Recommendation of the Executive Director and assessment of cultural heritage significance under Part 3, Division 3 of the Heritage Act 2017
Name Wolff Pipe Organ Location St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, 233 Balaclava Road, Caulfield Hermes Number 165958 Heritage Overlay Number St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, City Of Glen Eira , HO77 (internal controls apply)
2017, Wolff Pipe Organ
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION TO THE HERITAGE COUNCIL: That the Wolff Pipe Organ not be included in the Victorian Heritage Register under Section 37(1)(b) of the Heritage Act 2017.
STEVEN AVERY Executive Director Recommendation Date: 18 May 2020 Advertising Period: 22 May 2020 – 20 July 2020
This recommendation report has been issued by the Executive Director, Heritage Victoria under s.37 of the Heritage Act 2017. Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 1 EXTENT OF NOMINATION
Date that the nomination was accepted by the Executive Director 4 August 2011
Written extent of nomination No written extent of nomination was provided by the nominator. The title plan of St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church was provided but the nominator has only nominated the organ as an object.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 2 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RESPONSE SUMMARY It is the view of the Executive Director that this place should not be included in the Victorian Heritage Register for the reasons outlined in this report.
BACKGROUND WHAT IS THE OBJECT? A two-manual (two keyboard) pipe organ with a carved and French polished timber case in the Gothic style with openwork style finials. It has 10 mechanical speaking stops (controls to select different sounds), some of which are German in style. It has mechanical key action to the manuals and tubular-pneumatic action to the pedals. Almost all the organ pipes are wooden at a time when most were metal. Its tonal design and layout differ somewhat from the more modern and English-influenced style of organ building practiced in Australia at the time.
What is the history of the object? The Wolff Pipe Organ was built by Johann Wilhelm Wolff (1818-1894), who came to South Australia in 1849 from Lehe, near Bremerhaven in Germany. He was a noted South Australian organ builder from 1864 until 1881. The organ was opened at the Wesleyan Church, Port Adelaide on 13 May 1880. It was sold to the Congregational Church, Medindie, South Australia in 1911 and later to the Congregational Church, College Park, South Australia c.1942. It was in storage in SA from 2005 and was moved to St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church in Caulfield in 2010. It was restored by Hargraves Pipe Organs Pty Ltd in 2017 and is now in regular use at the church.
EVIDENCE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE VALUES HOW ARE THE CULTURAL HERITAGE VALUES EXPRESSED? It is still possible to understand the Wolff Pipe Organ as a historic musical instrument of German design because it retains the majority of its original fabric and sound. Documentary evidence confirms that the organ was constructed and in use in South Australia from 1880 to 2005. The organ has a strong historical association with South Australia. It is possible that after one or more generations (or approximately 25-30 years) in Victoria, the Wolff Pipe Organ may meet the threshold for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register for one or more criteria.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 3 RECOMMENDATION REASONS REASONS FOR NOT RECOMMENDING INCLUSION IN THE VICTORIAN HERITAGE REGISTER [s.40] Following is the Executive Director's assessment of the place against the tests set out in The Victorian Heritage Register Criteria and Thresholds Guidelines (2014).
CRITERION A Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history.
STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION A The place/object has a CLEAR ASSOCIATION with an event, phase, period, process, function, movement, custom or way of life in Victoria’s cultural history. Plus The association of the place/object to the event, phase, etc IS EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object and/or in documentary resources or oral history. Plus The EVENT, PHASE, etc is of HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE, having made a strong or influential contribution to Victoria.
Executive Director’s Response The Wolff Pipe Organ has a clear association with the production of music for churches. Church organs and their music are an important part of the liturgy in many churches. The custom of church music is of historical importance in Victoria’s history. The association of the Wolff Pipe Organ with church music is evident in the physical fabric of the object as a musical instrument. Contemporary newspapers document it being used to make music in churches in South Australia from 1880 to 2005. While church music made an influential contribution to Victoria, the Wolff Pipe Organ was primarily used to make church music in South Australia. Before 2010 it had not been played in any Victorian churches.
Criterion A is not likely to be satisfied.
CRITERION B Possession of uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of Victoria’s cultural history.
STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION B The place/object has a clear ASSOCIATION with an event, phase, period, process, function, movement, custom or way of life of importance in Victoria’s cultural history. Plus The association of the place/object to the event, phase, etc IS EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object and/or in documentary resources or oral history. Plus
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 4
The place/object is RARE OR UNCOMMON, being one of a small number of places/objects remaining that demonstrates the important event, phase etc. OR The place/object is RARE OR UNCOMMON, containing unusual features of note that were not widely replicated OR The existence of the class of place/object that demonstrates the important event, phase etc is ENDANGERED to the point of rarity due to threats and pressures on such places/objects.
