Malvern Hill (Methodist) Uniting Church
Cnr. Malvern Ave & Murray St, Malvern Hill (Croydon)

T.C. Edwards 1927, 2 mans, 17 speaking stops, 5 couplers, tub-pn action

From SOJ Spring 2006:

Dr Kelvin Hastie writes in "The Destruction of Diversity: Lost Sounds - Part II"


The nearby Malvern Hill Uniting Church (in the precinct just south of Croydon railway station) once possessed a T. C. Edwards organ, dating from 1927 and one with a specification unlike the more usual conservative designs favoured by its builder, such as that provided by Holroyd & Edwards for the Chapel of "Shore" School, North Sydney, in 1923. Quite clearly the Malvern Hill Methodists wanted an organ just like their neighbouring church in Ashfield, so their consultant (Dr James G. Gardiner) provided the following scheme (see below), printed in the "Dedication of Pipe Organ" program and dated 12 May 1928. The similarity between this organ and the one at Ashfield is remarkable: both with Great Tibias and Gemshorns and both with a 16' swell string, 4' Geigen and Closed Horn.

This organ suffered from a deteriorating action and by the 1960s the church sought quotations for its repair or rebuilding. Rather than accepting the quotation of a professional firm, the Trustees sought to save money by engaging the services of an amateur organ builder, as outlined in the church's Trust Minutes, dating from 4 November 1963 through to 7 August 1967.

The rebuild was not successful and the remnants of the Edwards instrument were sold to the Earlwood Baptist Church and incorporated with a host of other second-hand parts in an organ built by Ron Mapstone and Eric Field between 1969 and 1972. The Edwards case remains in the Malvern Hill church, behind which are located speakers of an electronic organ.

The specification was:

Great Open Diapason Tibia Minor Gemshorn Viola Principal Harmonic Flute Harmonic Gemshorn Swell Contra Dolce Rohr Flute Viol d'Orchestre Voix Celeste Geigan [sic] Principal Closed Horn Clarinet Pedal Sub-Bass Dolce Bass Flute Couplers Great to Pedal Swell to Great Swell to Pedal Swell Octave Swell Octave to Great

8 8 8 8 4 4 2 16 8 8 8 4 8 8 16 16 8

Tubular-pneumatic action
Ashfield Uniting, Taylor, 1912 (John Stiller)

All photos above: Brett McKern (December 2022)