St Edmund's Anglican Church Gunning

St Edmund's Anglican Church
Gunning

Chamber organ Anon c.1863, restored Mark Fisher 1995 (1/4 mechanical)

The early history of this instrument is not known. It was acquired by All Saints' from St Peter's Burwood East when that church was sold to another denomination in 1992. It had been acquired from St Paul's Chatswood in 1908 who probably acquired it from the residence of Julius Kerr in Balmain. A fragment of the London Times pasted in the lowest pipe of the Stopped Diapason establishes its date of completion with some degree of accuracy. Over the years it had been substantially altered, principally by way of addition, and the hands of Jackson, Richardson and Edwards could be clearly discerned.

Mark Fisher's reconstruction has involved stripping away the accretions, including a zinc bass to the Open Diapason, a swell box, an ugly key cover and music desk by Richardson, additional case panels, toeboards etc. The metal pipes have been remade to enable cone tuning at their original scales and the front of the case reconstructed to incorporate original features, viz. the four capped pillars with shields and the crenellations. Hand blowing has been retained and a new electric blower provided. The Pedal consists of 18 pedals with pulldowns.

For several years it resided in All Saints' Anglican Church, Woollahra before being sold to St Edmund's Anglican Church, Gunning in 2006.