Incorporating the Griggs Family History -
(A dynamic document under continuous research)
to my UNUSUAL PAGE !
SOMETHING HERE FOR EVERYONE!
Incorporating the Griggs Family History -
(A dynamic document under continuous research)
to my UNUSUAL PAGE !
SOMETHING HERE FOR EVERYONE!
Qualified Environmental
Health and Building Surveyor - ( in the OLDEN DAYS called Health
Inspectors) - in August 2008 will
"celebrate" 45
years in Local Government;
Yes it is true
that
when I started at Willoughby Council in 1963, they were still using
steam rollers, and burning household garbage in the Walter Burley
Griffin Incinerator!* After 20
years at 2 North Shore (Sydney) Councils, branched out into a
hobby-career: (Piano Tuner and Technician - "Academy
Tuning - North West Piano Services",
established 1983) ; returned to Local Government briefly in 1987,
and 1989, (also NSW Dept. of Health Food Branch 1990-92); later
re-established the piano business in conjunction with other
activities, returned to Local Government in 1996, spent four years
2000-2003 as an Archivist in a private school, and
finally returned "home" to Local Government in 2003. At the same time,
took over a
business in another totally different environment in partnership with
my wife Jenny.
OTHER DALLIANCES INCLUDE..........
Thirty five years an Anglican Church Organist - St. John's Anglican Church Balmain*; Previously at St. John's Anglican Church, Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW (1994 - 1999) ; Holy Trinity (The Garrison Church) Sydney, Castle Hill Baptist and Castle Hill Presbyterian Church, St Paul's Castle Hill, St. Barnabas' Westmead, St. Dunstan's Denistone East.
*Part 1 of the Story of this Church & the 1913 Griffin & Leggo organ appears here! CLICK
Author of "The Story of the Arcadia Theatre" (1972), "130 Years of Organ Music" (1997)
Amateur Organ Builder, officiando of Reproducing Pianos (Welte-Mignon, Ampico, Duo-Art), Edison Cylinder and Diamond Disc Phonographs, 3D Photography, Local History and any other remotely relevant field. Restorer of classic cars - past SS Registrar, magazine Editor and Membership Secretary, Jaguar Drivers Club of NSW**; Euphonium player - (ex- William Clarke College "Clefhangers" and the "Harmonix" Concert Band.)
Amateur Radio Operator VK2WR / VK2CQD (Titanic anniversary station) Titanic enthusiast and researcher: Go to the Titanic pages
FUR - BABIES! WHAT IS MY FAVOURITE
DOG BREED? I wonder? Maltese - fluffy white
bundles of joy! The dogs who forget to grow up! Intelligent, loving,
devoted and playful. What more could you want in a pet? My first
Maltese, Ziggy, was bought by default as I thought I once owned one*!
He's now about 8, but the latest acquisition, Miki, was 6 on 25th
November 2007! Here are some photos: *(actually
it was a West
Highland
White Terrier!) Spring 2002 at Ingleburn - Miki
among the azaleas! Miki at 7 weeks! How
soon we forget! Miki at 13 weeks-
almost grown up!
Oh yes, and I ONLY DRIVE MERCEDES BENZ !*
ICG 000 & ICG 001 at Tamworth
A
rare site! Two
consecutive number plates a world apart- found by accident!
The
chances that the two numbers would occur on two Mercedes are slim
indeed!
Links to tavourite Mercedes-Benz sites soon!!
* * 
* *
Perhaps
the best
shape of all - the classic W126
This was my 1982 280SE
To keep up with all the other websites, blogs and
MySpaces
listing "Classic Cars I have owned" here's my list:
Jaguars: 1959 MkI 2.4, 1961 MkII 3.4, 1966 S type 3.8, 1966
S type 3.4, 1960 Mk X, 1966 420, 1973 XJ6,
1950 Mk 5 Drophead
coupe;
Mercedes-Benz: 1977 230, 1978 280E, 1980 230CE, 1974 280S,
1974 450SE, 1984 126 280SE, 1981 126 280SE, 1988 W124 300E. My
favourite? The 450SE
shown above right, of course!
