Works to replace the 90 year old Organ Blower have now been completed, and the Cathedral’s Lewis Organ has been given a new lease on life.
Various delays (mostly COVID related) have hindered the project which began in February 2019. The new blowing plant was made by August Laukuff GmbH & Co. KG in Weikersheim, north of Stuttgart in Germany and then shipped to Australia before it was installed at the Cathedral by Wakeley Pipe Organs. Sadly, August Laukauff ceased trading at the end of June 2021 and it is with a sense of gratitude and thanksgiving that a part of their work will be powering our music-making, hopefully for the next 100 years.
The previous motorised blower of the 1890 T. C. Lewis Pipe Organ had played more than 25,000 services (to say nothing of recitals, concerts, rehearsals and lessons), and remarkably was able to be largely kept going through to the installation of the new blower, thanks to the work of our Organ Builders.
We are grateful to the generous support of the Music Foundation and other donors, Ian Wakeley and the team at Wakeley Pipe Organs, and to all who supported the project. We look forward to welcoming back congregants and visitors soon to hear the sound of the Organ fill the Cathedral once again.
