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St Peter's Pipe Organ

 

The Pipe Organ in St Peter’s Church was first built and installed in All Saints Church in Dunedin in 1874, then it was relocated in the original wooden 1863 St Peter’s Church in Queenstown in 1906. At that time a special addition to the church was built to accommodate it.

 

When the present stone Church was built in 1932, it was designed with a special alcove to accommodate the historic organ. The original hand bellows were replaced with an electric motor. Some restoration work was carried out in 1992, but because of insufficient funds, only half the work was carried out.

 

Currently, we are raising further funds from donations and the proceeds of recitals and concerts to enable us to complete the restoration. We will need in excess of $100,000 to achieve this.

 

If you would like to contribute to the St Peter’s Organ Restoration Fund, or if you would like more information, please click the button below:

 

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In a 1982 special report, John Stiller wrote:
 

“This organ is one of the finest historic organs in NZ. It is most surprising that its existence is almost completely unknown in the NZ organ world. A worn paper label above the console reads: ‘John B. West, Organ Builder, Dunedin, New Zealand’, however, it appears that this label has been 'pasted over' the position occupied by a former label.  Various features of the organ show resemblances to the work of the Australian organ builder William Davidson, and the English organ builders Willis, Conacher, Gray and Davidson, and Hunter. The only major alteration made to this instrument has been to the exchanging of the Swell Horn Diapason and the Swell Principal; a particular change which would be unwise to undo. This excellent organ represents a rare example of an almost completely untouched nineteenth-century instrument.  Its tonal brilliance and clarity suggest that its original voicing has not suffered from later interference. The use of alternating colours in the display pipe decorations adds a great deal of interest to the appearance of this origin."

 

The configuration of stops is as follows:

 

Great (C-g3)

  • Open Diapason 8

  • Clarabella 8 (c0-g3)

  • Dulciana 8 (c0 – g3)

  • Stopd. Diapason Bass 8 (c-b)

  • Principal 4

  • Wald Flute 4 (c0-g3)

  • Twelfth 2 2/3

  • Fifteenth 2

  •  

Swell (c-g3)

  • Horn Diapason Sw.8 (c0-g3)

  • Lieblich Gedacht Sw. 8

  • Principal Swell 4

  • Cornopean Sw.8

  •  

Pedals (c-e1)

  •  Bourdon pedals CCG 16

  •  

Couplers

  • Swell to Great

  • Great to pedals

  • Swells to pedals

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