The Presbyterian Church, Wynnum
[Photograph by David Vann (May 2012)]
The Presbyterian Church, Wynnum
[Photograph by David Vann (May 2012)]
Historical and Technical Documentation by Geoffrey Cox
© OHTA 2012, 2021 (last updated August 2021))
The organ in this church was built by the Charles Dirksen Organ Co. of Brisbane, and installed in the new church in time for the opening on 30 July 1960. The organ was dedicated on 14 May 1961 to the memory of Mr and Mrs R.G. Patterson, whose bequest had assisted the erection of the church.
The 1960 Charles Dirksen organ
in the Presbyterian Church, Wynnum
[Photographs by David Vann (May 2012)]
The Dedication Plaque on the Organ
[Photograph by David Vann (May 2012)]
Charles Dirksen, a Dutchman, had trained with the firm of L. Verschueren, Heythuysen, Netherlands, before migrating to Australia. He spent two years in Adelaide before moving to Brisbane in 1956 for his honeymoon. Deciding to stay in Brisbane, he set up his own business there, but returned to Holland around 1963 after a period of ill health. A specialist in pipe-making, Dirksen made his own metal and wooden pipes in Brisbane. Around 1957, he secured a contract to build small extension organs for some 14 Mormon churches around the country.1 Most of these were of two ranks.
The Wynnum organ was the third four-rank 'extension' instrument built by Dirksen in Queensland, the previous two being for St Luke's Anglican Church, Ekibin (1957) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Kangaroo Point (1958). Although smaller than the earlier two in terms of the number of derived stops, the scheme here was less wasteful, reserving the Open Diapason/Principal rank for the Great Organ only, and relying on the use of couplers rather than duplicating stops between the two manuals and pedals. This instrument was unusual in including three melodic couplers, a feature not found elsewhere on Dirksen's organs. This Wynnum instrument was followed by another, along even more economical lines, at Emmanuel College Chapel, St Lucia (1961).
Repairs and rewiring were undertaken in 2021 by Pierce Pipe Organs, The console was refurbished and new keys were fitted.2
| GREAT Bourdon Open Diapason Salicional Stopped Flute Principal Flute Quint Fifteenth Bassoon SWELL Salicional Salicional Stopped Flute Salicet Flute Nasard Salicet Oboe Oboe PEDAL Bourdon Salicional Flute Quint COUPLERS Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Swell to Great Pedal - Great Bass Pedal - Swell Bass Great - Swell Melody |
16 8 8 8 4 4 2-2/3 2 16 16 8 8 4 4 2-2/3 2 8 4 16 16 8 5-1/3 |
A B C A B A B B D C C A C A A C D D A C A A |
Tremolo
Compass: 61/32
Direct Electric Action
3 thumb pistons to Great & Pedal
3 thumb pistons to Swell & Pedal
Balanced Swell Pedal.3
Console details of the 1960 Charles Dirksen Organ
[Photographs by David Vann (May 2012)]
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1 Personal communication to G. Cox from John Spall, an employee of Dirksen in Brisbane, 1973.
2 Organ Australia, Issue 2, p. 13 (August 2021).
3 Specification noted by G. Cox, 1972.