‘Blitz’ organ has salvaged pipes from WWII
Pipes retrieved from bombdestroyed buildings in England during World War II are now being used in an Invercargill church organ, known as ‘The Blitz’.
They were recovered from damaged organs in churches, halls and theatres in Liverpool, following Germany’s aerial bombing campaign, known as The Blitz, on British cities and towns in 1940 and 1941.
Liverpool organ builder Henry Willis & Sons Ltd used salvaged parts to make the organ that is now in St Theresa’s Church in Invercargill. It was installed earlier this year.
The organ, made in 1946, was imported into New Zealand in 1953, by the Te Awamutu Methodist Church. It stayed there until being sold to the South Island Organ Company, of Timaru, in 1984.
Research by the company’s coowner, John Hargraves, revealed it had 482 pipes, including 116 from the Wallasey Town Hall’s organ in Liverpool.
‘‘At the time [1946] there were great shortages of everything [in England] – manpower, money and materials,’’ he said.
‘‘England was in a state of ruin after the war.’’
His company loaned the organ to the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Christchurch while its organ was being repaired after earthquake damage in 2011.
A group of music enthusiasts at St Mary’s Basilica in Invercargill, with help from community funders and individual donors, raised $265,000 to buy the organ from the South Island Organ Company about four years ago.
The organ was to be put in the Basilica’s choir loft, but after research and a closer inspection of the area, it was found to be not strong enough to hold its weight of 2.1 tonnes.
Organist and Invercargill South Pastoral Area Parish secretary-accountant Karen Ralston said strengthening would have cost up to $500,000.
‘‘We didn’t have the money to do it,’’ she said.
‘‘[Also], with the Basilica being a category one heritage building, we have to careful about alterations to accommodate things.’’
The organ was kept in storage at the South Island Organ Company until a new home was found.
There was no area on the ground floor of the Basilica to accommodate the organ, so the decision was made to put it in St Theresa’s. By the time it was installed and operating there, the total cost for the project had reached $340,000.
‘‘It’s an attractive instrument,’’ Hargraves said.
‘‘It sounds good, looks good, and it should serve the parish for a good number of years.’’
Meanwhile, non-churchgoers will have the opportunity to listen