Pipe Organs in WA
 
 
 
 
 

St John's Anglican Church, Northam
The pipe organs of Western Australia




StJohn

Northam St John

Northam
The refurbished organ 13 December 2015

Console

Property
Name of institution   St John's Anglican Church
Type of institution   Church
Street Address   Wellington Street
City   Northam
State   Western Australia
Postcode   6401
Country   Australia
Name of building   St John's Anglican Church
>Name of room   Church sanctuary
Dates of the building   1890
Register of Heritage Places   Permanent Entry 11/08/2009
>Heritage Place number   01891
Architect   Francis Bird
Builder   Howard Evans designed the Parish Hall in 1897

Special architectural features and fittings   St John's Anglican Church and Parish Hall, Northam has a high degree of authenticity. The majority of the fabric of both the 1890 church and the 1897 hall remains intact. The hall was extended in 1957 and remains largely as completed at that time. A vestry was added to the church in 1971 and the altar was adapted to conform to liturgical changes. The roof of the church was replaced with shingles in 1928, repaired with sheoak shingles after a fire in 1944, and replaced with asbestos shingles in 1977. No other major changes have been made to the church and it remains largely as it was constructed in 1890.

St John's Anglican Church and Parish Hall, Northam is significant as a pair of well-composed stone ecclesiastical buildings in a landscaped setting constructed in the Victorian Academic Gothic style built over several periods of development. The Church is a fine example of an Anglican Church constructed in a major regional centre in the late 19th century to a design by significant Perth architect, Francis Bird. The belltower, stained glass windows and tessellated tiles to the floor of the porch are details of particular aesthetic value.

F. G. B. Hawkins designed the WWII Memorial Screen in 1948, Marshall Clifton designed the vestry in 1971, and stained glass artists E. G. Bowers (1955) and A. S. Brown (1982) made the windows.

Other location information   St John's Anglican Church and Parish Hall is sited on elevated land on the north-eastern end of the town of Northam. The buildings are spaced apart with mature trees, landscaped gardens and a recent stone boundary fence.

The church demonstrates the growth of the Northam Anglican community in the 1890s, as a larger church was needed to replace the original smaller St James' Anglican Church (1851). The location of the new church demonstrates the pattern of occupation of Northam as the town centre had shifted since St James' construction.

WANEWS


Name of contact  
Mailing Address  
Telephone  
Email   Parish office
Other contact information  

.
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  
.
Present organ
Type of installation   Freestanding

Case description   Polished mahogany gothic casework in typical Dodd style.
Display pipes are silver with gold mouths and vermilion lips, arranged with central tower and side flats.

Placement in room   South transept

Builder's name   J.E. Dodd & Son, Adelaide.

Opus number  

Date of completion/installation   Ordered 1923, installed 1925
Dedicated Sunday 18 October 1925 by Archdeacon Moore.
Purchase price £945.

Construction materials  

Number of manuals   Two (2)

Key compasses   CC-aaa

Number of keys   58

Key material  

Pedal compass   CC-f

Number of pedals   30

Pedalboard type   Concave radial

Pedalboard material   

Type of chests   Slider
Marine ply construction (2015)

Type of key action   Mechanical
Originally tubular-pneumatic to pedals

Type of stop action   Mechanical

Couplers   Swell to Great
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal

Tremulants   Swell

Accessories    Balanced Swell pedal

Console type   Integral, drawstop

Stop label material  

Placement    Drawstops on flat jambs

General design  

Playing aids   None

Divisions    Great, Swell, Pedal

Wind pressures  

Stop list   Stoplist 1925:

GREAT
Open Diapason 8'
Claribel 8'
Dulciana 8'
Principal 4'
.
SWELL
Violin Diapason 8'
Viol d'Orchestre 8'
Hohl Flute 8'
Dulcet 4'
Labial Oboe 8'
.
PEDAL
Bourdon 16'
.


Stoplist 1982:

GREAT
Open Diapason 8'
Claribel 8'
Dulciana 8'
Principal 4'
Fifteenth 2'
.
SWELL
Violin Diapason 8'
Viol d'Orchestre 8'
Hohl Flute 8'
Dulcet 4'
Labial Oboe 8'
.
PEDAL
Bourdon 16'
.


Stoplist 2015:



GREAT
Open Diapason 8'
Stopped Diapason 8' ex Hohl Flute and new
Harmonic Flute 4' ex Dulciana
Principal 4'
Fifteenth 2' New
Mixture IV New
Trumpet 8' From Our Lady of Mount Carmal Roman Catholic Church, Middle Park, Victoria
.
SWELL
Clarabel 8' ex Viol
Viol d'Orchestre 8' ex Labial Oboe
Celeste 8' New
Flute 4' ex Violin Diapason
Piccolo 2' ex Dulcet
Oboe 8' New
.
PEDAL
Bourdon 16'
.
Total number of stops   1925: 10
1982: 11
2015: 14

Total number of ranks   1925: 10
1982: 11
2015: 17

Total number of pipes   1925: 504
1982: 590
2015: 926

Dates when key work has been undertaken on current organ<   Originally built as 2m., 10 sp.st., 3c., tr. & tub.pn. pedals.

There are no records of maintenance or refurbishment being carried out between 1925 and 1982, however it does appear that the Great Dulciana pipework was changed at some point and was no longer the original rank, except for the row of display pipes on the western side of the organ which came from this stop.

Restored in 1982 by Bellsham Pipe Organs (Australia). Pedal converted to tracker action, Fifteenth added to Great.

Removed from the church for rebuilding and enlargement June 2015 by Pipe Organs WA Pty Ltd.
Tonal design enhanced with addition of reeds and upperwork.
Reworking of the transmission to remove heavy action and to provide full length wooden trackers to all divisions.
Swell box enhanced with new timber lining to accommodate a new Oboe (not labial), Celeste and flute.
Great windchest had been altered to the point it was beyond restoration and was replaced with an entirely new chest made in premium grade marine ply, allowing for expansion of the organ to provide for the Stopped Diapason, Harmonic Flute, Trumpet (from Our Lady of Mount Carmal Roman Catholic Church, Middle Park, Victoria) and four-rank Mixture.
The organ was returned to the church in December 2015.
Regulation and voicing was completed and the organ used in its full capacity for Christmas 2015 services.

Tomasz Nowak Pipe Organs built a solid roof over the Great organ to prevent excessive dust intrusion and revoiced the Great Trumpet to provide a more sonorous tone in 2022.

Dates of any moves that have taken place to current organ   None

Information on current organ  

Comparable instruments to current organ  

Assessment of organ and current status   In excellent condition

Other organs by this builder   There are many existant organs by J E Dodd in Australia
Refer to Organ Historical Trust of Australia documentation.

There are several organs by J E Dodd in Western Australia. Please refer to Western Australian Organs Builders Index

There are many organs by Pipe Organs of Western Australia in Australia. Please refer to Western Australian Organs Builders Index
.
.
Document control Original entries J R Elms, OAM, Gazetteer of Western Australian Pipe Organs, 1971, 1999, 2003 and 2004.
This entry D B Duncan 15 January 2009.
Additional photograph from Graham Devenish 10 February 2009.
Stoplist added by Bruce Duncan 26 February 2009.
Additional photos of organ added by Bruce Duncan 12 December 2012.
Information from Heritage Council of Western Australia
Detail of organ rebuild by Bruce Duncan 18 October 2015.
Further detail of organ rebuild by Graham Devenish and new photos Bruce Duncan 12 December 2015.
In The Pipeline article.
Clipping from West Australian Newspapers sourced by Nola Chamberlain 09 April 2018.