Pipe Organs in WA
 
 
 
 
 

Residence of Bruce and Maree Duncan, Clackline
The pipe organs of Western Australia




ClacklineHufnerXIIX

ClacklineHufnerXIIX
The original keyboard of the organ

ClacklineHufnerXIIX
Rebuilt with new key set, stop rail and pedal.

ClacklineHufnerXIIX

ClacklineHufnerXIIX
Burnished tin trumpets complete the organ redesign

ClacklineHufnerXIIX
The redesigned console 2016

ClacklineHufnerXIIX
Some pipework from the South Perth Uniting Church organ is visible to the right

Property
Name of institution   Residence of Bruce and Maree Duncan
Type of institution0   Private residence
Street Address   Leeder Road
City   Mokine
State   Western Australia
Postcode   6401
Country   Australia
Name of building   Residence of Bruce and Maree Duncan
Name of room   Music room
Dates of the building   c.1990 with new extensions 2013
Register of Heritage Places  
Heritage Place number  
Architect  
Builder   Dave's Property Improvements

Special architectural features and fittings  

Other location information   The organ is situated on an olive grove which produced award winning premium olive oil.

Two other organs (dismantled) are stored in the Music room.

Name of contact   Bruce Duncan
Mailing Address   PO Box 1155, Northam, WA, 6401
Telephone   08 9574 0410
Email   Bruce Duncan
Other contact information  

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Previous organ(s)
Date of previous organ   None

Detail of previous organ   Original configuration of the stoplist was:

MANUAL
Bourdon (Autobass) 16'
Claribel 8'
Principal 4'
Piccolo 2'
Sifflote 1'
.
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   Freestanding

Case description   Mahogany casework with polished wood and burnished tin trumpet pipes

Placement in room   North wall

Builder's name   Paul F Hufner

Opus number   Opus XIIX

Date of completion/installation   Built 1963.
Rebuilt by Pipe Organs WA Pty Ltd September 2013.

Construction materials   Mahogany, Jarrah

Number of manuals   One (1)

Key compasses   F-ff
Rebuilt as CC-ff

Number of keys   Originally 49
Rebuilt as 54 with new keyboard

Key material  

Pedal compass   None originally
Rebuilt as CC-b

Number of pedals   24

Pedalboard type   Straight

Pedalboard material   Oak

Type of chests   Direct electric

Type of key action   Originally Electro-magnetic.
Rebuilt in 2014 as electric (computer generated) with optic fiber transmission)
Pedal key contacts changed to Hall Effect magnetic sensors August 2017
Manual key contacts changed to Hall Effect magnetic sensors December 2021

Type of stop action   Originally Electro-magnetic.
Rebuilt in 2014 as electric (computer generated) with optic fiber transmission)

Couplers   None

Tremulants   None

Accessories    Three stops are also selectable as divided stops (bass/treble). The TC divider can be selected at any note from C-cc.
Selecting the original stop overrides the divided stop.

Console type   Stop tabs. Remote console previously attached to organ case by mechanical linkage to Swell (no longer in use).

Stop label material  

Placement   Stop rail
General design  

Playing aids   Balanced swell pedal no longer fitted
Divided stops for flexibility of registration on a single manual instrument.

Divisions   Manual, Pedal

Wind pressures   68mm w.g. (rebuilt specification)

Stop list  
Original specification:

MANUAL
Bourdon (Autobass) 16' Wood
Claribel 8' Wood
Principal 4' Wood
Piccolo 2' Wood
Sifflote 1' Metal


Rebuilt (2013) specification:

MANUAL
Bourdon 16' Wood New
Claribel 8' Wood
Principal 4' Wood
Piccolo 2' Wood
Sifflote 1' Metal
Horn 8' Metal New
Clarion Horn 4' Metal New
.
PEDAL
Bourdon 16' Wood New
Bass Flute 8' Wood
Horn 8' Metal New


New Transmission (2014) specification:

MANUAL
Bourdon 16' Wood
Claribel 8' Wood
Claribel bass New
Claribel treble New
Principal 4' Wood
Principal bass New
Principal treble New
Piccolo 2' Wood
Sifflote 1' Metal
Horn 8' Metal
Horn bass New
Horn treble New
Clarion Horn 4' Metal
.
PEDAL
Bourdon 16' Wood
Bass Flute 8' Wood
Horn 8' Metal

Total number of stops   Original configuration Five (5) stops
Rebuilt to 16 stops

Total number of ranks   Original configuration 1 rank extended
Rebuilt to 2 ranks extended.