Executive Director’s Response Despite being made in 1880 the conservative style of the organ dates from decades earlier. These types of organs are less common in Victoria than more elaborate organs, but they do exist and are not endangered to the point of rarity in Victoria. While many other organs have some wooden pipes, it is uncommon for almost all the pipes in the organ to be made of timber. These wooden pipes are visible when the organ case is disassembled. The metal pipes now in the Wolff Pipe Organ are likely to have been added some time after it was manufactured. Music played by the Wolff Pipe Organ exhibits the rarely heard sound and tone of organ music made with wooden pipes.
Criterion B is likely to be satisfied.
STEP 2: STATE LEVEL SIGNIFICANCE TEST FOR CRITERION B The place/object is RARE, UNCOMMON OR ENDANGERED within Victoria.
Executive Director’s Response Small conservative style organs are not rare in Victoria. Other examples exist, and unlike the Wolff Pipe Organ these were either made in Victoria or used in Victoria for extended periods of time. Almost all the pipes of the Wolff Pipe Organ are wooden, which was uncommon for the time. The highly skilled process of making the wooden organ pipes took place in South Australia. The subsequent use of the organ was mostly in South Australia not Victoria. The Wolff Pipe Organ has only been in Victoria since 2010.
Criterion B is not likely to be satisfied at the State level.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 5 CRITERION C Potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Victoria’s cultural history.
STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION C The: visible physical fabric; &/or documentary evidence; &/or oral history, relating to the place/object indicates a likelihood that the place/object contains PHYSICAL EVIDENCE of historical interest that is NOT CURRENTLY VISIBLE OR UNDERSTOOD. Plus From what we know of the place/object, the physical evidence is likely to be of an INTEGRITY and/or CONDITION that it COULD YIELD INFORMATION through detailed investigation.
Executive Director’s Response The manuals (keyboards), draw stops and foot pedals of the Wolff Pipe Organ demonstrate the complex way in which pipe organs are played. All this equipment is clearly visible and understood by viewing the organ from the front. A pipe organ expert and a pipe organ restorer have examined the interior of the Wolff Pipe Organ and have documented the organ pipes and other internal equipment and how they all operate together. The 2017 restoration of the organ has also been documented. All this documentation has been published on the website of the Organ Historical Trust of Australia. Further detailed investigation of the Wolff Pipe Organ would not reveal physical evidence of historical interest that is not currently visible or understood.
Criterion C is not likely to be satisfied.
CRITERION D Importance in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural places and objects.
STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION D The place/object is one of a CLASS of places/objects that has a clear ASSOCIATION with an event, phase, period, process, function, movement, important person(s), custom or way of life in Victoria’s history. Plus The EVENT, PHASE, etc is of HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE, having made a strong or influential contribution to Victoria. Plus The principal characteristics of the class are EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object.
Executive Director’s Response Church organs and their music are an important part of the liturgy in many churches. The custom of church music is of historical importance in Victoria’s history. The Wolff Pipe Organ demonstrates the principal characteristics of a church organ through its physical fabric.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 6 The association of the Wolff Pipe Organ with church music is evident in the physical fabric of the object. However documentary evidence confirms that the Wolff Pipe Organ has been in use in South Australia for longer than it has been in use in Victoria. The Wolff Pipe Organ has not made a strong or influential contribution to Victoria because the organ was primarily used in churches in South Australia not Victoria. The use of the Wolff Pipe Organ to produce church music is more likely to be of historical importance to South Australia than Victoria. While organs which produce music using mostly or only wooden pipes is less common in Victoria, this process is not of importance to Victoria’s history. The manufacture of smaller or chamber organs for houses and smaller churches is one aspect of pipe organ construction. The manufacture of pipe organs is an important custom in Victoria. But there are many other small historic pipe organs made and used in Victorian churches and the Wolff Pipe Organ was made and used in South Australia.
Criterion D is not likely to be satisfied.
CRITERION E Importance in exhibiting particular aesthetic characteristics.
STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION E The PHYSICAL FABRIC of the place/object clearly exhibits particular aesthetic characteristics.
Executive Director’s Response The case of the Wolff Pipe Organ is a simple Gothic design and is aesthetically pleasing. The overall sound of the Wolff Pipe Organ is said to be very distinctive, clear and bright, and impressive, belying its small size. There is a subtle tonal difference between organ music played on wooden organ pipes and organ music played on metal organ pipes.
Criterion E is likely to be satisfied.
