St Francis Xavier Catholic Church
Great Western Highway, Bowenfels

B.V. Bossi 1928, rebuilt S.T. Noad 1965 (2/7 electro-pneumatic)
Sold 2011 and being renovated by Wakeley Pipe Organs Pty Ltd
Will become a sanctuary (choir) organ in Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Carlton, Victoria,
which is part of the Diocesan Seminary.

© PdL 2006

From the 1990 OHTA Conference booklet:

This unusual instrument was built by Balbiani Vegeezi Bossi of Milan, Italy. Originally built in 1928 for the Brigidine Convent Chapel at Randwick, the organ was a memorial to a nun who had been the music teacher and organist of the Convent. The organ was installed by Mons. Mario Pettorelli, a priest from Rome who was in Australia on a Vatican appointment at the time. The instrument was electrified in 1965 by S.T. Noad & Son who made little change to the organ; the most noticeable of these was the adoption of plastic stopkeys using anglicised nomenclature. In 1986 Allan Cargill of Lithgow, together with a number of assistants, installed the organ in its current location, carrying out minor refurbishments together with the fitting of a new rectifier and blower.

JRM reports (5/3/11):

In 2010 the organ was advertised for sale on the OHTA web site and was sold in 2011 to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Carlton, Victoria, which is part of the Catholic Seminary. It will be restored by Ian Wakeley as a choir organ.

Photo: TB

The specification is:

Manual I Principal Bourdon Dolce Manual II Gamba Vox Celeste II Harmonic Flute Pedal Bourdon Couplers Manual I-II at 16, 8, and 4 Manual II 16 and 4 Manual I – Pedal Manual II – Pedal

8 8 8 8 8 4 16

Compass 61/30, each rank with an extra octave of pipes at the treble for coupler use.
Swell Pedal
Crescendo Pedal
Electro-pneumatic action.