Total number of pipes   Original configuration 92 pipes
Rebuilt to 163 pipes

Dates when key work has been undertaken on current organ   New pedal Bourdon 16' pipes made by Irvin Phillips, Armadale, in 2012 to the original scale and specification of Paul F Hufner.

Rebuilt by Pipe Organs WA Pty Ltd September 2013.
Previously mitred pipes (to fit inside the original enclosure) were remade to straight pipes,
New Trumpet rank made in Poland to the specification of Bruce Duncan and Graham Devenish.
New pedal chests for extended bass pipes and new trumpet rank by Pipe Organs WA Pty Ltd.
New case work by Virgile Bardin to match the revised design of the organ by Bruce Duncan, including new bass chests,carried out by Pipe Organs WA Pty Ltd. 2013.
Pedal keyboard recovered and refurbished from the 2013 reconstruction of the "Eccles" organ in St. Mary In The Valley Anglican Church, Kelmscott.

Installed at Clackline October/November 2013.
Final voicing by Tomasz Nowak and Graham Devenish December 2013.

New computerised transmission with fibre optic connection December 2014.

Key contacts changed to Hall Effect sensors by Pipe Organ Logic, August 2017 (Pedal) and December 2021 (Manual).

Dates of any moves that have taken place to current organ   Built for the Carnamah Community Church. Removed because of the high cost of travel for tuning and maintenance in the remote wheatbelt town.

Installed in St Matthew's Church, Armadale, 1993

Relocated and installed in St Ninian & St Chad Church, Maylands

Removed to storage in Yarloop Steam Workshops in 2010 by F J Larner & Co.

Relocated to Clackline 14 January 2011 by Bruce and Maree Duncan.

Information on current organ   The original configuration of the instrument saw it almost entirely enclosed in a swell box. This design has been discarded in favour of open case work which allows every pipe to be straight and on display and to speak clearly into the room.

The original single rank concept of an extended Clarabel rank with an autobass switching device has been completely revised with the addition of a Pedal division with new Bourdon pipes and the inclusion of a Trumpet rank, available in the Pedal and Manual divisions.

New winding arrangements have included the intallation of a BOB blower, a single rise regulator and a regulator valve for the trumpets, to ensure stable wind to that chest. The original hand-made blower, regulator and other components have been preserved with the organ for posterity.

In December 2014 an optic fibre transmission was installed to replace the aging cables and old gang switches. At the same time, new stops were added to provide divided stops for the manual division. The Clarabel, Principal and Horn may now be selected for the whole keyboard, bass (to b) or treble (from c).

Comparable instruments to current organ   Similar organs exist in Collie and Bridgetown.

Assessment of organ and current status   The organ is well maintained and in constant use. In excellent condition.

Also in storage in the Music Room are two other organs.
  • The F. Hufner / J E Dodd (1929 / 1933) organ which had been installed in St Lawrence Church, Dalkeith.

  • The P F Hufner organ which had been installed in South Perth Uniting Church.

  • Both organs are completely dismantled and many major components are no longer in existence.

    Other organs by this builder   Paul Hufner built about 40 pipe organs that were installed in Western Australia and Tasmania. Please refer to Western Australian Organs Builders Index. His workshop in Bayswater (WA) was on land prevoiusly owned by Bruce Duncan's grandfather.

    Bruce has a special attachment to this organ because he saw and played this organ when it was being buit in Paul Hufner's workshop.

    A tribute to Paul Hufner, by Bob Elms OAM
    .
    .
    Document control Original entries J R Elms, OAM, Gazetteer of Western Australian Pipe Organs, 1971, 1999, 2003 and 2004.
    This entry D B Duncan 04 Jan 2011.
    Updated information by Bruce Duncan 15 Jan 2011.
    Information from In The Pipeline April/May 2000.
    Updated information and photographs by Bruce Duncan and Graham Devenish 05 Oct 2013.
    Information on transmission by Bruce Duncan 18 Apr 2015.
    Information on keying changes by Bruce Duncan 03 Dec 2021.
    Updated photographs by Bruce Duncan 28 Nov 2023.