Painting of RMS Titanic by Chris Tyrer, Hazelbrook NSW
LINKS TO CHRIS TYRER'S OCEAN LINERS PAGES HERE SOON!
This one for the Orcades will whet your appetite for more:
( From "STAY IN TOUCH" - Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday, August 5, 1997)
A Man Who Never Was
HERESIES
Australia's last survivor of the sinking of the Titanic finally passed into history yesterday at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium, with about 20 mourners. He was William Hall, who died last Tuesday aged 95. Let us put this another way ... One of Sydney's great hoaxers passed into history yesterday at the Northern Suburbs Crematorium. He was Willi Hall, who had never been anywhere near the Titanic but who managed to fool many people in and out of the media (including the Sydney Daily Telegraph, which The story William Hall told was that, as an 11 year old child, he had been on theTitanic with his mother, who was escaping England and her husband with a lover. He was woken around midnight on April 14, 1912, and put into a lifeboat by one of the ship's matrons. He was picked up soon afterwards, but "I lost mum; I did not know where she was; I never saw her again". Hall arrived in Australia in 1922, got married and lived with his wife Margaret in Rose Bay, working as a greenkeeper at the Royal Sydney golf course. He told the Titanic story many times. When the remains of the ship were found on the sea bottom in 1985,he was interviewed on television and often appeared in newspaper articles. But in 1993, Ian Griggs, a member of the Titanic Historical Society in Sydney, began interviewing Hall for a book he hoped to write. "It was so exciting to think we had a real live one here," Ian Griggs told the Herald's Honey Webb yesterday. Hall had been able to name the lifeboat he was rescued in and even pointed himself out as a small boy in a photograph. But some things were not adding up. For one, he could not be found on any of the passenger lists. After months of searching for proof, Ian Griggs finally phoned Hall's nephew in England.The nephew said the Titanic story had been developed by the family to hide the scandal of Hall's mother's disappearance with her beau. Hall later admitted to Griggs that he had been lying. "None of it ever happened," Griggs said. "Once he'd started spreading the legend it got out of hand". And Hall's mother? She wasn't on the Titanic either. She apparently died of typhoid in 1916 after eating a bad oyster.
We think we have the answer at last!
The 80th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic precipitated world-wide interest in the deathless story of this great White Star liner, surpassed probably only by the discovery of the wreck in 1985 and the release of James Cameron's movie in 1997.
The writer's dormant but fervent interest in the Titanic awoke back in 1972 (the 60th Anniversary) upon hearing interviews with survivors on the car radio one afternoon. After this a junk sale purchase of "SOS Titanic" by Jack Piler (Futura, 1980) for 5c really got things moving and another activity was added to the family's long list of weekend interests, although other events were responsible for a far more time-consuming involvement.
After pressure from a number of friends who we were astonished to find also held a long term (and in some cases far deeper) affection for matters Titanic, we held our first anniversary night on 14th April 1992. These continued for a number of years, some being more spectacular than others........the 81st had the distinction of having a survivor as guest of honour, but that's another story (which will be related on this page.) Contacts were made with many people who had first hand (albeit in some cases vague) connections with the Titanic; a distant cousin of Harold Bride the No.2 Radio Officer; Joyce Leslie, cousin of the Countess of Rothes; old George Wallace, who at age 8 walked over the decks of the ship during its 1911 fit-out in company of his uncle, an employee of Harland and Woolf; Peter Jensen, author of "Early Radio" (Kangaroo, 1994) who has visited and photographed every site of relevance to the Titanic and to the Marconi Company who played such an important part in the drama - his replica Marconi spark gap coil was put to spectacular use in 1993 as the writer tapped out one of the Titanic's distress calls in morse code with a 4 inch spark lighting up the darkened room; White Star Line pennants have decorated the house, while guests consumed goodies such as Waldorf Pudding and Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly, both from aTitanic first class menu. The publication of "Last Dinner on the Titanic" by Archbold and McCauley (A & U 1997) will bring forth an authentic Titanic dinner with all the trimmings!
