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The city of Sydney was established by the British in 1788 as part of the colony of New South Wales. From humble beginnings as a place to banish convicts, the city has grown to become a metropolis of over four million people, best known for its famous Harbor Bridge and Opera House. The city's wealth has its roots in the burgeoning pastoral industry of the early-içth century and the discovery of gold to the west in 1851.
With the Victorian era, came heightened civic pride and a desire on the part of the colonists to demonstrate their material progress and to fly the flag of the mother country. The acquisition of a fine pipe organ was an obvious way to demonstrate such progress. While barrel organs were in use in Sydney as early as 1791, the first "finger" organ did not arrive from England until 1827 and it was not until 1840 that the first instruments were built locally.1 The next five decades saw an ever increasing number of pipe organs imported or produced locally, reaching a peak in the mid-i88os. Following British patterns, several Australian capital cities acquired concert organs for their town halls in the years 1870-90.
The first stage of the Sydney Town Hall was completed in 1868, with the adjoining Italian-Renaissance styled Centennial Hall opened in 1889. For this impressive building- the largest Town Hall in the British Empire at the time-the city fathers sought to acquire the world's largest organ. Built in 1886-89 by Hill & Son of London, the "grand organ," as it was known from the outset, was opened in August 1890. It is Australia's most notable pipe organ and remains famous both at home and abroad for its magnificent tone, imposing casework, and original state. The history of the organ has been recorded in meticulous detail by Robert Ampt, Sydney City Organist since 1978.2
In 2007, the Sydney Town Hall was closed to facilitate major work in the lower part of the building and this involved the preservation of the remnants of an earlier colonial burial ground, stabilization of the foundations, and an upgrade of the Lower Town Hall, frequently used for exhibitions and meetings.
During this time, Geoff Brew, specialist project manager for Sydney City...