STEP 2: STATE LEVEL SIGNIFICANCE TEST FOR CRITERION E The aesthetic characteristics are APPRECIATED OR VALUED by the wider community or an appropriately-related discipline as evidenced, for example, by: critical recognition of the aesthetic characteristics of the place/object within a relevant art, design, architectural or related discipline as an outstanding example within Victoria; or wide public acknowledgement of exceptional merit in Victoria in medium such as songs, poetry, literature, painting, sculpture, publications, print media etc.
Executive Director’s Response Currently the aesthetic characteristics of the Wolff Pipe Organ case can only be appreciated by visitors to and the congregation of the St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church and people who view the Wolff Pipe Organ’s webpage on the Organ Historical Trust of Australia’s website. There has not been critical recognition of the case of the organ as an outstanding example of a Gothic style organ case. This is in contrast to the critical recognition of the aesthetic characteristics of the elaborate Gothic style organ cases of the Fincham organ in the Church of All Nations, Carlton (VHR H1341) and the German made organ at St Kilian’s Bendigo (VHR H2179).
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 7 The distinctive, clear, bright, and impressive sound of the Wolff Pipe Organ and its wooden pipes is valued by the limited number of people able to hear it, not the wider community. The sound of the Wolff Pipe Organ has not received wide public acknowledgement in Victoria as being of exceptional merit.
Criterion E is not likely to be satisfied at the State level.
CRITERION F Importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period.
STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION F The place/object contains PHYSICAL EVIDENCE that clearly demonstrates creative or technical ACHIEVEMENT for the time in which it was created. Plus The physical evidence demonstrates a HIGH DEGREE OF INTEGRITY.
Executive Director’s Response The hand manufacture of wooden organ pipes is a technically difficult achievement as they must be made with extreme precision in order to play the correct notes. The construction and assembly of an organ with fully wooden pipes is a technical challenge. The original wooden pipes including the pipes for the German stops still survive and display a high degree of integrity because they have been carefully repaired to restore their original form and sound.
Criterion F is likely to be satisfied.
STEP 2: STATE LEVEL SIGNIFICANCE TEST FOR CRITERION F The nature &/or scale of the achievement is OF A HIGH DEGREE or ‘beyond the ordinary’ for the period in which it was undertaken as evidenced by: critical acclaim of the place/object within the relevant creative or technological discipline as an outstanding example in Victoria; or wide acknowledgement of exceptional merit in Victoria in medium such as publications and print media; or recognition of the place/object as a breakthrough in terms of design, fabrication or construction techniques; or recognition of the place/object as a successful solution to a technical problem that extended the limits of existing technology; or recognition of the place/object as an outstanding example of the creative adaptation of available materials and technology of the period.
Executive Director’s Response While the hand manufacture of wooden organ pipes is a skilled process, it is not beyond the ordinary for organ builders in the period in which it was undertaken. Other organs of this age have wooden pipes. The organ at St John’s Anglican Church in Beaufort has all wooden pipes while the Wolff Pipe Organ now has approximately two-thirds wooden pipes (after being made with all wooden Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 8 pipes). The sound of the wooden pipes of the Beaufort and Wolff Pipe Organs have received some acclaim by the Organ Historical Trust of Australia but not as outstanding examples in Victoria. While it was easier to make metal pipes to replicate the sound of string instruments, the skill needed to manufacture wooden organ pipes was not beyond the ordinary for the period in which it was undertaken. The process has not received critical acclaim or wide acknowledgement of being of exceptional merit. It was not a breakthrough technique, did not extend the limits of existing technology and is not an outstanding example of creative adaptation.
Criterion F is not likely to be satisfied at the State level.
CRITERION G Strong or special association with a particular present-day community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
STEP 1: A BASIC TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION G Evidence exists of a community or cultural group. (A community or cultural group is a group of people who share a common interest, including an experience, purpose, belief system, culture, ethnicity or values.) Plus Evidence exists of a strong attachment between the COMMUNITY OR CULTURAL GROUP and the place/object in the present-day context. Plus Evidence exists of a time depth to that attachment.
Executive Director’s Response The community groups who have a connection to the Wolff Pipe Organ are the congregation of St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, Caulfield, the members of the Organ Historical Trust of Australia and people who enjoy listening to organ music. The first two groups appear to have a strong attachment to the Wolff Pipe Organ. The organ has only been in the possession of the congregation of St Aloysius since 2010 so there is not yet a time depth to this attachment. The members of the Organ Historical Trust of Australia first viewed the organ in the mid- 1980s, indicating some time depth to this attachment but the organ was not in Victoria at this time.
Criterion G is not likely to be satisfied.
CRITERION H Special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in Victoria’s history.