The writer's amateur radio station ran hot from 10th-15th April 1992 as the Special Event station VK2MGY (MGY was the Titanic's radio callsign) and my VK2WR called for contacts around the world. A special double QSL card was printed and sent out to all stations logged - over 2000! A station in the USA running a similar event was contacted but I think the highlight was an exchange of cards with Fred Osbourne, VO1CQD, the operator at Cape Race Newfoundland on 15th April. This was an exciting but tiring five days; old hams were many who had stories to tell about their days at sea or as Wartime wireless operators. At 2.20am Atlantic time on 15th April the plug was pulled and the airwaves mysteriously also went quiet. Many of the contacts were made in CW (Morse Code), the only truly authentic mode for such an event!
The following year I was lucky to obtain the callsign VK2CQD - readers should note that "CQD" was until 1908 the accepted maritime distress call. Some of the Titanic's calls were made using CQD while some were made using SOS or both - Captain Smith is alledged to have told Phillips and Bride the radio operators - "Try the new SOS boys, it might be your last chance to use it!" It may not have been Harold Bride's last chance but it certainly was for Jack Phillips, who as we know perished on an upturned lifeboat before the arrival of the Carpathia.
Atmospheric conditions over the last few years have not helped radio contacts on 20 metres - the last special event station I ran last year managed only a few contacts - the downturn of interest in Amateur Radio in favour of the Internet and other more sophisticated means of communication hasn't helped either - although I suppose without the WWW you wouldn't be reading this! Conditions have improved dramatically though this year and all being well the 95th Anniversary station and those leading up to it will probably be more successful. I think a Centenary Station in 2012 might be the last though!
Working conditions of the station this year included a Yaesu FT102 HF Transceiver (about 180W PEP), to a three element 20m Yagi at 50 feet. The old post office hand key just keeps tapping away while a new Vibroplex hasn't yet seen the light of day!
GO TO OTHER RADIO PURSUITS HERE
The QE2 at Sydney Harbour terminal 12th February 2003
The
Queen Elizabeth 2 departing
beautiful
Sydney Harbour February 1990
The QE2 departs Sydney on a glorious summer afternoon in February 2006
There are many ways for
Titanica pilgrims to relive the dramatic experience of the events of
April 1912- you can visit Belfast, the Harland and Woolf shipyards,
Liverpool, the Southampton Docks, even Queenstown or have lunch on a
tender moored in the Seine. And of course there are the innumerable
museums with their own "unique" Titanic memoribilia, memorials all
over Britain, and the cemetery at Halifax Nova Scotia.
But the ultimate trip, and in fact one of the world's last great sea journeys, is to cross the Atlantic in April, westwards, of course, from Southampton to New York, virtually sailing right over the Titanic's wreck site 4kms deep below you.
We took this moving journey in April 1998 on the last great true ocean liner, Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 - commissioned in 1969 and still circumnavigating the globe in elegance and style year after year.
This year was unseasonally cold, but the first two days out also delivered a blustering wind with a force 9 gale and thick fogs to put paid to the idea of leisurely sun-baking on deck, or indeed even venturing on the forward observation deck.
Cunard caters well for Titanic enthusiasts, with numerous books in the library and for sale in the Ocean Bookshop; on board this trip was James Villas, writer and Titanic officiando, who delivered three fascinating illustrated lectures to us in the Theatre.
On the Sunday morning however, the fifth day out, observers of the Global Positioning System screens as displayed on our cabin TVs were surprised to see the position of the Titanic wreck suddenly appear as a red cross........... then the outline of our ship slowly but surely crept closer, when by 6.20am we were as close to it as we were to be on that trip, about 58 nautical miles NORTH - not south as one would have expected; but there was ne'er an iceberg in sight! Members of the QE2 crew though, lost no time in letting us know of many iceberg sightings over the years .........
Then our little TV ship moved further and further away, and the red cross disappeared off the screen.
