History of our Organ
The church of St John the Evangelist at Raymond Terrace was constructed in 1862 of local sandstone from the designs of Edmund Blacket, the famous colonial architect. Blacket's list of architectural treasures include the completion of St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney, St George's Cathedral Perth, St Saviour's Cathedral Goulburn, scores of suburban and country churches as well as the Great Hall and St Paul's College at Sydney University. St John's is a fine example of one of his early, small country churches.
The Walker and Sons of London pipe organ was installed in the church in 1862.
The Organ
The organ has given 144 years of excellent service and remains the sole provider of music Sunday by Sunday at St John's. It was installed as a finger and barrel organ with five speaking stops and with the pedals permanently coupled to the manual. The facade pipes are colourfully decorated and the organ is housed in a pine case described as 'Plain Gothick' style. It bears the builders' job number 692 and is believed to be one of several such organs brought to Australia by the first bishop of Newcastle, Bishop Tyrrell. The instrument is almost a twin to that housed in the convict built St Thomas' Church in Port Macquarie, but unlike the St Thomas' instrument, the barrels in the instrument at St John's were removed during some work in the 1960's. Lists of the tunes on two barrels remain inside the organ and are largely metrical Psalm tunes. The only other changes are a new keyboard and drawstop knobs but the rest of the organ remains in original condition and maintains its magnificent tone.
Why Restoration?
The added brilliance achieved by a major clean in 2004 enabled parishioners to further appreciate their delightful instrument. However it also drew attention to the loud clatter of the mechanical action. Other problems included constant ciphering and the difficulty in keeping the organ in tune.