STEP 1: A TEST FOR SATISFYING CRITERION H The place/object has a DIRECT ASSOCIATION with a person or group of persons who have made a strong or influential CONTRIBUTION to the course of Victoria’s history. Plus
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 9 The ASSOCIATION of the place/object to the person(s) IS EVIDENT in the physical fabric of the place/object and/or in documentary resources and/or oral history. Plus The ASSOCIATION: directly relates to ACHIEVEMENTS of the person(s) at, or relating to, the place/object; or relates to an enduring and/or close INTERACTION between the person(s) and the place/object.
Executive Director’s Response The organ is associated with Johann Wilhelm Wolff who made an influential contribution to the course of South Australia’s history in the area of organ building. Wolff did not make a strong or influential contribution to the course of Victoria’s history.
Criterion H is not likely to be satisfied.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 10 ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S ASSESSMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE [s.40] The Wolff Pipe Organ may be of significant to South Australia as an intact example of the work of early South Australian organ builder Johann Wilhelm Wolff.
RELEVANT INFORMATION Local Government Authority City of Glen Eira Heritage Overlay Yes, St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church is HO77 Heritage Overlay Controls Internal controls. Other Overlays Not applicable Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register Not applicable Other Listings National Trust B6028 Other Names St Aloysius' Catholic Church & J W Wolff Pipe Organ
Comments Heritage Victoria staff were not able to inspect the organ due to the COVID-19 shut down. This assessment has relied on information provided by John Maidment OAM, Organ Historical Trust of Australia (OHTA), Victorian Branch.
HISTORY Johann Wilhelm Wolff Johann Wilhelm Wolff (1818-1894) was born in Lehe, Germany, a small village later absorbed into Bremerhaven. He arrived in South Australia in 1849 on the Pauline and became a citizen in 1851. He worked as a cabinet maker, undertaker and joiner initially and does not appear to have started constructing organs until 1862 which was thirteen years after he arrived in Australia. One of his chamber organs won a gold medal at the 1867 Grand General Exhibition of the South Australian Agricultural and Horticultural Society. Wolff’s instruments were built for churches and private homes in Adelaide and other parts of South Australia. His business also imported German pianos from W. Biese and E. Seiler. Wolff was one of the most prolific local organ builders in South Australia from 1862 to 1881 and is known to have produced at least 22 organs. In 1881, he retired from organ building due to the arrival in Adelaide of organ builder J. E. Dodd, who with Arthur Hobday set up a local branch of George Fincham’s organ factory. He worked as a piano tuner and property developer until his death. The organs built by Johann Wilhelm Wolff were not large, being one or two-manual. This may reflect his training and experience. Wolff was a highly skilled organ builder and cabinet maker. One characteristic of his organs is the extensive use of wooden pipes. This may have been because the casting and rolling technology to make metal pipes was less readily available or may have been his preference or expertise. It is far more difficult to make wooden organ pipes than metal pipes as they must be very finely crafted in order to play in tune. This skill indicates that he must have had formal training in the craft of organ building. His organs sometimes included some German pipes. His cabinets vary in style from classical to Gothic, but all are skilfully constructed.
Wolff Pipe Organ The nominated two manual organ was one of the larger and the second last organ Wolff built before his retirement in 1881. It was purchased in 1880 from Wolff by the trustees of the Port Adelaide Wesleyan Church for £250, with its erection and incidental costs costing £50 more. Despite fundraising by the congregation, the church was left with a debt of £200. In May of 1880 William Richard Pybus opened (first played) the Wolff Pipe Organ “…displaying the admirable capabilities of the instrument by performing on it the solos Athalie (Mendelssohn), Andante (Batiste) and Silver Trumpets (Viviani).” Other contemporary accounts also noted the delicate and sweet sound produced by the organ.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 11 It is noted that the Gothic case of the Wolff Pipe Organ did not match the architecture of the Port Adelaide Wesleyan Church. Wolff built other organs in Gothic cases such as that at the Wesleyan Church, Magill, South Australia. The organ was acquired by the Congregational Church, Medindie, South Australia in 1916. A new stop and electric blower were added in 1926 at a cost of £75 of which the choir raised £40. In 1928 the choir held a church market to raise funds for improvements to the organ. The organ was sold to the Congregational Church, College Park, South Australia c.1942, which later became the Seventh Day Adventist Church. It was placed into storage in South Australia in 2005. The organ was saved from proposed destruction by St Aloysius Roman Catholic Church in Caulfield in 2010 which had not had an organ since the late 1920s. The organ featured in the 2011 Catholic Organ Symposium and was restored by Hargraves Pipe Organs in 2017. The organ is played unaccompanied and also accompanies hymns and the Creed in the traditional Latin Liturgy practiced at St Aloysius. The tone of the organ is particularly suited for these purposes and for the acoustics of the church. The overall sound is said to be very distinctive, clear and bright, and impressive, belying its small size. Church organ music The function of organ music in Christian churches could be summarised by the statement on this subject by the Second Vatican Council which said “The pipe organ is to be held in high esteem in the Latin Church, since it is its traditional instrument, the sound of which can add a wonderful splendor (sic) to the Church's ceremonies and powerfully lift up men's minds to God and higher things.” Liturgical organ-playing takes different forms: solo such as preludes, chorale settings, and postludes, accompanying hymns and other liturgical vocal music, as well as the non-liturgical organ music concerts which take place in some churches. For example, one of the organists who played the Wolff Pipe Organ while it was in Menindie was Ernest Hudson. Hudson was also the choir master and said to have given the church’s choir an ‘enviable reputation in the area’ indicating the importance of combined organ and choral music at the time.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 12 CONSTRUCTION DETAILS Designer name: Johann Wilhelm Wolff Architectural style name: Gothic Builder name: Johann Wilhelm Wolff Construction started date: c. 1880 Construction ended date: 1880
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION The Wolff Pipe Organ is approximately 2.7m tall, 2.5m wide and 1.5m deep. The case is made of a red coloured softwood and is French polished with shellac. There are dummy wooden semicircular pipes with flat backs at the front of the organ which are gilded to imitate metal pipes. The case is carved in the Gothic revival style with canopies and finials. The design of the narrow finials on the case look similar to the openwork spires found on Gothic and Gothic revival churches in Northern Europe. Church spire style finials are a common termination for the posts of organ cases. The organ is a simple but functional design which is stylistically more like organs built many decades earlier. Even in the 1880s, it would have been old fashioned because it was designed to have a delicate sound and does not include symphonic sounds designed to emulate an orchestra. It also does not have an elaborate range of stops as did other organs of the time. Another unusual aspect is that the majority of the speaking (functional) pipes inside the organ are made from a softwood timber. The pedal board is also made of timber as is the case with most organs. The wooden bellows, reservoir and feeders are sealed with leather. There are two slider windchests for the Great and Swell division which are made from softwood There are two manuals (keyboards) each with 56 keys plated with ivory. One is the ‘Great’ manual and the other is the ‘Swell’ manual. An organ stop is the component that draws pressurized air (known as wind) to a set of organ pipes. The organ stops are operated by knobs or draw stops. The five stops for the Great Manual are located on the left of the console and the four stops for the Swell Manual are on the right which is unusual. The draw stops on the Wolff Pipe Organ are made from timber with ivory inserts. Most of the stops are typical of English organs for example Open Diapason, Clarabella and Dulciana and unusually, three are German; Suavial, Lieblich Gedackt and Salice. The pipes inside the organ range in size from 2ft to 16 feet, some are stopped with timber plugs or lead caps. The pipes of three of the ten stops are wholly or partially of metal. The presence of the German stops and the wooden pipes creates a distinctive tone which makes the organ sound different to other English style organs of the same age which typically used metal pipes. Wooden pipes have a subtle tonal difference to metal pipes in the same way that wooden wind instruments sound different to the equivalent metal instruments.
INTEGRITY/INTACTNESS Intactness – The intactness of the organ is very good. The organ retains the majority of its original case and fabric. The organ’s rare mechanical 'push-up' action is still present. Originally air would have been supplied to the organ by hand blowing feeders. These are still present. The original Wolff nameplate is missing. Approximately two-thirds of the original wooden pipes remain, the remainder have been replaced with metal pipes. The Dulciana stop (set of pipes) is not original but has been present for some time. This may be the new stop added in 1926. The Open Diapason had also been modified, probably in an attempt to Anglicise the sound. (October 2017) Integrity – The cultural heritage values of the object can be easily read and heard in the extant fabric. The organ case is still in its original form and the console, dummy pipes, pedals, speaking pipes and their couplers (connectors) are still present and connected. The recent restoration has improved the integrity of the place by removing later accretions which had obscured the original form, decoration and sound of the