The entrance into New York the following Tuesday, heralded by a 4am start to catch the pilot embarking, is surely one of the QE2s World Cruise highlights - (rivalled only by the entrance into Sydney Harbour!) At about 6.30am the ship's huge single funnel slipped easily (an optical illusion of collision always frightens first timers) under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge; past the down-town skyscrapers (the impressive WTC twin towers of course, always brought a gasp- after 9/11 though, once more the Empire State stands proud and defiant as the tallest building in NYC!) and derelict wharves of earlier days, the QE2 leans almost imperceptively to port as passengers crowd the rails to catch a glimpse of Lady Liberty!
A short time, much too short, we are at the terminal, to be bombarded by the sights sounds and smells of New York City, with the taxi queue bringing us all back to reality with a jolt........
The QE2 departs Sydney on 18th February 2004 - what a sight!
COMING SOON!
The maiden voyage of the
Queen Mary to Sydney 2007
The maiden voyage of the Queen
Victoria to Sydney 2008
The last voyage of the QE2 to
Sydney 2008
With
streaming videos of each event!
VK2WR
"These
messages were transmitted by arrangement with Senatore G. Marconi,
G.C.V.O.,
D.Sc. & Godfrey C. Isaacs Esq. Managing Director, Marconi Wireless
Telegraph Company, Limited, from the Marconi Transatlantic Station at
Carnarvon,
W.
M.
Hughes. Prime Minister
Joseph Cook. Minister for Navy.
A shipbuilder in the family? Until I started the Griggs Family History in June 2000, I had no idea that my Great-Great-Grandfather George Griggs (1808-1863) was a shipwright. Why he built the Huon Chief in 1849 will maybe never be known, but it is no doubt the reason that the Census of 1851 shows the family home as "incomplete." Does this mean the Griggses never completed jobs they started? I have no comment.
Here are some photos, articles and a poem about this famous Huon and Derwent Rivers icon:
HUON CHIEF - Specification - From papers in possession of David Griggs of Franklin.
One deck, 2 masts; length from the inner part of the main stem to the fore part of the stern aloft is 58 ft. 4/10.
The breadth midships is 14 ft. 5/10.
Depth in hold midships is 4 ft. 7/10.
(First) Schooner rigged with a standing bowsprit - square stem, cornel built .
No galleries - no figure head - wood. She is a sailing vessel.
Registered 16/11/1853. George Griggs, builder.
Original papers are held at Narryna Folk Museum, Battery Point.
From "Built to Last" (Graeme-Evans & Wilson) Kingston Tasmania, 1996: 50
Huon Chief: Originally built on the Huon River in 1849 by George Griggs. Dimensions: Length 61.5', Beam 16.8', Depth 4.4', Tonnage 27.76 tons. In 1876 hauled up at Martin's Point and sheathed, it is reputed, in Huon Pine. Her undersheathing was blue gum. The objective was to provide her with a greater boat speed. Subsequently a great competitor in the Hobart Regatta First and Second Class and Trading Vessels races.
First Class and later Trading Vessels Division: 2nd 1884, 2nd 1897, 3rd 1928, 2nd 1929, 2nd 1931, 3rd 1933, 3rd 1934, 1937, 1946, 2nd 1950. Second Class Division: 1st 1896, 2nd 1901, 1902, 1903 and 1914.
From "Built to Last" (Graeme-Evans & Wilson) Kingston Tasmania, 1996: 72
The story behind this major overhaul task for the Huon Chief in the late 1930s was that by then most remaining timber sailing craft had their own small engines, be it petrol, diesel or whatever. One of the greatest hazards thereafter, was the uncontrolled ignition of volatile vapours in confined spaces on board such modified vessels. Such an explosion occurred below deck on the Huon Chief while she occupied a berth in Victoria Dock, Hobart, in 1938. It almost served as her deathknell, for it lifted the deck, blew out the bulkheads, and burnt the sails and rigging. It almost cost "Watty" Ricardson, a well known identity, his life. The glare of the burning petrol and sails running up the vessel's 76-foot set of masts was quite a spectacle at the time, attracting hundreds of sightseers to view the apparently stricken vessel. A public subscription was immediately invoked to save the old lady, and sufficient money was raised to have her restored into working trim at the Wilsons' Robleys Point yard.
