Wakatipu vicar Dr David Coles plays the historic St Peter's
Church organ this week. Photo by Olivia Caldwell.
At 137 years old it still entertains bridal parties,
accompanies choral groups and adds melody to church services.
Now, one of New Zealand's historic instruments, the organ in
St Peter's Church, Queenstown, will get a service of its own
in time for the church's 150th anniversary next year.
Built in 1874 by John B. West, of Dunedin, it has been one of
Queenstown's well-known sounds for nearly 70 years. On
Tuesday night the church will host a fundraiser to restore
the pipe organ.
Wakatipu vicar Dr David Coles said the "very valuable
historic instrument" had been an important feature of the
church and top musicians had played it over the years.
It was built for the All Saints Church of Dunedin and was
shifted to Queenstown in the 1930s where it graced the old St
Peter's church, now located in Omakau. It was then uplifted
to the new St Peter's church on the corner of Camp and Church
Sts.
Though it still had a great sound, "we want to restore it as
far as possible so it's in good working order. These things
cost a lot to maintain."
This means dismantling organs to repair or replace lots of
leather and piping.
The last time the organ was given a dusting was in 1992 when
the church raised more than $50,000 for maintenance. Apart
from that it has been virtually unmaintained.
The only major alteration made to the instrument had been the
exchanging of the swell horn diaspason and the swell
principal.
A summary report of many of the country's pipe organs was
documented by John Stiller in 1981, in which he wrote the St
Peter's church organ was "one of the finest historic organs
in New Zealand. It is most surprising that its existence is
almost completely unknown. This excellent organ represents a
rare New Zealand example of an almost completely untouched
19th-century instrument."
Its entertainment value will continue on Tuesday with the
Three Centuries of Opera in Italian at which Dorothee Jansen
will sing with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.
Miss Jansen has sung at opera houses throughout Europe
including the La Scala, Milan, in Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam
plus Belgium, England, Switzerland and here in New Zealand.
Tickets can be bought on entry for $20 with all proceeds
going to the St Peter's Organ Fund.
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