St John's Lutheran Church
Yarra Street, Geelong

B 1886-7 Alfred Fuller for Methodist Church, North Melbourne;
inst 1936 Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Kensington;
res & inst present loc 1972 members of church.
2m, 20spst, 3c, tr & elpn pedals.
Gt: 8.8.8.4.4.2-2/3.2.II.8. Sw: 16.8.8.8.4.2.III.8.8. Ped: 16.16.








The organ was built in 1886-87 by Alfred Fuller, Kew, for the Methodist Church, Howard Street, North Melbourne. This church opened in June 1859 and a new building was opened in March 1873.

The organ was moved to a new gallery in the church by Geo. Fincham & Son in 1902, when the position of the console was changed; the Swell Mixture was also replaced by a Voix Celeste.

The North Melbourne church closed and was demolished in 1936. The organ was moved to Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Kensington, where it was placed in a chamber to the right of the sanctuary. Here it was opened in August 1936. The specification below was recorded in 1966 from the original stop labels:

GREAT
Open Diapason
Claribel
Dulciana
Principal
Concert Flute
Nazard
Fifteenth
Mixture
Cremona
Swell to Great

SWELL
Double Diapason
Open Diapason
Gedact
Keraulophon
Gemshorn
Piccolo
Voix Celeste
Horn
Oboe
Tremolo

PEDAL
Grand Open Diapason
Bourdon
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal

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



16
8
8
8
4
2
8
8
8



16
16














open wood bass placed outside box




TC replaced original Mixture III which was reinstated at Geelong


Compass: 58/30
3 composition pedals to Great
3 composition pedals to Swell
Lever swell pedal
Mechanical key and stop action
Attached drawstop console

The organ was removed from Holy Trinity Church, Kensington and installed at St John's Lutheran Church in 1972 by members of the congregation. At this time the pedal action was converted to electro-pneumatic, the stop labels replaced with machine-engraved labels, the richly decorated facade pipes overpainted, the side panelling removed (this may not have existed at Kensington), and the front case panels clad with new timber. A new Swell Mixture was inserted in the space occupied by the 1902 Voix Celeste.


E.N. Matthews, Colonial Organs and Organbuilders (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 1969), pp. 140-141, 138, citing information from the records of George Fincham housed at the State Library of Victoria.
















Photos: Trevor Bunning (June 2010)




Methodist Church, North, Melbourne (F.H. Williams, per John Maidment)



Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Kensington (John Maidment)


St John's Lutheran Church, Geelong (John Maidment)