From: "The Romance of the Huon River"
The Huon Chief was the first vessel to be rigged as a schooner. She was built in 1849 and is still going strong.
She even takes part in Regatta races, sometimes racing home before the other competitors.
How the folks cheer as she passes the winning line and the gun is fired! What a shout goes up! Good old Chief! Oh, ain't she a beaut!
She is certainly a great credit to her builders and the good Huon timber put into her.
The Huon Chief (part) by Sydney Wilson
The Story of the Arcadia Theatre Chatswood
Written in 1970-72 and published by Willoughby Municipal Council (printed by Mockridge Bulmer, Willoughby), this early work by Ian Griggs traces the history of a typical Sydney suburban cinema, the Chatswood Arcadia, from 1915 to its closure in 1961.Brought about primarily by the restoration of the theatre's 1926 2/10 WurliTzer organ, the story covers a much wider field, and was hailed by theatre historians as a grass roots contribution to a small part of a wider social history of which little was written until recent years.
The Mighty WurliTzer of the Chatswood Arcadia was installed in 1926, opened by American Eddie Horton, and closed in 1961, Ron West playing around the prophetic session of "Last Days of Pompeii". In 1972, the organ was installed in the new Willoughby Civic Centre, the author playing a feature spot to a celebrity audience.
The book was sold out of its original limited first edition of only 1000 copies, and was reprinted by the Council in an inferior format some years later. This edition also sold out and now copies of either edition are extremely rare. Photographs and building plans of long-demolished Sydney cinemas such as the Willoughby Royal, Northbridge and Chatswood Esquire were among the illustrations; some of these are about to appear in a reprint of Barry Sharp's book, "A Pictorial History of Cinemas of New South Wales", Volume I, a work of extraordinary research and dedication.
Although now almost impossible to find a copy for sale, reference copies of "The Sory of the Arcadia Theatre Chatswood " are located at the Willoughby Central Library, Chatswood, and the National Library, Canberra.
Nicholas Robins at the console of the Arcadia Theatre WurliTzer 1926
UPDATE: As this is being written (June 2008) the Willoughby Civic Centre, a gem of architectural significance in 1972, is to be demolished to make way for a totally new complex. Once again the mighty WurliTzer will be dismantled, stored, restored and re-installed - a classic turn of the circle. The writer has no further comment.
The
Welte-Mignon Reproducing Piano and its part in our musical
heritage
Denis Condon's rare Steinway red roll
Welte
keyboardless Cabinet Player from 1907
THE REPRODUCING PIANO, once the pride and source of endless delight to the wealthy, suffered an ignominious decline towards the end of the 1920s, brought about in part by the Great Depression, but primarily it was unceremoniously toppled from its pedestal by the advent of Talking Pictures and the higher quality piano discs following the introduction of electrical recording.
We tend to forget, and documentation was scarce until recently, that from about 1905 to 1930, most concert pianists and pianist-composers had made recordings for at least one of the "big three" Reproducing Piano systems (Welte-Mignon, Ampico, Duo-Art). By this medium, those who could afford the expensive machines were privileged to hear artists such as Rachmaninov, Grieg, Paderewski, Debussy, Saint-Saens, Mahler (to name just a few of the composer-pianists), as well as a host of international concert pianists, actually performing in their own homes.
The means by which all the subtle nuances of expression and dynamics performed by the artist were captured have in part been lost. The Welte factory at Freiburg with all its recording machines and archives was destoyed during the War*. (Photographs of the Welte recording studios show the mysterious "black box" with its suggested sound pressure level-sensitive diaphragms).With the exception of the Ampico B system, it is still not completely clear how the Ampico or the popular Duo-Art rolls were made with such outstanding accuracy. *Actually by German bombers off-course!
