Pipe Organs in WA
 
 
 
 
 

St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church, Cannington
The pipe organs of Western Australia




Cannington St Michael

Cannington St Michael
The organ has been moved to a new location at the rear of the church

Cannington St Michael

Cannington St Michael

Cannington St Michael
Remoddeled Sanctuary 2018
Photo: The Reverend Tony Murray-Feist


Property
Name of institution   St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church
Type of institution0   Church
Street Address   46 George Way
City   Cannington
State   Western Australia
Postcode   6107
Country   Australia
Name of building   St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church
Name of room  Church Sanctuary
Dates of the building   1958
Register of Heritage Places  
Heritage Place number  
Architect   Milton Boyce
Builder   Missen and Mills

Special architectural features and fittings   The 1968 Meckering earthquake badly cracked the church belltower and the top had to be removed, replaced by a four-girder spire.

Other location information   On 5th October 1958 Bishop R.E. Freeth laid the foundation stone of the centre erected by Missen and Mills. Then, on Sunday afternoon, 15th February 1959, the new war memorial church of St Michael and All Angels was consecrated by the Anglican Archbishop of Perth, the Most Reverend Dr Robert Moline, in the presence of the State Governor, Lieutenant General Sir Charles Gairdner.

Name of contact  
Mailing Address   46 George Way, Cannington WA 6107
Telephone  
Email   Parish office.
Other contact information  

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Previous organ(s)
Date of previous organ   None
Detail of previous organ  
Dates when key work has been undertaken  
Dates of any moves that have taken place  
Variations from original design of organ  
Information on previous organ  
Information about comparable instruments to previous organ  
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Present organ
Type of installation   Free standing

Case description   Simple wood case with display dummy pipes.
Bourdon 16’ on side of case.
Square, plain casework with arc of dummy display pipes in front of cloth grill.

Placement in room   Front Right of Sanctuary

Builder's name   J.W. Walker & Sons, Ruislip, Middlesex., England.

Opus number  

Date of completion/installation   1959

Construction materials  

Number of manuals   Two (2)

Key compasses   CC-ccc

Number of keys   61

Key material   Ivory naturals, ebony sharps

Pedal compass   CC-f

Number of pedals   30

Pedalboard type   Concave radiating

Pedalboard material  

Type of chests   Direct electo-magnet pallets

Type of key action   Electic

Type of stop action   Electic

Couplers   Great - Pedal

Tremulants   Tremulant to whole organ, rotating fan type

Accessories   

Console type   Integrated

Stop label material   Synthetic tabs to rocker arms

Placement   Tab rail

General design  

Playing aids  

Divisions   Great, Swell, Pedal

Wind pressures  

Stop list  
GREAT
Open Diapason 8' Metal 61 pipes A
Lieblich Gedeckt 8' Metal 73 pipes B
Dulciana 8' Metal 85 pipes C
Principal 4' Metal A
Twelfth 2 2/3' Metal C
Fifteenth 3' Metal C
Mixture III Metal 75 pipes
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SWELL
Open Diapason 8' Metal A
Lieblich Gedeckt 8' Metal B
Dulciana 8' Metal C
Gedeckt Flute 4' Metal B
Dulcet 4' Metal C
Nazard 2 2/3' Metal C
Flautino 2' Metal C
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PEDAL
Bourdon 16' Metal 12 pipes B
Quint 10 1/3' Metal B
Bass Flute 8' Metal B
Octave Flute 4' Metal B
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Total number of stops   18

Total number of ranks   Three (3) ranks extended plus Mixture.
Fully enclosed except for 12 Bourdon and separate 13 pipe unit chest for Bass end of Open Diapason 8’.

Total number of pipes   306

Dates when key work has been undertaken on current organ   Great to Pedal electic coupler added March 1969

Dates of any moves that have taken place to current organ   The organ has been moved from a chancel chamber to the rear of the church c2018.

Information on current organ   The tremulant is very effective as it is in such a small box. Very high quality keyboards with full length ivory covers which is most unusual in such a small organ and one that was obviously made down to a price, judging by the amount of extension and borrowing. The cabinet work whilst solid is very plain, unornamented.
The pipework is very robust with very thick spotted metal 8' Gedackts of a very large scale.
The 13 Open Diapasons on their separate chest (the top one of these having been removed from the box) look to be a later addition, no doubt very welcome, but I find no written evidence of this anywhere around the organ. There are signatures and dates of the person who did the original installation and the person who installed the electric coupler. These are located on some clean woodwork immediately behind the case cover-board at the front of the organ. Graham Devenish 23 March 2009

Comparable instruments to current organ   A similar organ is at John XXIII College Chapel, Mount Claremont.

Assessment of organ and current status   Good condition

Other organs by this builder   There are several organs by J.W. Walker & Sons in Western Australia. Please refer to Western Australian Organs Builders Index

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Document control Original entries J R Elms, OAM, Gazetteer of Western Australian Pipe Organs, 1971, 1999, 2003 and 2004.
This entry D B Duncan 25 November 2008.
Additional information and photographs from Graham Devenish 23 March 2009.
Photographs of the organ moved to new location by Donald Cook, 03 June 2019.
Building and historical information from Anglicans in witness, worship and work along the Canning. A PARISH HISTORY by Paul Duncan, 2019.