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 13 organ, and by adjusting the newer metal pipes to blend acoustically with the original wooden pipes. These works have returned the organ to its original German sound/tone. In 2017 three new finials were attached to the case, replacing originals which had been removed. The original central cross finial was replaced with a cedar fleur-de-lys finial from a pew formerly at St Mary's, North Melbourne. The other two replacement fleur-de-lys finials were newly carved to copy the new central finial. These finials are a little larger and slightly different in format than the originals appear to have been but are sympathetic to the Gothic style of the organ and do not detract from its integrity. An electric blower was first installed in 1926. This item is likely to have been replaced several times and the current blower was installed in 2010 inside the organ case. Almost all historic organs are now electrically blown to enable them to continue in use. These changes are not visible and are part of the normal use of any historic organ and do not affect the integrity of the Wolff Pipe Organ. (October 2017)
CONDITION The organ is currently in excellent condition. When the organ arrived in Caulfield in 2010 the casework in particular was in very poor condition. Some panels were missing and had been replaced with plywood and the timber was split in other areas. In 2017 it was fully restored to close to its original condition by Hargraves Pipe Organs Pty Ltd. (October 2017)
COMPARISONS Organs with wooden pipes
Organ - St Johns Anglican Church, Beaufort (Not in VHR. National Trust B4849) This is a single-manual organ of five stops. All the stops have English names. It has a modern layout but has all wooden pipes. Its history and maker are unknown, and it is in somewhat original condition. It has a classical style case which appears to have been refinished more recently with paint and graining. This is in contrast to its console which is varnished timber. It has gilded wooden, flat-back dummy façade pipes.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 14 Organs made by European organ makers St Kilian’s Catholic Church, Bendigo (VHR H1341) The organ included in the registration of St Kilian’s was built in Paderborn, Germany by August Randebrock in 1860, and moved to St Kilian’s in 1888. It is one of the two largest nineteenth century European organs in Victoria and is especially notable for its elaborately carved casework and unusual console located at the side of the instrument. The style of the St Kilian’s organ is typical of earlier and more conservative German builders. The St Kilian’s organ is large and has a very wide tonal palette. The layout of the St Kilian’s organ has the principal windchest placed above the subsidiary one. The St Kilian’s organ has mostly metal pipes but includes timber pipes for the pedal ranks and some for manual stops. Most of the burnished tin pipes at the front are real not dummy pipes. The St Kilian’s organ has some German stops and is a two-manual instrument with an unusual console when compared to English organs of the period.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 15 Merklin-Schütze Pipe Organ, Bayswater (VHR H2160) The Merklin-Schütze organ (constructed in 1870) is historically significant as the largest European organ exported to Australia during the nineteenth century, and the only large example of the French Symphonic Romantic school of organ building surviving in Australia in substantially original form. The firm of Merklin-Schütze was the major determining influence on the French Romantic organ building style, and many French organ composers of the late nineteenth century wrote their music with the sounds of this type of instrument in mind. Organs in Australia designed for the playing of a particular section of the organ repertoire, which has now achieved international artistic recognition, are extremely rare. The instrument is aesthetically significant for its symphonic tonal qualities and for the unusual mechanical arrangements, which permit the Date unknown, Merklin-Schütze Pipe Organ, Image OHTA accurate interpretation of such composers as Guilmant, Widor and Vierne.
Organs with Gothic style cases Church of All Nations, Carlton (VHR H2179) 1877 The pipe organ was built by George Fincham in 1877 and he completed it in 1886. The case is Gothic in style. The organ is largely intact apart from the installation of electric blowing and the fitting of tuning slides to the metal pipework, which is entirely of spotted metal (a tin and lead alloy - when the pipe is cast spots develop on the surface). The original mechanical key and stop actions, console, casework and splendid pipe decorations survive unaltered. Fincham operated from 1864 until his death in 1910. He was the most important and prolific organ builder in 19th century Victoria. His level of technical skill was such that he could build organs on the grandest scale. In addition, he supplied pipework and parts to organ builders throughout Australia and New Zealand. The Church of All Nations organ incorporates
a standard Gothic case design that Fincham 2008, Fincham Organ, 1877, Church of All Nations, Carlton. HV used in many other places, for example image
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 16 Armadale Baptist Church, Uniting Church, Preston and Uniting Church, South Yarra (case destroyed). The prototype Gothic case was made in 1874 for the organ now in St Ignatius Church, Richmond (VHR H2146) and it is likely that the case components such as corbels, brackets and finials were mass produced.