The critics will talk of human intervention with paper punches and sticky tape (some wrong notes were of course, removed), and to this day there are arguments as to tempo and the dynamic range of performances.
All this does not detract from the miracle of machinery being capable of reproducing a human piano performance (at a time years before the invention of radio, and when aviation and popular motoring were in their infancy); artists gave glowing testimonials to the work of the recording engineers and numerous "tone tests" comparing the mechanical performances with the human, behind curtained stages, held audiences in awe.
The spread of television was the final death knoll to the Reproducing Piano, and indeed its poor cousin the foot-powered pianola as well.
By the 1960s the surviving instruments which had not been gutted by a lazy or ignorant piano technician began to surface from deceased estates and other obscure hibernations. In the USA and Australia, astute collectors salvaged pianos and rolls, sometimes from rubbish dumps, and a new age was born culminating today in a large number of restored Welte, Ampico and Duo-Art instruments in excellent playing condition world-wide.
Scholars such as Denis Condon here in Sydney, with his recent editions of historic performances transferred to CD have led the way towards greater recognition of the wonderful musical heritage we have in these instruments and their rolls.
Not only can we hear the famous composers playing for us, (early links with the past go back as far as Saint Saens, Reinecke and even Grieg, who died in 1907) but also we can analyse early 20th Century interpretations of repertoire which remains in concert programmes today. The wayward performances of Grainger and old-fashioned Beethoven and Chopin by the early pianists may seem quaint but do find a true place in our understanding of piano playing and its changes with fashion over the years.
THE PIANOS used by the companies for the installation of their systems were in the main part, of the highest quality. This was to ensure that the very best of the recordings was brought to the listener. The Duo-Art featured prominently in Steinway Grands - a pinnacle of a "find" for an enthusiast today. The Welte Company went further with the installation of their Red Roll and the later standardised size Green Roll systems in Steinway, Bechstein and Feurich Grands - all the cream of European piano making. In the USA, the later Licensee Welte could be found in Baldwin Grands and 111 other lesser makes.
The original red roll Welte-Mignon system installed in a Steinway Grand
The popular Ampico feaured in several high quality American instruments, notably Mason and Hamlin and Chickering Grands. Here in Australia the ubiquitous Marshall and Wendell and Australian Beale Ampicos dominate the scene, with a few recent imports. (The true "piano-file" may be fortunate enough to have an original red or green roll Welte-Mignon [or specially constructed] Vorsetzer (Ger: "sit in front of....") which can be set before a modern concert grand for the finest results obtainable today.)
We need to examine briefly the absolute necessity for these instruments to be restored to as new or even better condition (given advances with certain materials and the great wealth of scientific knowledge we can now call upon). They are almost an alchemical mix of science and art; unless they can deliver the performance expected by the artists of 1905 or 1935, we can only regard them as a curiosity. They stand in a class of their own, and should not be treated as many collectors do, as just another "Mechanical Musical Instrument". They are more than that. Who can forget their first experience in a darkened room, hearing Frederic Lamond play the Liszt Concert Study in D Flat, Debussy playing his Submerged Cathedral, or Rachmaninov one of his own Preludes........?
The writer certainly cannot..!! I lately owned a 1925 Marshall and Wendell upright Ampico but previously was proud and priviliged to own one of the few Bechstein Welte Mignon pianos in Australia, previously owned by the late Brian Duke, and lovingly restored in 1998 by Jim Nicholson of Sydney. After many years of "Reproducing Piano drought", we could thrill once again to these great performances.
My first Reproducing Piano - a 1928 Baldwin Licensee Welte Grand
Now proudly owned by Phil and Lynette Tickle
Each roll brings new wonders. Those not so fortunate can now hear many of these legendary pianists on a number of CDs currently available. With the new digital recording equipment, and using beautifully performing instruments such as Steinway, Bosendorfer and Yamaha (used with a purpose-built Vorsetzer in the Condon Collection), the music lover will hear these old rolls "almost" as if the piano was in their own lounge room.
