We have now completed the installation of the old Regent Theatre Wurlitzer into its new home in The Queensland Gallery of Modern Art. We were responsible for the installation, console and wooden pipes of the organ. The installation was completed under difficult circumstances but has been very successful. It played for the first time during the screening of the silent film “The Story of the Kelly Gang” and played by Tony Fenelon. The 32’ Diaphones are located under the seats in the theatre and have to be experienced! The console restoration and polishing by Derek Smart is particularly noteworthy and is a beautiful example of good French polishing. It is hoped that this organ will be heard frequently because of its history with many people in Brisbane.

The Swell at St Augustine’s Anglican Church, Hamilton, has been rebuilt and is now playing whilst work continues on the Great division. The soundboards have had new magnets and action fitted and the wind pressure has been lowered by 20 mm w.g. (water gauge). The Swell pipework has been completely revoiced and the Gedact stop has been rescaled. This has resulted in quite a different sound. The Swell is now very clean and focused and matches the old Great in terms of volume. A Mixture has been added and the whole chorus blends far better with the Cornopean. The Gamba and Violin Diapason are particularly rich and full. The new action is silent and makes a pleasant change from the castanets that used to accompany any playing. The Swell was first used for the farewell service for Father Robert Braun. Work is scheduled to be completed at the end of August.

You will notice I have mentioned the term ‘water gauge’ in relation to wind pressure. Basically this refers to the amount that the water is displaced in a tube by the pressure of the wind. In other words, against the atmosphere. It is far lower than p.s.i. and is more accurate for organ purposes. Most pipe organs in Churches have wind pressures between 75 mm and 87 mm (3 to 3 ˝ inches). However, higher wind pressure does not necessarily mean louder organs. At St Augustine’s, for example, we have made the pipework relatively louder by lowering the wind pressure but allowing more wind into the feet of the pipes. This allows the pipe tone to ‘bloom’ which is often more effective in allowing the tone to travel and work in the building.

We are also pleased to announce the contract at St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane, for the cleaning, part refurbishment and tonal work. The organ has become extremely dirty during the building works in the Cathedral. All gussets in the organ require releathering. A new transformer/rectifier will also be installed. The completed Cathedral has excellent acoustics but the organ will need to be adjusted to match its new surrounds. Along with tonal regulation on the Swell, Great, Choir and Pedal divisions, some new stops are being added to these divisions as well. It is an exciting project. The bellows and rectifier work will be undertaken within the next couple of months and the project is due for completion by the end of November 2008.

We have installed the new Laukhuff capture system at Brisbane City Hall and new slider seals have been fitted to the Great 8’ and reed soundboards, as well as the Swell 8’ soundboard. This has eliminated the runnings in these chests and resulted in more stable tuning. The sound is now more focused with the better wind supply.

We have installed a new Laukhuff capture system into St. John’s Anglican Church, Launceston. and we have replaced the drawstop solenoids in the console. This has resulted in a far more reliable console and a far better action. At present I am voicing the new 4-rank Mixture for the Great division. After that, I will be voicing the new 4-rank Mixture for the Swell and then reconstituting the Swell Sesquialtera. This is a large and famous organ in a very beautiful building and this work will lift and invigorate the Great and Swell choruses.

We are underway building the new house organ for Dr Rod Catton of Innisfail. This organ incorporates the pipework of the old Fortitude Valley Methodist Church built by Edward Waldron in 1888. Because of the climatic extremes found in Innisfail, we have used two pack resin glue in making the slider soundboards and will be using aluminium and stainless steel fittings throughout. The metal framework of this organ will be mounted on castors for ease of access.

Work has continued at St Martin’s Anglican Church, Mullumbimby. We have replaced the old rectifier and rewired the supply cables throughout the organ. A new blower box has been fitted to quieten the blower and all the trunking has been overhauled. This has resulted in a more responsive action and a far more reliable organ. We will be fitting new slider seals to the Great soundboard as well as cleaning and repairing the pipework. This is an example of how regular maintenance and a planned overhaul of the organ in stages can lead to very good results. The organ is now reliable and sounding well. An improvement is noticed at every stage without a large sum of money need to be expended all at one time.