Fincham Organ, St Ignatius' Church Complex, Richmond VHR H2146. OHTA image
Early small organs Moyle Pipe Organ, St Linus' Anglican Church, Merlynston (VHR H2159) The Moyle organ now in St Linus' Anglican Church was built, probably in the 1850s, by James Moyle of Prahran, who was among the first organ builders in Melbourne. Little is known of the history of the organ. It is likely to have been built for a private home and was subsequently located in several other churches in Victoria. It is a small instrument of chamber organ dimensions, with a distinctive Gothic style case. There are three flats of gilded wooden dummy pipes on the front of the instrument. The cornice of the case is crenellated and the music desk, carved in oak, incorporates a lyre motif. The casework is of pine which has been stained and finished to resemble cedar. The original builder's nameplate survives. The wooden pipework bears the impressed mark 'J. Moyle', but the metal pipework was almost certainly imported.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 17 Pipe Organ, St Luke's Lutheran Church Bunbury Street, Cavendish (PROV VHR H2404) The organ is among the two earliest of local manufacture in Victoria to survive and is very likely to have been built in the late 1850s by Jesse Biggs, an English organ builder who had trained with Gray & Davison, London before his arrival in Melbourne in 1856. The cedar casework is in the Gothic style. The flats are all filled with gilt dummy 'flatback' pipes. It appears that the finials surmounting the case posts have been removed. There are scrolled keycheeks and script drawstop engraving. The organ was first installed at the United Free Methodist Church in Collingwood in 1858. It was then in private ownership and other Methodist Churches in Victoria before being installed at St Luke's Lutheran Church in Cavendish in 2001.
Pipe Organ, St James-the-Great Anglican Church, Inkerman Street, East St Kilda (Not recommended for the VHR in 1996. National Trust B4862) The current organ at the church was built by Samuel Joscelyne, Launceston, Tasmania for his home in York Street, probably in the mid-1860s. It was sold in 1924 to Burnie Baptist Church, Tasmania and remained intact until circa 1973 when an ill-advised electrification took place and it was disassembled. Eventually the parts were moved to Melbourne, the remaining original parts were reconstructed, a number of new components were added, and the restored organ was installed at St James in 1988.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 18 Beechworth Town Hall, Ford St, Beechworth
This organ is an example of English organ-building circa 1850-1860. Its early history is unknown but thought to be of English origin. Apart from additions made in 1931 it remains in substantially original form. The pipework, being made up of second-hand odd lots, is older than the organ. It is difficult to assess if its sound is original. The classical style organ case is damaged, and the finish is not original. It has been located in a number of churches. The organ was used in the Beechworth Town Hall from 1886 to 1910 and has recently been returned there after the closure of St Alban's Anglican Church.
SUMMARY OF COMPARISONS Organs with wooden pipes The organ at Beaufort has all wooden pipes while only two-thirds of the pipes of the Wolff Pipe Organ are wooden. Many other organs have a few wooden pipes especially for making flute-like sounds. An organ with all or mostly wooden pipes will have a different tone to a pipe organ with all or mostly metal pipes. While different pipe materials do create a subtle difference in tone, this is not a contributor to State level significance when compared to the sound of pipe organs in general. It is technically difficult to make wooden pipes so the maker must have had some training unless the pipes were acquired from elsewhere. Almost all Victorian organ builders made their own wooden pipes
The Beaufort organ is the only other example in Victoria of an organ with all wooden pipes. Unlike the Wolff Pipe Organ it has a history connected to Victoria and all its pipes are wooden. The Beaufort organ is smaller than the Wolff Pipe Organ and does not have any German stops names as the Wolff Pipe Organ does. It does not have the same unusual or old-fashioned layout as the Wolff Pipe Organ. There are similarities between the organ at Beaufort and the Wolff Pipe Organ including the size and gilded dummy pipes on the facade. These types of gilded dummy pipes are very common in smaller organs. The history of the Wolff Pipe Organ is known but it was constructed and mostly used in South Australia. The maker and early history of the Beaufort organ is not known but it has been used in Victoria since 1908.