For this we thank the foresight and faith of those enthusiasts who recognised the irreplaceable value of the Reproducing Piano and saved the instruments and the rolls for our continued enlightenment.
Denis
Condon selects
a roll
from his outstanding collection
Denis
Condon with his magnificent Yamaha Disklavier grand piano.
Ian C Griggs
24/1/99 Edited 16 June 2008
The
Rachmaninov Edison Diamond Discs
The Edison Diamond Discs made by Rachmaninov in 1917, shortly after arriving in the USA make an interesting comparison with the Ampico Reproducing Rolls recorded not long afterwards. The prelude dedicated to his Father ("Polka de W.R."), always thought to be played too fast (or an incorrect tempo indication on the roll), is actually played by him at break-neck speed.
His Prelude in C# Minor ("THE prelude"), which he grew to loathe, is actually played quite slowly at first then races away....... and remember that Edison did not have the same time restraints as recording engineers of 10" or 12" 78rpm discs.
WATCH THIS SPACE for a more detailed
analysis.....
The History of St John's Church Balmain
Part One
Quoted from the Centenary History by John K. Wright
St. John's is the youngest of the three Anglican Churches in the Balmain district. The parent church of St. Mary's Balmain East had its foundation stone laid on Janurary 1st, 1845 and St. Thomas' Rozelle in 1874.
It was during the incumbency of the Reverend T. B. Tress at St. Mary's that the need for a church in the Balmain North/Birchgrove area became evident. The population of the area had increased as a result of land sub-divisions and increased employment opportunities. In 1871 Balmain had a population of 6,200 but by 1882 when the church was established the population had risen to some 17,000. At the time, it was estimated that about 6,800 of these were members of the Church of England.
Land for a church had been granted at the end of Church Street, near where Mort's Dock gates used to be. When the Birchgrove Estate was divided a block of land somewhere near the Birchgrove Park gates was also set aside for Church purposes. As both blocks were thought unsuitable, they were sold off and the present block of land bought. The church site was on top of a quarry, the lower part, upon which the hall and Rectory now stand, was later filled in with ashes.
Week night services had been held in the homes of Mr William Buchanan in Ballast Point Road. William Buchanan was the father of Edward Herman Buchanan, the architect of St. John's.Services were also held in Mr Watt's house in Wharf Road and Mr Robilliard's in Rowntree Street. Mrs Emily Jane Elkington of "Clovernook" Snails Bay conducted a Sunday School in Reuss Street long before the Church was anticipated. Elkington Park bears testimony to the generosity of the family and the two side panels of the stained glass sanctuary window were given in her memory. She died in 1880, aged 36.
It is probable that Edward Harman Buchanan volunteered his services as Architect for St. John's. The family were active in Church and local affairs, having moved to Balmain in 1877. Edward Buchanan spent ten working years in Balmain during which time he designed the Cottage Hospital and Town Hall. First as an alderman and for a period as Mayor, he played an important part in the development of the suburb during a period of rapid expansion.
With the 1890's came economic depression and Buchanan left Balmain for a two year stay in England. Upon his return to Australia, he moved away from architecture and set up in business as a builder. Always interested in Balmain, he became involved in the establishmen of Elkington, Eastwood and Birchgrove Parks. He was on five occasions President of the Master Builders Association of New South Wales.
Buchanan called tenders for the erection of the church on October 1st, 1881. Williams and Clymer carried out the carpentry, joinery and finishing trades with tenders for stone and brick work going to Brown and Riordan. The original intention was a dual purpose building to house a church school with a capacity for accommodating 350 adults for worship.
The foundation stone for St. John's was laid on February 4th, 1882 by Dean Cowper of Sydney who was acting as Vicar General during the absence of Bishop Barry who was at that time in England. The local blacksmith, who lived opposite the church related some years later how some ropes attached to an awning covering the foundation stone were released at the wrong time - resulting in the august assembledge being enveloped. The stone is located on the north east corner of the church and is now the base of a buttress.
