 n.) The photograph also shows 4 composition pedals (as at present), and a lever swell pedal at the usual right hand side. There is a draw-stop under the left jamb, possibly swell tremulant.

The organ at St. Philip's Church of England, Church Hill.This instrument, built in 1873, is very similar in style, tone and case to the organ at St. Stephen's, Newtown. It possesses more string stops and is a slightly larger specification. There are angels blowing trumpets mounted on the case.

The Organ at St. Stephen's Church of England, Newtown

This instrument was built in 1874 and is installed in the southern transept of the church, a large, lofty stone building designed by Blacket, and costing £12,000. The organ is spaciously laid out, the pipes having ample room to speak. The organ sounds very fine in the church. According to the present rector, Mr. Steele, the organ was ordered by the church authorities and came direct to the church from the works. It was to be placed in the west gallery, but on arrival, being found too big, was erected in its present position. Fine as the organ sounds now, it would have sounded even more impressive in the gallery with the obvious advantages of direct speech into the nave of the church and of height, enabling the tone to carry down the church without roof, floor or other building obstructions. Like the organ at St. Philip's Church Hill, there are 4 trumpet-blowing angels mounted on the case posts.

This organ contains good solid pipe work, with some very fine voicing. The voicing of the two great diapasons and the distinctive character of the wald flute are features of this organ. The specification is interesting; although only of 19 speaking stops, there is a complete diapason chorus on each manual. There are no string stops on the swell organ while the pedal department shows the lack of upper work so characteristic of this period.

Swell Organ. The chorus reed is a cornopean, a stop invented by William Hill. Noel Bonavia-Hunt observes ("M.B.O." p. 73) that if this stop was intended by the builders of this period to approximate trumpet tone, then the term is a misnomer, as the cornopean is properly a horn, a rank which belongs to the small reed category as opposed to the close-tone trumpet family. The oboe is typical of its class. The swell shutters are divided into two sections, every stop in the box being easily accessible by a door between the divided shutters.

Sw. mixture ranks: CC 15 19, cc 12 15.

Great Organ. Scalings: open diapason 7 ¼" (approx.), horn diapason 6 ½", principal 3-3/16", fifteenth 1 ½", mixture 1 5/8", 1 ¼" and 7/8" - CC 15 19 22, mid. C 12 15 19.

These two 8' diapasons give ample foundation tone to this department than the big open. Both are lovely stops completely satisfying the player. Both go well together. The dulciana consists of wooden pipes below A sharp in the lowest octave. The wald flute is a most unique stop in Walker's hands. The writer will never forget the thrill of hearing the St. Philip's flute for the first time as a young organ student, and can fully appreciate Bonavia-Hunt's enthusiasm ("M.B.O." p. 62). The stop has an inverted mouth. According to Bonavia-Hunt, the quality lies to a great extent in the secret of the manner of the notching done inside the cap. With a wide experience, he does not know of any other builder who could exactly reproduce this tone. The pipe is rectangular in shape, with the mouth on the narrow plank. The first open pipe is at middle C. The harmonic flute is a metal stop, twice the length required for an open pipe, and pierced approximately half way up. This example is pierced on four sides, not quite half way up. This, according to Bonavia-Hunt, is the usual spot. It gives the major seventh as the hum note (the anticipatory note preceding the mature note).

Pedal organ. Scalings: Bourdon 7 ½" x 8", open diapason 8" x 11 ½".

Both are fine stops. The open diapason has a 7-8/10" x 3 5/8" mouth, which has been reduced to 2 ¾". The bourdon mouth is 6-6/10" x 3" at center, 2 ¼" at sides.

There is a Walker organ at St. David's Church of England, Surry Hills.

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