Galston Uniting Church
11 School Road, Galston

Forster & Andrews 1887 (2/20 mechanical)

Two photos above: Trevor Bunning (October 2018)

From SOJ August/September 1993, Winter 2000:

The instrument now at Galston was initially built for the Congregational Church in Bourke Street, Darlinghurst by Forster & Andrews (England) in 1887. It was a gift to the church by three sisters, the Misses Baxter and cost £796. The instrument was erected by Charles Richardson in 1888.

The church was closed in the late 1930s and after many years it re-opened with a Greek Orthodox congregation although it was still under the ownership of the Congregational Church. The organ was not used by the Greek Orthodox services and when the Greek congregation sought to purchase the building in the 1980s, the organ was superfluous to their needs. It was bought by the Galston Uniting Church and was rebuilt over a period of seven years by volunteers who were supervised by Brown & Arkley, with Dr Christopher Dearnley acting as consultant.

Photos above: Trevor Bunning (October 2018)

The specification is:

Great Bourdon Open Diapason Stopped Diapason Dulciana Principal Harmonic Flute Twelfth Fifteenth Mixture Corno di Bassetto Swell Bourdon Open Diapason Gamba Lieblich Gedact Principal Flautina Mixture Oboe Pedal Open Diapason Bourdon Couplers Swell to Great Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal

16 8 8 8 4 4 2-2/3 2 III 8 16 8 8 8 4 2 II 8 16 16

Three composition pedals to Great
Two composition pedals to Swell
Lever Swell pedal

Mechanical action throughout

Compass 56/30

The above two photographs show the hand blowing mechanism. The lever can
be locked by a narrow panel. The tell-tale is the red button
which moves (like All Saints Woollahra). This is the only extant
example of hand blowing of a F & A in Australia.

Photographs: Pastor de Lasala (August 2016)






Photo taken in Bourke Street Congregational Church
after it had become Greek Orthodox [KH]