User:RVHM/sandbox



FORBES TOWN HALL PIPE ORGAN

This classical pipe organ was built in 1981 by the organ building firm of Brown & Arkley, originally of Northmede. Ian Brown continues to operate his business and is responsible for maintenance and tuning of the Forbes organ and many other pipe organs of the Central West. It contains 478 pipes ranging in size from the lowest note, a 200 cm long pipe to the highest note at just 1.5 cm tall and 2 mm diameter. Casework is made from Amora a South East Asian mahogany-like hardwood with veneered side panels of sapele mahogany.

The organ was commissioned by local Forbes resident Mr Paul Coles. Paul had the organ built for his use in his business premises which was a hardware store in the former Lachlan Arcade, now the home of Mezzanine Style. Paul used to give private performances in the upper level of the building and often arranged well-attended recitals by well-known organists including today’s performer Robert Ampt.

The organ was moved to Paul Coles’ home in Farrand St Forbes when the hardware store closed. Paul continued to play the instrument until 2012 when his health deteriorated. He offered the instrument as a gift to Forbes Shire Council in March 2014 and the Council enthusiastically accepted it and committed the funds for its dismantling and rebuilding in the Town Hall. Ian Brown was able to complete the rebuilding in May 2014.

The organ operates with mechanical action only which means that the air pallets under each pipe are opened through the interconnection of wooden levers and wires. This makes the touch very sensitive and the organist feels very much in control of the playing.

This generous gift was acknowledged just prior to Paul Coles’ death with the unveiling of its plaque jointly by Paul and Mayor Ron Penny on 22 August 2014. This organ has genuinely been part of Forbes cultural life for over 30 years and has become a fine musical asset for the region. It is in near perfect condition and will last another 80 years before any major work on it is needed.

Something unique … the organ sits on a fully mobile platform built locally by Mid Pro Engineering so that the organ can be moved to anywhere on the auditorium floor to suit the occasion.