The building was completed on schedule in the second week of June, 1882 and licensed for use on the 16th of the same month. The original building extended to the present chancel steps with vestries and classrooms behind the Altar and was constructed for a cost of £1200.
The dream of a school at St. John's was short-lived, due to a clause in the Public Construction Act of 187 which withdrew all State Aid to denominational schools from the end of 1882.
The font in the baptistery is in memory of A. H. Buchanan an infant son of the architect.The first child to be baptised in the font was S. H. Buchanan, but the very first child to receive baptism in St. John's was Clement Oswald Hardman and the records show that he received the sacrament on June 25th, 1882.
To be continued.....
(Scanned from the original by TextBridge Classic OCR)
The 1915 Griffin and Leggo Pipe Organ (Ian Griggs at the console)
PRESENT SPECIFICATION:
GREAT
Open Diapason 8 Principal 4 Tibia Minor 8 Gemshorn 8 Harmonic Flute 2PEDAL
Bourdon 16 Bass Flute 8
Easter Day 2005 - my last service at SJB - 35 years an Anglican organist!
The Rector of St. John's is Fr James Butt, 9810 1396
Written after three years of research of Parish and private records, this unusual work covers another virtually neglected area, the organists of an Australian Anglican parish church, St. John's Church Darlinghurst. Once again, this story was written around an organ restoration - the wonderful 3/33 Hill and Son instrument of 1886, reopened after an extensive restorative rebuild in November 1997.
South Transept Display Pipes restored in 1997 by Ian Griggs
The book's title alludes to the first organ of St. John's, a Walker of 1867. While primarily intended for local people and Parishioners, the book has found a niche on the shelves of organophiles in Sydney and Melbourne. Favourable reviews have appeared in the Journal of the Organ Society of Sydney, and the Organ Historical Trust of Australia.
Featuring a central section of photographs and plans from documents rarely seen by the public, this 60 page book brings to light events of a past age of Sydney Church-going in an entertaining and highly readable fashion.
Copies of "One Hundred and Thirty Years of Organ Music" may be obtained from St. John's Church , 120 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst NSW 2010.
St John's in 1902 - little
changed today......This prominent landmark in Sydney's eastern suburbs was erected in 1858 to a design by architects Goold and Hilling. Situated on a rise just south of Kings Cross, its magnificent tower of 1874 could be seen from most of the metropolitan area well into the twentieth century. The beautifully proportioned tower (recently restored in 2001) was added by Edmund Blacket, who had earlier completed the church proper with the two transepts. The final touches came in 1885 with the new chancel, vestries and organ chamber into which was installed the second largest church organ in NSW at that time, a three manual 33 stop instrument by Hill and Son, London. (St Andrews Cathedral organ, also a Hill, of 1866 was 37 stops. The large Forster & Andrews of St Saviour's Goulburn, although having more pipes was one stop smaller.)The St John's organ, originally a combination of tracker and pneumatice lever, was converted to electro-pneumatic action in 1930, and has just recently (1995-8) received its first ever total rebuild. The original organ, a two manual, (now) 17 stop Walker of 1867, stood on a west end gallery (demolished in 1904), and can be seen still in active service today at St. Andrews Congregational Church Balmain, where it was restored in 1993.
NEW! THIS PRINTABLE STEREO CARD!
THE BEAUTY OF THE BLACKET NORTH PORCH AND TRANSEPT:
Print this card exactly 180 x 90mm for viewing in a Holmes Stereo Viewer
A recent wedding held in beautiful St. John's Church Darlinghurst
St John's is an active church through its many outreach and welfare programmes. Its Rector, Rev Dr Bill Lawton, who retired at Christmas 1998 had held the post since 1989 and was outspoken on many controversial subjects affecting the Australian Anglican Church (in particular the Sydney diocese); a subject which need not be detailed further here.
Contact the Church office for Service times at 02 9360 6844
For the complete story of the organs and organists go to
These pages last updated 19th October 2008 - Created with Claris Home Page 3.0 and Netscape Composer 7.2