Organs made by European organ makers In total there are four historic organs in Victoria made by non-Anglo Europeans: The Wolff Pipe Organ The St Kilian’s organ (VHR H1341) The Merklin-Schütze Pipe Organ (VHR H2160) A Merklin & Cie organ, not in the VHR. This was built in 1889 and is located at the Convent Chapel of Sacre Coeur Girl’s School (Brynmawr), Glen Iris.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 19 The St Kilian’s and Merklin-Schütze organs are far larger and musically more complex than the Wolff Pipe Organ. While the Wolff Pipe Organ is a smaller and more humble European style organ, European style organs are a minor subset of pipe organ types and not of significance to Victoria because of their size or design. The other European style organs have been used in Victoria for many years unlike the Wolff Pipe Organ. While the Wolff Pipe Organ was made in 1880, its style reflects German organ building practice from when Wolff left Germany in 1849. The St Kilian’s organ dating from 1860 reflects a similar practice. Both the Wolff and the St Kilian organs have a conservative tonal scheme, which has survived without alteration. The layouts of these two organs differ and the St Kilian’s organ has mostly metal pipes but includes timber pipes for the pedal ranks and some for manual stops. Most of the burnished tin pipes at the front are not dummy pipes as on the Wolff Pipe Organ and are silver rather than gold in colour. The St Kilian’s organ has some German stops as does the Wolff Pipe Organ. While the St Kilian’s organ is a two-manual organ as is the Wolff Pipe Organ, it is far larger and more elaborate than the Wolff Pipe Organ with a far broader range. The St Kilian’s organ also has an unusual console compared to English organs of the period as does the Wolff Pipe Organ. While German and European organs are of specialist interest, German and European style organs are not a significant group of organs in Victoria. Organs with Gothic style cases Approximately three-quarters of historic churches in Victoria are Gothic in style, and it seems that a similar ratio may apply to the design of the cases of church organs, many of which are also Gothic. This style can be seen in large and elaborate organs such as the Fincham organs at many churches including the Church of All Nations (VHR H2179), St Ignatius Richmond (VHR H2146), St Kilian’s (VHR H1341) and the Merklin-Schütze (VHR H2160) Pipe Organs. Other Gothic style organs are smaller with a less complex case design such as the Moyle (VHR H2159) and Cavendish (PROV VHR H2404) organs. These have simple Gothic style cases similar to that of the Wolff Pipe Organ, while the St Albans and St James-the-Great organs are also small but with Classical style cases. The Gothic style case of the Wolff Pipe Organ is common in Victoria. George Fincham one of the most important organ builders in Victoria was responsible for supplying Gothic Style organs to many churches in Victoria. In contrast, Johann Wolff always lived and worked in South Australia and his organs are more likely to be significant to South Australia than Victoria. Small early organs Small, early organs are an important sub-group of organs in Victoria. The Wolff Pipe Organ is similar in appearance to many other early organs having a furniture like case, a small number of stops and gilded dummy pipes at the front. The Moyle (VHR H2159) and Cavendish (PROV VHR H2404) organs were made in Victoria, while the St Albans organ was made in the UK. All have been used in Victoria for 120-170 years. The St James-the-Great organ was made in Tasmania and has only been in Victoria since 1988. The Wolff Pipe Organ was made in South Australia and only relocated to Victoria in 2010 and has little connection to Victoria.
KEY REFERENCES USED TO PREPARE ASSESSMENT Anon., Opening of the New Organ at the Port Wesleyan Church. (1880, May 15). Port Adelaide News (SA : 1878 - 1883), p. 7. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195863874 Anon., CHURCH MARKET (1928, March 7). News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), p. 4 (HOME EDITION). http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129337341 Anon., CHURCH CHOIRS (1928, December 6). News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), p. 4 (HOME EDITION). http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article129212014 . Anon., ABOUT IT AND ABOUT (1929, August 10).The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954), p. 2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5861745
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 20 Hargraves, C, Hargraves Organs, May 2020, Personal Communication Lewis, M., Neale, A., Phillips, W., Maidment, J., & Moore, M., et al. 1991, Victorian churches, National Trust of Australia (Victoria), Melbourne Maidment, J., The Organ Historical Trust of Australia (OHTA), May 2020, Personal Communication Newman Parish, Undated, Sacred Music. https://newmanparish.org/sacred-music.html The Organ Historical Trust of Australia (OHTA) website and Gazetteer https://www.ohta.org.au/ Peitsalo, P., Jullander, S. and Kuikka, M., 2018, Liturgical Organ Music in the Long Nineteenth Century. Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki DocMus Research Publications, vol. 10, https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/230100/Liturgical_organ_music_WEB.pdf?sequence=4 Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Musicam Sacram, Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, 1967, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat- ii_instr_19670305_musicam-sacram_en.html Shield, D, Johann Wolff – South Australian Organbuilder, OHTA News Volume 45 No 2, May 2020
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 21 ADDITIONAL IMAGES
2017, Wolff Pipe Organ console and gilded dummy pipes, image by Chris Steward, OHTA.
2011, Wolff Organ in Caulfield showing missing finials (before restoration) image by John Maidment, OHTA.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 22
2017, Wolff Organ at Caulfield after restoration. The new left and right finials appear to be larger and a different shape to those in the original, see image below, image by Trevor Bunning, OHTA.
1932, Wolff Pipe Organ at Medindie Congregational Church, South Australia. Image from David Shield, OHTA.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 23
2017, Wolff Organ stops. Image by Trevor Bunning, OHTA.
2011, Pedal board. Image by John Maidment, OHTA. 2011, Wolff Organ interior. Image by John Maidment, OHTA.
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 24
2011, Wolff Organ timber pipes showing timber and lead caps. Image by Image by John Maidment, OHTA.
Opening of the New Organ at the Port Wesleyan Church. (1880, May 15).Port Adelaide News (SA : 1878 - 1883), p. 7. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195863874
Name: Wolff Pipe Organ Hermes Number: 165958 Page | 25