Pipe Organs in WA
 
 
 
 
 

Maylands - Mount Lawley Uniting Church, Maylands
The pipe organs of Western Australia



Maylands Uniting Church

Maylands Uniting Church

Maylands Uniting Church

Maylands Uniting Church

Maylands Uniting Church

Maylands Uniting Church

Maylands Uniting Church

Property
Name of institution   Maylands-Mount Lawley Uniting Church
Type of institution0   Church
Street Address   165 Railway Parade
City   Maylands
State   Western Australia
Postcode   6051
Country   Australia
Name of building   Maylands-Mount Lawley Uniting Church
Name of room   Church sanctuary
Dates of the building   16 August 1981
Register of Heritage Places   No listing
Heritage Place number   15223
Architect  
Builder  

Special architectural features and fittings  

Other location information  

Name of contact  
Mailing Address  
Telephone  
Email  
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   Elevated chamber

Case description   Modern design of open pipe ranks

Placement in room   Rear wall of sanctuary

Builder's name   Gunstar Organ Works, Adelaide

Opus number  

Date of completion/installation   1940
Installed this location 1985

Construction materials  

Number of manuals   Two (2)

Key compasses   CC-ccc

Number of keys   61

Key material  

Pedal compass   CC-g

Number of pedals   32

Pedalboard type   Radiating concave

Pedalboard material  

Type of chests  

Type of key action   Electro-pneumatic

Type of stop action   Electro-pneumatic

Couplers   Great Sub
Great Super
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Swell to Great
Swell to Great Sub
Swell to Great
Swell to Great Super
Swell to Pedal
Swell Sub
Swell Super

Tremulants   Swell

Accessories    6 pistons to Swell, 6 pistons to Great, Swell to Great piston (reversible), Swell to Pedal Piston (reversible), Great to Pedal Piston (reversible), 8 General Pistons, Tutti, Set, General Cancel.

Toe Pistons, 6 pistons to Pedal, Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal, Swell to Great, Tutti

Console type   Detached stopkey

Stop label material  

Placement   Stop rail

General design  

Playing aids  

Divisions   Great, Swell, Pedal

Wind pressures  

Stop list  
GREAT
Open Diapason 8' 61 pipes A
Claribel 8' 61 pipes C
Lieblich Gedeckt 8' Swell E
Salicional 8' 61 pipes B
Octave Diapason 4' 12 pipes A
Rohrflute 4' Swell F
Salicet 4' 12 pipes B
Twelfth 2 2/3' Swell D
Fifteenth 2' 12 pipes A
Salicetina 2' 12 pipes B
Larigot 1 1/3' B
Octavin 1' B
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SWELL
Bourdon 16' Bottom 12 pipes from Sub Bass, remainder from Gedeckt C, E
Geigend 8' 61 pipes D
Lieblich Gedeckt 8' 61 pipes E
Principal 4' 12 pipes D
Rohrflute 4' 61 pipes F
Lieblich Flute 4' No additional pipes E
Nazard 2 2/3' No additional pipes E
Fifteenth 2' 12 pipes D
Flute 2' 12 pipes F
Larigot 1 1/3' Stop label is incorrect. This stop is really a Tierce as the pitch is 1 3/5’
Trumpet 8' 61 pipes
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PEDAL
Sub Bass 16' 12 pipes C
Octave 8' A
Geigend 8' D
Bass Flute 8' C
Salicional 8' B
Choral Bass 4' A
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Total number of stops   29

Total number of ranks   7

Total number of pipes   523

Dates when key work has been undertaken on current organ   Renovated in 1998 by Pipe Organ Builders & Services, solid state coupling installed.

Blower motor relocated from pipe chamber to lower room, air leaks sealed, winding improved, concussion bellows installed in 2003 by Pipe Organs WA.

New electro-pneumatic valves to bottom octave of Diapason, revoicing of all ranks. Klann Capture Action for pistons installed - 30 levels of memory. 2004 by Pipe Organs WA.

Swell shutter pneumatic system replaced with Petersen 8 stage electric shutter control in 2006 by Pipe Organs WA.


Dates of any moves that have taken place to current organ   Built in 1940 for Forrest Park Methodist Church as a 5 rank extended organ.

Removed, rebuilt, enlarged to six ranks and installed at Maylands Uniting Church in 1985 by Paul F. Hufner.

Information on current organ   This was the only organ built in Western Australia by Gunstar Organ Works, Adelaide. Gunstars were formed in 1935 and their first new organ was the Christadelphian Church in Adelaide, the contract states it was to be completed by 16th March 1936. It appears Dodd amalgamated with Gunstar Organ Works in June 1944 and the company then became J.E. Dodd & Sons Gunstar Organ Works, Adelaide.

Paul Hufner signed a maintenance agreement with Gunstar in February 1940 and maintained the organ until the 1990's, over 50 years.

In Forrest Park Methodist Church there was both a Bourdon and a Sub Bass on the pedal - two 16' stops. However the Bourdon was in the swell box and was almost inaudible. It was taken out to allow the bottom twelve 8" Trumpet pipes to be installed. The Trumpet replaced the wishy washy Labial Oboe 8 which only went to tenor C. The swell bourdon 16 was borrowed to the pedal as a second 16' but it was so soft it was almost useless. The pipes were donated to Morley Methodist Church for their Larner organ so that it had pedal pipes, missing before. (Bourdon was placed in the organ at private residence Kingsley Jones, Kardinya.)

Comparable instruments to current organ  

Assessment of organ and current status  

Other organs by this builder   There are no other organs by Gunstar Organ Works in Western Asutralia.

There are several organs by J E Dodd 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 26 January 2009.
Specification and historical detail of the organ maintenance from Don Cook, 02 February 2009.
Photographs by Bruce Duncan added 15 March 2009.
Additional information from George Stephens, Bob Elms and Patrick Elms 20 July 2010.
Additional information from Bob Elms 19 October 2011.
Bob Elms has written a very informative history of the organ as it was in the Forest Park Methodist Church.
Additional photographs by Bruce Duncan 18 August 2018.